# DTP water leaking from top of group head



## Cullender (Oct 6, 2019)

Hi All

Has anybody experienced water finding its way out the top of the group head when pulling a shot? i have raised this with Sage support and sent them a video of it happening. After analysing the video sage support said i had a faulty machine and offered a replacement as my machine was still in warranty. I have to say sage support has been fab and i received the new machine really quickly bad news is after pulling a few shots in my new machine i am getting the same results as my so called faulty machine. It would be nice to know if anyone else has experienced this issue and if there is a fix?

thanks.

Mark

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## ShameImpala (Feb 29, 2020)

I've seen this on these machines where the group pressure rose too high, usually from a over-fine grind preventing water from passing through the puck in the usual manner - the water escapes from this spot. I'm not sure if there is a gasket that is permanently blown once this happens, or if it's just a bit of leakage. A tear down would be needed to check.


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## Cullender (Oct 6, 2019)

Hi ShameImpala

I did wonder if it was my grind size but if I go any courser then the shot just runs to quick. With my current grind settings the pour seems perfect when it flows from the portafilter spout. I dose 18g in double basket and pull 36g in around 27seconds. How do I know if gaskets blown is it repairable?


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## ShameImpala (Feb 29, 2020)

I'm working off memory here, but aren't the 54mm Sage baskets rated for 15 - 17g? Cramming 18g in there is probably contributing to your pressure issues (if this is that issue), as I wouldn't be surprised if it was overfilled and ended up against the shower screen. Water can't exit the shower, and therefore has to find another way.

Warranty would be the most straightforward, but they may start questioning how the same issue has appeared so quickly on both machines. Has it impacted the actual shot that you pull?


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## Cullender (Oct 6, 2019)

The manual states the double basket is 15g to 18g. I weigh all my doses before tamping and always dose 18g. When 18g go into the basket it does not look over filled and when tamped it looks perfect.

No it doesn't seem to effect the shot but as I weigh my shots what happens is the water drips out onto the scales and then I get inaccurate readings so that's frustrating.

Maybe I should try lowering dose to say 17g see if it improves. I'm worried now in case the machine is damaged.


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## ShameImpala (Feb 29, 2020)

That is definitely worth a try, and depending on the adjustment in your grinder, you could also coarsen and then dial in finer from that point until you get the results you desire and see if the drip returns.

If it is damaged then I would look at this as just part of the learning curve, and as you say Sage warranty have treated you well so far. If it is the case that there is an inherent issue then you could end up just having them swap it again.


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## Cullender (Oct 6, 2019)

Annoying thing is that the manual states the basket holds 18g so I'm following there guideline.

Also when you do a backflush with the rubber disk to clean the machine the rubber disk has no whole so water has nowhere to flow surly that would create high pressure also. Sage say it's normal procedure for cleaning the grouphead.


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## ShameImpala (Feb 29, 2020)

Yeah, the back flush is the only part that confuses me on that. I haven't seen one done on one though so couldn't really comment.


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## Cullender (Oct 6, 2019)

Thanks for your input. Think I will try new settings tomorrow but need some sleep right now 

stay safe in these crazy times.

mark


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## ShameImpala (Feb 29, 2020)

Maybe try change just the dose, then the grind if that doesn't work. Just lets you isolate what is actually causing the problem!

All the best buddy


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## longhardgrind (Mar 17, 2017)

On my old DTP it was a faulty selector switch that caused exactly that problem. The switch was replaced and it cured the problem for about a year, when it reappered I got a BE.


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## Cullender (Oct 6, 2019)

Hi Longhardgrind

How did you manage to point the issue to the selector switch - did sage support say it was that?

Sage support sent me a new machine last week as they agreed water should not be leaking from out the top of the grouphead. Bizarre thing is after a week of using the new machine I am seeing the same issue. I'm now asking myself is it something I'm doing or are these machines prone to doing this. Maybe a faulty batch? I actually really like my DTP gutted I'm getting these issues and sage have good reviews on most of there espresso machines.

What's a BE? ?


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## longhardgrind (Mar 17, 2017)

A sage repair guy came round, after a lot of hassling, though even he had a job to pinpoint the problemt and for a while it was quite embarasing, because it wouldn't leak on demand, until he over dosed it and forced the leak to appear. Fortunately he had a new but damaged DTP in his van and stripped the switch out of that and popped it into my machine. Still a replacement machine is obviously the better/ easier option.


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## Cullender (Oct 6, 2019)

If he managed to force the issue by over dosing then maybe that's our problem. Someone did mention that on earlier thread. I have since then gone from dosing 18g to 16g and things have improved although I did get the one leak on a 16g dose. It just seems a mystery. I have a support ticket open with sage so lets see what they say. They have already replaced machine once not sure they will do it again.


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