# Rocket Appartamento Grouphead heating slowly



## Gunder (Sep 20, 2020)

My one month old Rocket Appartamento has developed an odd problem today. Usually, when I switch my Appartamento on, it will take a maximum of 26-30 minutes to reach a good stable temperature in the grouphead, as measured by an E61 grouphead thermometer I installed after I purchased the machine.

Today, however, after switching it on, I left the room for 30 minutes and came back to a grouphead sitting at just over room temperature, while the boiler was showing its usual 1 bar of pressure. The steam wand and hot water tap also seemed to work normally.

I suspected a thermosyphon stall and proceeded to do a series of really long flushes, lasting around 30-45 seconds each, as I had heard that this can resolve a stall. The machine now heats up the grouphead much better, but noticibly slower than it had before the problem started. It also seems to tap out at around 97c in the group, instead of the 100c it would reach previously.

I think I may have caused this issue by letting air into the boiler while draining the reservoir. I was concerned about leaving water in the reservoir to go stagnant when the machine is switched off for a few days. So, each night, assuming I had used the machine that day, I would remove and empty the water tank, and then do a flush without the tank in place, to drain the little reservoir of water that exists below the water tank until the machine detects a lack of water and stops the pump automatically. I think doing this last night caused a little bit of air to get sucked inside the boiler and that this is most probably causing the issues I'm experiencing.

What's the best way to resolve this issue and restore the grouphead heating to its previous level?


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Stop doing it and leave water in the tank, you can always clean and freshen the next day. Personally I clean my tank weekly. If your full tank lasts 2 or 3 days only half fill it.


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## Gunder (Sep 20, 2020)

DavecUK said:


> Stop doing it and leave water in the tank, you can always clean and freshen the next day. Personally I clean my tank weekly. If your full tank lasts 2 or 3 days only half fill it.


 Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely stop doing this. Also, thanks for your great YouTube videos. I've learned a lot from watching your channel. Do you think there is a way to get the grouphead heating back the way it was, or will using it over time slowly correct the issue? Is doing long flushes the best way to resolve stalls in the future? I read Randy Glass's article (http://www.espressomyespresso.com/stall.html) which seemed to suggest that long flushes would help.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Usually the failure of the group to heat in the morning is due to leakage in a brew circuit that is usually sealed. Cooling water contracts, air gets in. One way valve, expansion valve, or autofill solenoid. Water in the tank prevents 1 route.

Cause is usually water quality related, sometimes ageing seals (depends how old machine is). When warm the machine often doesn't leak. Descaling might solve it if it's scale related but if it's general rubbish in the water, it may not help.

I have been thinking of asking some of the manufacturers I work with to "burp" machines on power on, depends whether the control boxes they are using can support it. I need to think through the implications of it.

E.g. one implication is it must be temperature dependent and many Gicar boxes cannot detect temperature.


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

Gunder said:


> Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely stop doing this. Also, thanks for your great YouTube videos. I've learned a lot from watching your channel. Do you think there is a way to get the grouphead heating back the way it was, or will using it over time slowly correct the issue? Is doing long flushes the best way to resolve stalls in the future? I read Randy Glass's article (http://www.espressomyespresso.com/stall.html) which seemed to suggest that long flushes would help.


 If you have air in the circuit, prime it. Flush through 500ml of water (through the group) and observe if it gets better. If it doesn't, it might be something else as Dave describes.


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## Gunder (Sep 20, 2020)

MediumRoastSteam said:


> If you have air in the circuit, prime it. Flush through 500ml of water (through the group) and observe if it gets better. If it doesn't, it might be something else as Dave describes.


 Tried this. It failed to return things to its previous level. After 30 minutes of heating from cold, it will have properly heated the boiler and produces steam like it always did, but the grouphead is still slower to heat than it was a week ago. Now it gets to around 96c - 97c in about 45 minutes, instead of the 100c in 30 minutes it used to achieve. Still hot enough to pull a good shot, but kind of concerning. Not sure what to do next.


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