# Rocket blows safety valve every once in a while?



## Danielbeck (Feb 20, 2017)

I have a Rocket appartamento which blows its safety valve if left turned on for some time due to too much pressure in the boiler. When the safety valve blows the pressure in the boiler will have reached between 2 and 3 bar even though the pressurestat is adjusted to switch of a between 1 and 1,5 bar.

1: I have disassembled the machine and concluded that the problem is not due to scale.

2: i readjusted the pressurestat and tested it. When it seemed to work fine i left it turned on for a little while and it blew the safety valve again.

3: I figured the pressurestat was old and worn out so i switched it out with a new one. I then adjusted the pressure again and left it turned on for a while. Eventually it blew the safety valve again.

So does anybody here have an idea as to what my next step would be? Are we talking a new control box or what?

Help much appreciated


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## 7493 (May 29, 2014)

Does the pressure gauge indicate that the pressure is in fact very high when the safety valve operates? If the pressure appears to be in the normal range I would suspect the safety valve may have become over enthusiastic. Just read your post again and I guess the answer to my question is that the gauge does indicate high pressure.

Is the boiler filling normally? If it is then I would still be looking at the pressure stat. I don't see how the pressure can become excessive if the pressure stat is doing its job.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Danielbeck said:


> I have a Rocket appartamento which blows its safety valve if left turned on for some time due to too much pressure in the boiler. When the safety valve blows the pressure in the boiler will have reached between 2 and 3 bar even though the pressurestat is adjusted to switch of a between 1 and 1,5 bar.
> 
> 1: I have disassembled the machine and concluded that the problem is not due to scale.
> 
> ...


I doubt it's the control box unless you have a bad connection. Usually the pressurestat is wired directly to an SSR or relay controlling the heating element the control box controls the autofill and water low functions. It's probably either:

1. Another Bad pressurestat (unlikely, but possible)

2. scale build-up obstructing the pressurestat pipe...but you say you disassembled and there is no scale, so it might even be crud a loose bit of ptfe etc.. in the pipe/fitting for the pressurestat. (mabye)

3. Wiring fault (to/from pressurestat), (very unlikely because they operate normally open)

4. Or if pressurestat controls a mechanical relay (to handle the heating element power) rather than an SSR, then that relay might be sticking (good possibility if such a relay exists)..

*I wouldn't mind seeing a high quality shot of the inside of pressurestat and general surrounds, as it's a machine I have not reviewed before.*



*
P.S. If you bought from Bella Barista, it must still be under warranty, because they have not been out 2 years yet have they?*

*
*


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## espressotechno (Apr 11, 2011)

Failing pressure switch - just fit a new one. They're cheap & easy to buy......EBay is your friend....

Those little pressure switches seem to last about 2 years before they die.


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## 7493 (May 29, 2014)

I'm not intimately acquainted with the Rocket Appartmento. However, the Rocket Giotto Evo II I have uses a Sirai pressure stat directly switching current to the element. If the Appartmento uses the same arrangement then the only possible culprit is the stat. As DavecUK says, if the stat switches a relay, solid state or otherwise, to power the element then that is also suspect.


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

Looks like there's someone else having a very similar issue:

Rocket appartamento

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?share_fid=6813&share_tid=28759&share_pid=490550&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcoffeeforums%2Eco%2Euk%2Fshowpost%2Ephp%3Fp%3D490550&share_type=t


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## mancbeginner (May 4, 2015)

It's me that's having the same sort of problem, does your pump stay on after you have pulled a shot, this seems to be my problem, this makes the pressure go high of course


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## mancbeginner (May 4, 2015)

Weirdly , if when it starts doing it the first time in the day, I turn the machine off them on again, I don't seem to have any trouble for the rest of the time it's on.... Wondering if it's a programming fault and a quick off and on resets it


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

mancbeginner said:


> Weirdly , if when it starts doing it the first time in the day, I turn the machine off them on again, I don't seem to have any trouble for the rest of the time it's on.... Wondering if it's a programming fault and a quick off and on resets it


Short out the autofill probe to ground (you can actually remove the wire and then fix it to ground), don't use the service boiler for steam or hot water. Use machine as normal for a while and if you get any pump run on it's nothing to do with the probe....there could still be a wiring fault from the probe wire connection to the autofill box though. If you don't get any run on at all, examine the probe and sleeve. if it still runs on and the wire to the autofill box has a good connection....just check the spade connector carefully and powering off and on fixes it, then you could have a bad box.

It also could be a faulty brew switch (sticking etc..), thats the one behind the E61 lever and panel.


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## Danielbeck (Feb 20, 2017)

Hi everyone. Thank you all very much for your inputs. I ended up changing the control box just to check if that would solve the problem. I changed it 1,5 week ago and as of yet the problem hasn't reoccurred, so right now I'm just waiting to see if it does. If it does not, then I'll conclude that it was a faulty control-box.

The wires on the appartamento runs from the heating element to two safety thermal switches on the boiler. The wires then run from the safety thermal switches down to the control-box. The pressure-stat also goes into the control-box.

Mancbeginner - My machine functions perfectly fine in all other regards than the safety valve issue. My pump turns off when i finish a shot. As Davecuk mentions, it might be a faulty brew switch or faulty control box.

I'll return if my appartamento starts acting up again.


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