# No flow from Group head - Baby Class 06



## nealb (Jan 7, 2011)

I have a Gaggia Baby Class that I bought as ex demo stock. I've just hit a problem whereby no water is coming out of the group head.

The steam wand IS working, and when switched on the pump vibrates.

It had never been descaled properly and I was hoping that a descaling cycle might just sort it out. It didn't so reading all the instructions on this site I have removed the boiler and cleaned all the scale build up out of it.

So my thoughts now are that it is the 3 way solenoid valve that has become blocked. Some posts on this site mention about splitting the 3 way down to clean out the innards but having taken it out I can't see how to split mine down.

Here is a photo of what my valve looks like

http://i.imgur.com/Ly4yW.jpg

So my questions are, how do I open clean this valve up to clean it?

How can I tell once it is clean? i.e which parts should move and how easily.

And is this all worth it or should I just get a replacement? (And if so where can I get hold of one?)

Really hoping someone can help me I'm gagging for a nice coffee!


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## BanishInstant (Oct 12, 2009)

It sounds like you are on the right track. Hopefully Gaggiamanualservice.com will be along soon.


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## gaggiamanualservice.com (Dec 22, 2009)

hi, sounds like the valve is blocked or faulty. very easy to find out. when you press the coffee button do you hear a click, if so the solenoid is blocked if not its faulty. to split the valve is easy, first remove the valve, 2 4mm allen bolts then remove the coil (black box ) using spanner, then a 14mm spanner to unscrew the piston chamber. inside the base is 2 holes, the centre one will be blocked, use a paper clip to un block then leave in descaler for a couple of hours to clear. rinse with water making sure that water comes from both outlets. put back together and replace. good luck

mark


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## nealb (Jan 7, 2011)

Thanks a lot for your help. I'll give it a try when I back home next weekend and hopefully we should be good to go


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## nealb (Jan 7, 2011)

I soaked the valve in descaler last weekend and and had a good poke about with a paper clip. But when I put it all back together ther was still nothing coming through.

When you say to



> make sure that water comes from both outlets


, do you mean that water should flow from BOTH the little red holes on the bottom, when forced through the centre/long hole? If so then that is my problem as it only flows through one of those.

Is there any way to fix this or do I need to just get a new valve?


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## nealb (Jan 7, 2011)

Does anybody know the answer to my question please?


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## gaggiamanualservice.com (Dec 22, 2009)

no, you misunderstand. when you have split and cleaned the solenoid, run water from tap through the holes that have th o rings on them and make sure that water flows through both ok. then when replaced make sure you can hear a clicking noise wen pressing for coffee, the click is the solenoid activating

mark


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## nattyj (Apr 15, 2017)

I've also got this problem with a Baby Dose, except the pump doesn't appear to work at all.

I get the clicking noise when I press the coffee / memory button. No water through the steamer, but it's producing steam.

Any ideas?


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## L&R (Mar 8, 2018)

I marked the stream path that usually gets blocked. Of course your pump should work too







.


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## nattyj (Apr 15, 2017)

L&R said:


> View attachment 34082
> View attachment 34083
> Easy fix.
> View attachment 34084
> ...


Thanks. Are you saying you think this is what the problem is? Is this the solenoid valve mentioned above?

The pump is not working, but I don't know if the pump is actually broken, or some other component, blockage is responsible?


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

If your pump is not making a noise/ no sound, it sounds as if the pump is broken OR a power lead is loose.The machine will continue to make steam as long as there is any water in the boiler. BUT if you continue to switch it on in that condition you WILL burn out the heating elements:bad:as the water level is depleted.


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## nattyj (Apr 15, 2017)

Thanks.I'd better not turn it on again, there was still a bit of steam and a few drips of water coming out last time I checked.

So I need one of these:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ulka-Ep5-Gaggia-Water-Vibration-Pump-Baby-Dose-Cubika-Coffee-Machine-48w/132591983282?hash=item1edf191ab2:g:3sMAAOSwqDha2zR0

How easy is it to fit?

What is it that's making the clicking noise? It sounds like a fuse being tripped, could there be a problem with the thermostat?


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

IF the pump has packed up it is fairly easy to replace. The clicking noise is the electrical component of the solenoid valve.

If a thermostat is playing up (there are two of them ) usually it will not heat the water sufficiently OR make steam.


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## nattyj (Apr 15, 2017)

El carajillo said:


> IF the pump has packed up it is fairly easy to replace. The clicking noise is the electrical component of the solenoid valve.
> 
> If a thermostat is playing up (there are two of them ) usually it will not heat the water sufficiently OR make steam.


So its not the thermostats and the solenoid is ok if it's clicking? Is it worth removing the solenoid and cleaning it before buying a new pump?


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

If the pump is not making any noise/ sound check connections first ,without the pump working you will not know if there is a problem with the SV.


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## nattyj (Apr 15, 2017)

I'm not at home to check at the moment, but I think there was just a faint hum from the pump, definitely not the usual loud pumping noise. So it could just be the pump or the pump and the SV? Anything else I should check before ordering a pump?


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## L&R (Mar 8, 2018)

Before ordering the new pump disconnect the white teflon hose that goes out of it(better to disconnect it from the opv side), switch the brew button and check if you have stable water output out of it. If not, order a new Ulka pump.

BR


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## nattyj (Apr 15, 2017)

L&R said:


> Before ordering the new pump disconnect the white teflon hose that goes out of it(better to disconnect it from the opv side), switch the brew button and check if you have stable water output out of it. If not, order a new Ulka pump.
> 
> BR


Can you tell me which end to disconnect (or both ends)? Not sure what "opv side" is?


__
https://flic.kr/p/264VA11

How do I remove it?


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## nattyj (Apr 15, 2017)

nattyj said:


> Can you tell me which end to disconnect (or both ends)? Not sure what "opv side" is?
> 
> 
> __
> ...


Thanks for everyone's help so far.

I'm stuck now as I can't work out how to remove the tube that goes into the pump. I've seen a few videos about changing the pump on the classic, but it connects in a different way:






Mine a has a plastic adapter with white and red cables going in, there is no bolt to release them it:


__
https://flic.kr/p/24sKo3h

It looks like it might just be pushed in and could be pulled out with brute force, but I don't want to risk damaging anything if there's another way.


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## AndyZap (Dec 29, 2016)

Baby Class is a bit different. All white (transparent) tubes are low (no) pressure, and deliver water to the pump inlet. The red tubes (actually the red is the color of the fabric sleeve, inside you have a transparent tube) - are high pressure. This is what goes from the pump outlet to the boiler. On your picture the pump outlet is in the centre, then the black plastic bit is the OverPressureValve, it is screwed into the pump. From the OPV the high pressure goes via the red tube into the boiler, and the "over" pressure is discharged via the transparent tube back into the pump inlet.

The plastic OPV is easy to break (this is what I did) - so be careful, do not apply much pressure to it when screwing in/out or disconnecting the (transparent) tube. The red tube is attached with clips, so cannot be removed easily.

To test the water flow from the pump, you can unscrew the metal connector (2x hex screws) which connect the other end of the red tube to the boiler.

BTW, the Baby plastic OPV is very difficult to adjust. I have actually replaced mine / the red tube with Classic' OPV / tube after I broke it.


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## nattyj (Apr 15, 2017)

AndyZap said:


> Baby Class is a bit different. All white (transparent) tubes are low (no) pressure, and deliver water to the pump inlet. The red tubes (actually the red is the color of the fabric sleeve, inside you have a transparent tube) - are high pressure. This is what goes from the pump outlet to the boiler. On your picture the pump outlet is in the centre, then the black plastic bit is the OverPressureValve, it is screwed into the pump. From the OPV the high pressure goes via the red tube into the boiler, and the "over" pressure is discharged via the transparent tube back into the pump inlet.
> 
> The plastic OPV is easy to break (this is what I did) - so be careful, do not apply much pressure to it when screwing in/out or disconnecting the (transparent) tube. The red tube is attached with clips, so cannot be removed easily.
> 
> ...


Thanks. Ill have a look at this tonight. So does the OPV valve screw off? I can't see how I can do that without removing the red tube as well, which as you say is not easy. If I do need to change the boiler then I will need to do this.


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## AndyZap (Dec 29, 2016)

I was able to unscrew the OPV by rotating the pump (and holding the OPV still). To free the pump, you can remove the power (2x clips), remove the in-let connector (this is just pushed-on) and free the pump from one of the rubber brackets which hold it in place - the one which is on the inlet side. Really awkward - do not do it unless you want to replace the pump.

To put the pump back - do all in reverse order, i.e. push the pump through one the rubber brackets, screw on into the OPV, etc. Or maybe there is a better way (I do not mean to buy Classic







)

BTW, if you want to replace boiler, then no need to remove the pump - just unscrew the red tube from the boiler side (2x hex screws)


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## nattyj (Apr 15, 2017)

AndyZap said:


> I was able to unscrew the OPV by rotating the pump (and holding the OPV still). To free the pump, you can remove the power (2x clips), remove the in-let connector (this is just pushed-on) and free the pump from one of the rubber brackets which hold it in place - the one which is on the inlet side. Really awkward - do not do it unless you want to replace the pump.
> 
> To put the pump back - do all in reverse order, i.e. push the pump through one the rubber brackets, screw on into the OPV, etc. Or maybe there is a better way (I do not mean to buy Classic
> 
> ...


Thanks. Do I need to remove the white tubes as well to test the pump?


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## AndyZap (Dec 29, 2016)

No - provided that OPV works and the red tube is not blocked inside and detached from the boiler end, you will not see any water in the white (transparent) tube. I.e. all water from the pump will go to the red tube. Of course, do not remove the white tube from the pump in-let as well.


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## nattyj (Apr 15, 2017)

AndyZap said:


> No - provided that OPV works and the red tube is not blocked inside and detached from the boiler end, you will not see any water in the white (transparent) tube. I.e. all water from the pump will go to the red tube. Of course, do not remove the white tube from the pump in-let as well.


Thanks. Will give it a try this evening and report back.


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## AndyZap (Dec 29, 2016)

BTW - you need to be quick not to to let the boiler to heat up - as you will not have any water in the boiler after disconnecting the red tube (from the pump). Or you need to disconnect power connectors from the boiler.


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## nattyj (Apr 15, 2017)

I tried to remove the red tube at the boiler end, but the allen bolts in the bit that attaches it to the boiler just will not budge, the allen key was actually bending under the pressure!

So I tried the OPV end instead. I got the pump free from the rubber bracket and removed the power clips, but still can't get the OPV off. The pump rotates around the thick white plastic bit that goes into the thinner white bit that the OPV connects too.

Should the OPV pull off, or is it actually threaded? I could try prising it off with a screw driver, but worried about damaging it if it needs to be a tight fit to work.


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## AndyZap (Dec 29, 2016)

The tight bolts are a big problem. There are a lot of tips on this forum how to deal with them. You can use a spray (e.g. someone recommended "English Abrasives 802-10 Plusgas Aerosol 400ml" and it has good reviews on Amazon - I have not tried it), but in any case you need a good socket set, not an L-shaped hex key which bends easily.

You might need to unscrew the boiler from the base (4x hex screws which you see next to the brew head, - outside of the machine) - to have a better access to the screws on the boiler itself.

Re the OPV - it is threaded, otherwise it would not hold 10+ bar pressure on the pump outlet. If I remember correctly, there are some indents on the side of that thinner white plastic bit which goes into OPV - so you can use a key to rotate it while holding the OPV.

It is not that bad at the end - think about something positive (coffee...)


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## nattyj (Apr 15, 2017)

AndyZap said:


> The tight bolts are a big problem. There are a lot of tips on this forum how to deal with them. You can use a spray (e.g. someone recommended "English Abrasives 802-10 Plusgas Aerosol 400ml" and it has good reviews on Amazon - I have not tried it), but in any case you need a good socket set, not an L-shaped hex key which bends easily.
> 
> You might need to unscrew the boiler from the base (4x hex screws which you see next to the brew head, - outside of the machine) - to have a better access to the screws on the boiler itself.
> 
> ...


Thanks, I'll give it a go with some WD40. Will see if I can get a better socket set if that doesn't work.

I can see the indents you describe, but not sure what sort of key you are refering to to hold it? Tried with adjustable spanner & pliers, but they wont hold it.


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## AndyZap (Dec 29, 2016)

If I remember correctly, the indents are not too wide. Probably a standard spanner should fit - they are usually "slimmer" than an adjustable one.

I do not think WD40 would make a big difference. Try to get a good socket first - before covering whole machine in WD40, as it would not be easy to clean it. I would only use sprays when you have a part removed from the machine, and ready to clean it well after.


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## nattyj (Apr 15, 2017)

I tried a regular spanner, but it just shears the plastic and slips around. Very frustrating! I think I need some sort of tool that clamps all way around to grip it? Not very handy and haven't got a particularly well stocked tool kit.


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## nattyj (Apr 15, 2017)

I finally got the OPV off with the help of some bigger pliers. Boiler didn't start up, so I've ordered a new one. Will try and fit at weekend.


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## nattyj (Apr 15, 2017)

Damn, new pump not working either!

Problem must be somewhere else. All electrical connections seem ok. There a slight gurgling in the pipes when I turn it on, but no pump sound.

Any ideas?


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## nattyj (Apr 15, 2017)

There a repair cafe in my town today, so I'll take it in see if they can do anything. What would you suggest we look at next?


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## nattyj (Apr 15, 2017)

Ok, back from the repair cafe. They found the problem, there were two small burn marks in the electronic card. Not easy to repair. Looks like I'll need a new card, but they are £60. Just wondering if anyone here has an old one they can sell me?


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