# PF blowing off



## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

The last couple of days, whilst admiring an unusually rare perfect pour, my Sage bottomless keeps blowing off when under pressure. Nothing has changed in what I do or use. It just unwinds itself and pops off, haven't lost a cup yet thankfully! Is there a known cause of this? I might try a different PF later and see if it makes a difference. Everything is clean and nothing looks wrong around shower head etc.


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## Beanosaurus (Jun 4, 2014)

I've had this while back flushing once and it used to be an occasional occurrence on my old Gaggia Classic.

Either drop your dose down, grind finer, or take use of the silicone gasket and proper lock that b*stard in past 12 o'clock!


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## Eyedee (Sep 13, 2010)

Just lock in a little firmer or the alternative is change the gasket as they harden simply with age and the heat from the grouphead.

Ian


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## Beanosaurus (Jun 4, 2014)

Eyedee said:


> Just lock in a little firmer or the alternative is change the gasket as they harden simply with age and the heat from the grouphead.
> 
> Ian


The Sage DB comes with a silicone one so retains the rubbery goodness far much longer than the normal black rubber ones.

By god the state I've seen some in when they become plasticised over time, it takes medieval butchery to get them out!


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

The machine is only around six months old, surely it wouldn't have deteriorated sufficiently in that time. It's used a couple of times a day, but by no means heavy use.


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## Eyedee (Sep 13, 2010)

Maybe you're just being too gentle.

Ian


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## Beanosaurus (Jun 4, 2014)

Sean said:


> The machine is only around six months old, surely it wouldn't have deteriorated sufficiently in that time. It's used a couple of times a day, but by no means heavy use.


My naked PF locks in way farther across than the standard one does for what it's worth.

As Eyedee says, give it a good wrenching in.

Silicone gaskets last for yonks and are way more durable than normal rubber ones.


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

I'm told changing the seal to a more appropriate one can rectify this locked in position.


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

Well, I finally got around to contacting Sage about this. This is their response:

It sounds like there is probably a scale build in the machine which is causing this to happen. Please can I send you some commercial descalers and we can see if this rectifies the problem?

Sounds like baloney to me. Unless they possibly mean scale around where the PF locks in? Thoughts?


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## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

Is the portafilter a sage model? Are you locking it in until it's very tight, past 6 o'clock from what I've seen.


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

Yes, it's the proper Sage bottomless. As I said previously, nothing has changed in what I do or use. I might try the original PF and see if its any different. Seems odd for only 7 or so months old.


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## teejay41 (Mar 9, 2015)

Beanosaurus said:


> My naked PF locks in way farther across than the standard one does for what it's worth.
> 
> As Eyedee says, give it a good wrenching in.
> 
> Silicone gaskets last for yonks and are way more durable than normal rubber ones.


Mine did too when back-flushing, until I bought a new blind basket. So in my case, the basket rim was a bit low. Try different baskets or a different make of naked PF.


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

Mine can lock across a lot further than 6 o'clock, but makes no difference how far I force it.


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## doolallysquiff (Jul 26, 2014)

Have you backflushed with the naked or the original? Does it blow off then? Try 10-12 second backflush you should here/see water gush into drip tray. Do you chemically backflush every now and then? Could be OPV blocked/sticking.


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

Ok, having done the elimination I should have done when the problem first occurred, I have discovered the bottomless PF is the common factor. Problem occurs with either basket, but not with either basket in standard PF. Turns out the £70 bottomless was a bigger con than I thought! Having looked at the two PF side-by-side, There is a difference in the lugs, the bottomless seems to slant whereas the standard is straight.


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## Beanosaurus (Jun 4, 2014)

Sean said:


> Ok, having done the elimination I should have done when the problem first occurred, I have discovered the bottomless PF is the common factor. Problem occurs with either basket, but not with either basket in standard PF. Turns out the £70 bottomless was a bigger con than I thought! Having looked at the two PF side-by-side, There is a difference in the lugs, the bottomless seems to slant whereas the standard is straight.


I wouldn't call it a 'con'! There are way more expensive portafilters out there...

Anyway I find that I am able to lock it in way past 12 o'clock - actually around 4 o'clock, how much are you dosing into your basket and what dose tolerance is it as well?

I've never had a problem with it


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## NickdeBug (Jan 18, 2015)

I have had this happen a couple of times (in quick succession) when backflushing with supplied rubber insert and bottomless pf.

The first caught me completely by surprise and ended up with a wet worktop and a small dent in the back wall just above the drip tray.

This was using the "Clean Cycle" function.

Repeated and I could see the pf twisting clockwise but very light pressure on the handle (finger only) held it in place.

I did a complete clean that weekend (descale/backflush/shower head etc) and not seen the same problem since.

A bit worrying that this is obviously a common issue. Perhaps the silicon gasket allows more movement under pressure than the old style.


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

NickdeBug said:


> I have had this happen a couple of times (in quick succession) when backflushing with supplied rubber insert and bottomless pf.
> 
> The first caught me completely by surprise and ended up with a wet worktop and a small dent in the back wall just above the drip tray.
> 
> ...


I was surprised today when I took the shower head off and the gasket fell out, it hasn't done that before. Perhaps the gasket is twisting and taking the PF with it .


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

The naked filter will turn further to the right than the spouted PF, by a good inch or so. It should always be locked as tight as possible. never had it budge myself


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

The cause is the "different" lugs, the same problem has arisen with other machines when people have bought non original portafilters.

I am very surprised that the lugs are different on "supposedly" genuine Sage components.

Contact Sage / supplier and point out the discrepancy ??

If you change the seal for a thicker one, the original portafilter will not lock in correctly.


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## alex68 (Apr 19, 2015)

My SDB had started to blow up some time after first use then I booked White gloves service and a nice crack was found in the group head because it is plastic made. They collected the machine and changed the group head saying this is the first such case they see. Now everything is fine ,thanks God.


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