# Vibiemme domobar dual boiler



## ryanuptheroad (Mar 1, 2018)

Hello,

Just viewed a second hand Vibiemme Domobar dual boiler. Being sold by the original owner's sister who unfortunately didn't have much information about the machine. After powering up I was unable to get the steam boiler to rise in pressure. Group head was flushing fine, boiler pressure looked fine, PID seemed to work. Motor was working. Opening the valves on the steam and hot water taps yielded nothing. I wasn't able to get inside the machine but honestly I've little experience and not sure what I'd have been looking for as a possible source of the problem. The switch was in the second position which should turn on both boilers.

Any ideas as to what might be wrong? It's available at a great price but if I have to sink £300+ in to get it fixed I'll think twice.

Any help much appreciated


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

How long did you let it heat up for?


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## ryanuptheroad (Mar 1, 2018)

30minutes. The needle never moved on the gauge. Does the hot water tap dispense from the main water boiler? Was a bit concerned when that wasn't working.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

The hot water dispenses from the steam boiler, it requires steam pressure to discharge water. It sounds as if there is no power to the steam boiler,

Without knowing age / year it could be various problems, pressurestat, element,controller -----?


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## ryanuptheroad (Mar 1, 2018)

Ah I see, that's useful to know. Is it possible to set the steam pressure valve so low that it stops working? I didn't try turning that screw.

I believe it's 4years old and is v4 of the machine.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

Did you turn the switch all the way to position 2?


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## xpresso (Jan 16, 2018)

Dylan said:


> Did you turn the switch all the way to position 2?


Well did you ?..


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

Dylan said:


> Did you turn the switch all the way to position 2?





ryanuptheroad said:


> >> The switch was in the second position which should turn on both boilers. >>


Guess that's a yes


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## xpresso (Jan 16, 2018)

ashcroc said:


> Guess that's a yes


AaaHHh well I'll sleep tonight, it was just a thought if someone is a stranger to a machines finer points.

Jon.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

ryanuptheroad said:


> Ah I see, that's useful to know. Is it possible to set the steam pressure valve so low that it stops working? I didn't try turning that screw.
> 
> I believe it's 4years old and is v4 of the machine.


What / which screw are you referring to. Pictures please


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

Should have read the OP a bit more thoroughly - whoopsie.

In which case it could be a few things, and you would have to narrow down the cause of the problem. Could anything from a safety cut out (cheap, sometimes just needs the button pressing back in) to the element (not too expensive £50 sort of price I think) to the Gicar control unit (expensive, £150-200ish I think, but unlikely).

The cost would likely come from having to get someone else to do it if you dont want to tackle it yourself. But you could likely fix it with the help of the forum and a bit of time.


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## ryanuptheroad (Mar 1, 2018)

Thanks for the replies. I'm definitely up for repairing under the guiding hand of the forum. Will pick it up tomorrow and report back with my initial findings.

Please find the valve I was referring to in the attached photo.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

You can go ahead and remove the metal top you can see in that pic, makes the OPV (the valve) much easier to access. The OPV just controls the pressure of the brew, not the steam boiler.

The steam boiler is controlled by a pressurestat - I find it unlikely that the pressurestat could be set so low that the boiler would not heat at all, but I guess it is possible for it to be stuck closed (I think it is open until it reaches pressure - not sure though) - when closed (if this is correct) it turns off the element.

It is possible that the safety thermostat has tripped, looks like this:










It is also possible the element is kaput

I'm sure there are other possibilities too - hopefully others can chip in. Its worth taking her clothes off and trying to trace the logical steps, checking if power is being supplied to the correct parts and such. Other than the Gicar control unit an espresso machine like the VBM Domobar is just a bunch of plumbing and a heating element or two, fairly easy to understand.


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## ryanuptheroad (Mar 1, 2018)

Got her clothes off. Steam boiler is definitely not heating up when I switch to position II.

There is some clear damage to the body, any recommendations as to hammering her back into shape? As far as I can tell internals look cosmetically ok, no wires exposed or disconnected. No evidence of a catastrophic leak.

Safety thermostat, red part is closed? I can pull it out gently and it springs back down toward the boiler. I presume when tripped it pops out?

Pressurestat was turned completely anti clockwise so I presume fully open and not an issue.

Should I hold off descaling and back flushing with Cafiza as detailed in this pdf?

https://www.espressocare.com/assets/uploads/DD_manual_final_1c.pdf

Brew boiler is working perfectly, made a fantastic espresso this morning. PID seems to function normally. Rotary pump is music to my ears after using a Gaggia Baby dose for the best part of a year.

Pics here


http://imgur.com/khfc9


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

Looks like she had a fairly heavy drop. Mine HX also has the bowing in the middle, I didn't find a way to fix this so just adjusted the feet so it was level and forgot about it.

Your front left foot is obviously very visible however. It will be difficult to get it back into shape but a hammer and some flat hardwood under it should get you most of the way.

I dont believe the pressurestat would normally be fully open, but it may just be that someone has tried to get her going before by adjusting it.

A pressure stat is NC (normally closed) like the on position for any regular switch. In this state the element is off.

So an easy test to see if the pressurestat is to blame (unlikely I would think) then it will be stuck open. To test this you can disconnect the wires leading to it (there should be two) and connect them together resulting in a closed switch. If the boiler begins to heat then turn off the machine straight away or it will keep heating until the pressure safety blows.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

I just edited the above post, I had it a bit back to front, re read the last paragraph.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

I would worry about descaling until you have a working machine.

If this repair requires removing the element you may wish to do a more manual descale when you can see into the boiler to see what the scale is like.

And yes I think the safety cutout pops out if it triggers.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Looking at the end of the boiler there is corrosion but as the photo is dark it is difficult to see the connections.

Do you have a est meter ? Is it with in your capabilities to use one ?

Pull off the terminals and check with meter for continuity on heater element. Also check between each terminal and the boiler case .

If this is OK then start tracing leads back to supply to find where loss / fault is. (Help on the form )

REF damage, remove the leg, place a piece of wood / metal across the underside, then use a G camp to press the dent / buckle down.

Hammering will leave indents in the metal unless you protect with "softening" ie a thin piece of MDF / hardboard/ timber.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

El carajillo said:


> REF damage, remove the leg, place a piece of wood / metal across the underside, then use a G camp to press the dent / buckle down.
> 
> Hammering will leave indents in the metal unless you protect with "softening" ie a thin piece of MDF / hardboard/ timber.


A good point - although the area to be bent back is hidden by the drip tray so marks from hammering wouldn't matter too much. But clamping is the better option if it works.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Dylan said:


> A good point - although the area to be bent back is hidden by the drip tray so marks from hammering wouldn't matter too much. But clamping is the better option if it works.


It does, having used this method on various items including cars.

Fitting spacers between the timber and underside allows to over press / bend to allow for spring back:good:


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## ryanuptheroad (Mar 1, 2018)

Well this is embarrassing, I turned the pressurestat completely clockwise, hooked it all back up and this is the result.






I'm so nervous of breaking something that I thought I'd post the video to check it all sounds ok before leaving it running like that for minutes. I'll hold off buying a multimeter till I hear more from you guys.

Thanks for the tips to get her back into a more reasonable shape. Just cleaned the group head and there's no evidence of wear which is a good sign.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Sounds like the boiler heating up, leave it on for about 5 mins, check the gauge pressure.If it goes too high you will need to back off the P / stat screw until you get the correct pressure. It will need time to cool down, it will not drop back immediately as you back off the screw.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

If the only change was turning the pstat then it sounds like you might be on to a winner, hopefully everything else is working!


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## ryanuptheroad (Mar 1, 2018)

She breaths!

Initially ramped up to nearly 2bar so backed it off 100 degrees or so and now idles at ~1.3. More steam than one man could ever need. Thank you for all the help.

Think I'll go ahead and descale now unless anyone has concerns. Trying to source a g clamp and will then set about ironing her out. The casing vibrates a lot during operation, I'm sure I can get her quieter once the casing is bent back into a more reasonable shape. Anyone here a proponent of white vineger to clean the stainless steal?


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## spoxehub (Oct 24, 2014)

Cleaning stainless steel is a breeze with brass wool, IF you can find any. I've used fine steel wool in the past then polished up again, works OK but can leave more swirls.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

spoxehub said:


> Cleaning stainless steel is a breeze with brass wool, IF you can find any. I've used fine steel wool in the past then polished up again, works OK but can leave more swirls.


Dont do this unless your surface is already seriously tarnished. Mirror polished stainless dulls very easily with even the finest polishes or abrasives. I wouldn't go anywhere near mine with wire wool, even 0000.

If the stainless is just dirty then any surface cleaner will get the majority of the grime off, just let the moisture/cleaner work its way in and give it a good wipe with a non abrasive cloth, you can use a glass cleaner (which to me smells like vinegar, so may very well be just that) to polish it up - wont remove scratches but should clean without leaving streaks. Clean whilst cold.


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## spoxehub (Oct 24, 2014)

Dylan said:


> Dont do this unless your surface is already seriously tarnished. Mirror polished stainless dulls very easily with even the finest polishes or abrasives. I wouldn't go anywhere near mine with wire wool, even 0000.
> 
> If the stainless is just dirty then any surface cleaner will get the majority of the grime off, just let the moisture/cleaner work its way in and give it a good wipe with a non abrasive cloth, you can use a glass cleaner (which to me smells like vinegar, so may very well be just that) to polish it up - wont remove scratches but should clean without leaving streaks. Clean whilst cold.


You might not. I did. Your mileage may vary. Works perfectly for me. Everyone has a differing opinion eh.


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## ncrc51 (Mar 14, 2018)

There's a product in the States called Bar Keepers Friend that works well on SS.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

spoxehub said:


> You might not. I did. Your mileage may vary. Works perfectly for me. Everyone has a differing opinion eh.


They sure do - but no two ways about it, if you have a SS machine which is polished to a mirror finish wire wool will dull the finish which is incredibly difficult to restore. I have taken SS from 'cleaned with a scourer' to mirror finish and polishes that are many times less abrasive that wire wool will leave swirl marks.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

ncrc51 said:


> There's a product in the States called Bar Keepers Friend that works well on SS.


This is abrasive, and again should NOT be used for mirror polished SS - I have some and I have used it and it ruins the surface. It is for cleaning brushed SS used in catering environments.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

ryanuptheroad said:


> she breaths!
> 
> Initially ramped up to nearly 2bar so backed it off 100 degrees or so and now idles at ~1.3. More steam than one man could ever need. Thank you for all the help.
> 
> Think i'll go ahead and descale now unless anyone has concerns. Trying to source a g clamp and will then set about ironing her out. The casing vibrates a lot during operation, i'm sure i can get her quieter once the casing is bent back into a more reasonable shape. Anyone here a proponent of white vineger to clean the stainless steal?


yes


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## spoxehub (Oct 24, 2014)

Dylan said:


> They sure do - but no two ways about it, if you have a SS machine which is polished to a mirror finish wire wool will dull the finish which is incredibly difficult to restore. I have taken SS from 'cleaned with a scourer' to mirror finish and polishes that are many times less abrasive that wire wool will leave swirl marks.


Actually as an aside, for some reason this reminded me of some etching work I did a while ago using some 0000 grade abrasive media and an airbrush. It'd be perfect for masked up artwork on S/S, if you were that way inclined! That was done on aluminium plate, for reference.


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## ncrc51 (Mar 14, 2018)

Dylan said:


> This is abrasive, and again should NOT be used for mirror polished SS - I have some and I have used it and it ruins the surface. It is for cleaning brushed SS used in catering environments.


You are correct. Sorry for the bad advice. I really was not thinking of the "mirror finish." It would definitely dull the surface. My bad.


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