# Gaggia Baby Dose problem



## alan_van_peebles (Mar 17, 2014)

Hi all,

Is anyone able to help?

I've had my Gaggia Baby Dose (the red 06 version) for about 5 months. Produced great coffee right from the get-go, even with pods. After about a month, it suffered from a blocked solenoid - turned out to be really easy to fix after searching the forums, ran some citric acid through and it was back to good working order. Now though, I've been hit with a different problem. Whenever I try to make a coffee, the first shot comes through very slowly, and looks like tea. If I try again (without touching the portafilter), after 2 or 3 goes I eventually get a coffee which is OK for macchiato, but not on its own. I've had the guts out again, cleaned out the solenoid and descaled thoroughly, but I'm at a loss as to what the problem is. The pump sounds the same as ever, the flow out of the steam wand is fine, the temperature seems OK. I've tried with a naked portafilter and I can see that the flow is definitely coming through the basket properly, not leaking around the edges. With no coffee in the basket the flow is still slow, but does come through. Some water does remain in the basket, though. The water seems to be coming out of the grouphead fairly well distributed. The only other symptom I can think of is that I do end up with quite a bit of water in the drip tray each time I make coffee (probably almost as much as comes through the grouphead). Is that normal? Its certainly been happening since I first got the machine. I should point out that I've been trying with pods to try and eliminate tamping, amount of coffee etc. as a cause. I've used several different types of pod bought from various places, and all give the same result.

Does anyone have an idea what the fault might be? Its already spoiled 1 weekend, and I don't want it to spoil another!

Failing that, can anyone tell me what the flow rate and temp should be for water coming through the grouphead when working normally?

Thanks!


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## gaggiamanualservice.com (Dec 22, 2009)

Tricky one, sounds pressure related, could simply be a case of needing new group seal, or worse a new pump. Pressure needs to be around 13 bar. Temp above 75c better if around 80c


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## alan_van_peebles (Mar 17, 2014)

Thanks Mark, I'll order a couple of new gaskets in as they're only cheap, and see if that helps. I don't think I'll be able to measure the pressure, but I can certainly check the temperature. Not sure how low my flow rate is, but judging by the various things you can see on youtube, it's definitely too low. Before I consider a pump problem I'll flush more citric acid through, perhaps there's a blockage somewhere after the solenoid.


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## alan_van_peebles (Mar 17, 2014)

Hmm, so I've been plugging away for a while now, still no luck. I've replaced the group seal, cleaned out the solenoid again (just in case), had the boiler out and cleaned away all the gunk inside, followed by descaling again. Today I had the pump and 11 bar valve out, stripped them down, cleaned all the internal parts and tubing and reassembled. I didn't notice anything untoward, and now I've reassembled everything I still have exactly the same problem - very little water coming through the group head. Temperature is fine, plenty of water coming through the steam wand.

So, to save my sanity...does anyone have any bright ideas?

I'd get a new pump in, but as this one is running I'd like to know if there's any way to check if it's the problem first. I'd just connect the hoses into a cup of water with the machine in pieces and see how much it pumps, but I don't really want to have the heater on with the boiler disconnected from the water supply and I don't think I'll gain anything as I know the pump must be at least partially working.

Could the problem lie elsewhere? The pressure valve, or perhaps the 'turbine' in the parts list, whatever that is?!

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

You could always just disconnect the thermostat on the boiler and then run just the pump or make sure the boiler is full 1st and then check the pump flow.


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## alan_van_peebles (Mar 17, 2014)

The flow rate on the pump is 600ml/min, pretty close to the 650 stated in the data sheet. I'm going to scavenge some bits from work to check the pressure tomorrow...


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## alan_van_peebles (Mar 17, 2014)

She lives!

Thanks for your advice, seems to be back to normal now. Not sure what the problem was, I just took everything apart again in frustration and when I put it back together...hey presto! I guess I dislodged a bit of crap somewhere! Looking forward to a nice breakfast coffee tomorrow!


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