# Gaggia Classic Not Drawing Water



## Set-The-Edge (Jul 15, 2019)

Hello,

I decided last night that I needed to tear down and service my Gaggia Classic to clean and descale the boiler. I followed a YouTube video I found by WholeLatteLove and followed the instructions, I thought everything was going well, no parts left over at the end everything seemed to go back in perfectly.

However, when I turned the machine on and pressed the brew button to ensure it was running, no water came out of the group head. I then saw that no water was being drawn from the water reservoir. The pump also seemed to be very loud with a high pitched hum and a bit rattley, but not sure if this is just because there is no water in the pump.

I then tried to manually prime the pump by pressing the brew button and opening the steam valve but again no water came through after running.

I then tried using a syringe to push water through the water intake tube but still no success.

Does anyone have any ideas or experienced this before? I'm worried I've totally ruined my machine, was looking at espresso machine repair companies but don't really want to pay more for a repair then I did the machine.

Many thanks.


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## JPChess (Feb 15, 2019)

Hi @Set-The-Edge

Sounds like a couple of things, First of all lets do the following and let me know the results:

I assume you connected all the wires and tubes correctly however its work looking closely at you internal pipes for kinks or damage. 
Trace the pipes from the water tank into the Pump, From Pump into the 3 Way Solenoid Valve, into boiler. Ensure all connections are correctly made.

I assume you have cleaned the shower screen and checked behind the shower block for scale blockages.

Remove portafilter from machine.

If you press all three buttons on the front of the machine into the down position (made) and open the steam wand, does water come out of the steam wand?
If this is a no, you will need to prime the pump manually (most likely due to air lock).
To do this we put a cup under the group head and steam wand, Turn the machine On, Steam Off and Brew On then open the steam valve fully. 
It may take some time around 10-15 seconds for water to come out. When water comes out close the steam valve fully and water should be coming out of group head.

If this does not solve the issue and you can hear the pump running, look at the back flush pipe (Stainless pipe from group head to drip tray) if water is coming out of here during this process your solenoid valves needs clearing or replacing.

If you still dont get any water through I would suggest stripping the solenoid down first as it easier and ensure the internals are not blocked by scale.
See: https://wiki.wholelattelove.com/images/d/d4/BABIES-CLASSIC_3-Way_Solenoid_Cleaning.pdf

If this does not solve the issue I believe it has to be the pump, you can strip this down as well.
See: http://ulkapumprepair.blogspot.com/2008/10/original-website-page.html?m=1

Let me know how you get on.

Cheers,

JP


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## Set-The-Edge (Jul 15, 2019)

Thank you for your reply,

I followed your tips and realised I am an idiot and should probably stop tampering with things. I opened the machine back up and started following the pipes and checking everything was connected. Turns out I had connected everything properly but stupidly had bolted the boiler back down on top of the pump feeder tube, therefore blocking any water coming up.

After releasing it everything seems to be working fine again.

Thank you for helping me realise my own stupidity, would of felt really stupid if I did end up calling someone out to have a look at it.


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## JPChess (Feb 15, 2019)

Hi @Set-The-Edge

Don't apologise for tampering.

Strip the machine and make the errors, it's the best way to learn about your machine and enjoy it.

Now you know what to look for and you know your mistake, next time it will take less time, stress and will work.

Someone who has never made any mistakes is the person who has never made anything else.

Glad it's all working, get yourself a nice cup of coffee.

Cheers, JP


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