# Very fast flow from Classic



## vanilla_brys (Jan 5, 2011)

Hi All,

Every now and again, normally after using the steam wand a lot, the flow from my group gets very fast. It's like it's coming from a high pressure shower, and it damages the puck, giving an inconsistent shot.

The only way I've found to sort it is to do a complete descale, which takes ages, and I don't think I should have to do that weekly.

Has anyone else had this problem? Could anyone suggest a solution?

Thanks


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Are you using filtered water or straight from the tap?

It sounds as though one or more of the group head holes is temporarily blocked, forcing more pressure through the remaining unblocked holes


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## vanilla_brys (Jan 5, 2011)

Thanks Glenn.

I took the shower screen off and had a look, and all was normal. I gave the screen a wipe and it improved, so I bathed it in puly caff (like I do when I descale), and now it's sorted.

I use filtered water, but I'm in a very hard water area. I think that when I use the steam wand, it boils away any water left on the screen and causes scale to slightly shrink the holes. Thoughts?


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## Flanners (Mar 21, 2011)

..........and make sure you prime the machine after using the steam wand otherwise as I am sure you know it blows huge amounts of steam before the water arrives to the brew head and makes a very poor brew! Did it this evening as I was in a rush for a latte fix.


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## BanishInstant (Oct 12, 2009)

Even if just shutting your machine down after steaming I would always switch the brew button on briefly so that the boiler fills up with water again.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

If the water is so hard that it's scaling up really quickly, you could always consider getting a domestic water softener fitted at home. It might seem like overkill just for better coffee, but soft water has lots of other benefits over hard water. Having just moved from London where the water is hard and awful, to Scotland where it's notably soft, I can really recommend it.

http://www.ehow.com/about_5089097_benefits-soft-water.html


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## vanilla_brys (Jan 5, 2011)

Thanks for the tips everyone. I'll run some water through after using the wand - that sounds like it should help.


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## Flanners (Mar 21, 2011)

Cool, def run the water through it will slow it right down. Try a demo, foam the milk then turn on the brew button...........stand clear!!!! I kept wondering why my shots were so fast! Not any more though:coffee:


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## vanilla_brys (Jan 5, 2011)

I normally make the coffee first, then milk, then just turn the machine straight off. I've seen how mental it goes right after steaming, but I'd never considered doing that deliberately to re-prime the machine. Seems pretty obvious now I've had it pointed out!


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