# Gaggia color weird pressure issue



## Guppy (Aug 9, 2016)

Hi guys, long time lurker, first time poster.

Ive a Gaggia Color since around late 2011, used nothing but bottled water, cleaned once a year since never noticed decrease in pressure. About a year ago I noticed it was leaking excessively from the group head and steam wand when either pulling a shot or heating up to froth, plus a lack of pressure when pulling coffee. google led to group valve needing replacement. So I bought the whole gasket replacement kit, took the boiler apart, etc. Despite my once a year cleaning rutine, the boiler barely had any buildup, I guess using bottled water (low mineral content) pays off. Anywho, I replaced the group valve, group gasket, etc. and Voila Pressure was as brand new and no leaking was going. Then around 2 months in, it started making this weird noise like it loses pressure:











his happens with or without coffee in the group head. Weird thing is, IF I turn on steam button, use the steam wand, leave it standing for a couple of minutes, release steam button and just use coffee button, pressure will return slightly and coffee will pour. The other thing that happens is rarely, the steam seems to not have enough pressure, then the next time I try all is good, I'd say this steam wand happens 1/5 times I use it.

Have been using Bustello/Pilon preground coffee, nothing has changed in that sense, google has led to no where







any ideas ?


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

have you ever removed the mushroom valve and spring in the group head -http://www.shop.partsguru.com/Saeco-Sirena-and-Gaggia-New-Baby-Boiler-Valve-3-pc-Kit-0018614.htm

also see here at 3 min onwards - same group head as the color and the 2015 Classic - 









Christ I hate that whiney voice !


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## Guppy (Aug 9, 2016)

jimbojohn55 said:


> have you ever removed the mushroom valve and spring in the group head -http://www.shop.partsguru.com/Saeco-Sirena-and-Gaggia-New-Baby-Boiler-Valve-3-pc-Kit-0018614.htm
> 
> also see here at 3 min onwards - same group head as the color and the 2015 Classic -


Yup, that is part of the kit I mention that included that gaskets, which includes the valve, boiler gasket and group head gasket. Maybe the spring I got is defective?


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

I don't think its defective, possibly an issue with the secret OPV valve !! - when its loosing pressure it must be going somewhere - next time look to see if there is any sign of water going back into the water tank - this may indicate the plastic OPV valve is an issue.

here is a picture of the pump OPV valve that often sits directly on the pump (may look something similar to this)


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## Guppy (Aug 9, 2016)

jimbojohn55 said:


> I don't think its defective, possibly an issue with the secret OPV valve !! - when its loosing pressure it must be going somewhere - next time look to see if there is any sign of water going back into the water tank - this may indicate the plastic OPV valve is an issue.
> 
> here is a picture of the pump OPV valve that often sits directly on the pump (may look something similar to this)


Alright will check as soon as I get home, thanks for the tip, Ill see if I can post a video as well.


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## Guppy (Aug 9, 2016)

jimbojohn55 said:


> I don't think its defective, possibly an issue with the secret OPV valve !! - when its loosing pressure it must be going somewhere - next time look to see if there is any sign of water going back into the water tank - this may indicate the plastic OPV valve is an issue.
> 
> here is a picture of the pump OPV valve that often sits directly on the pump (may look something similar to this)
> 
> View attachment 22184


right so got home and checked, when pulling espresso water is definitely going back to the tank, but when using the steam wand all is ok. how do I go about this?


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Morning Guppy

Its normal for the opv (Over Pressure Valve) to work during normal operation, it stops the boiler developing too much pressure, typically on this set up in Gaggias its set at 9bar (well it is on the 2015 classic), the question is - was it doing this when you were losing pressure when it was the 1 in 5 shots with a problem, in other words it was opening before it reached 9 bar.

If it is opening too soon or sticking open then it would need replacing, the other potential issue is the pump playing up. By opening the steam valve I suspect your dropping the pressure in the system and allowing a faulty valve the chance to open and reclose successfully.

A good diagnosis tool for you would be a portafilter pressure gauge but this obviously carries a cost.

This may seem obvious on the coffee front and I appreciate that it is often a convenience thing, but have you considered moving to freshly roasted (not supermarket ) whole beans and grinding coffee yourself -this will make a big difference to the quality of your coffee - I was just wondering if the color was protesting ;-)

Edit - just watching a video of the color from 2009 - I notice that the water tank has a valve in its base - again a potential water supply issue if faulty or not seating properly.

another thought although used with bottled water, buy some citric acid and put two teaspoons in a 1ltr of water wait for it to dissolve then run the machine for 10 secs wait 15 minutes - run until 200ml of water has been discharged from the steam arm - (steam arm with the pump on so it jets water to 200ml) wait for 15 min and repeat 4 times until the tank is empty - look for scale in the water there will be some probably - Then run a whole fresh tank of water through it to clean it out. This will rule out and possible scale issues.

cheers Jim


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## Guppy (Aug 9, 2016)

jimbojohn55 said:


> Morning Guppy
> 
> Its normal for the opv (Over Pressure Valve) to work during normal operation, it stops the boiler developing too much pressure, typically on this set up in Gaggias its set at 9bar (well it is on the 2015 classic), the question is - was it doing this when you were losing pressure when it was the 1 in 5 shots with a problem, in other words it was opening before it reached 9 bar.
> 
> ...


Hi Jim, thanks for the thorough reply! I've look all around the net for answers! Went crazy (mind you I had lurked this forum before, not sure why it never ocurred to me to join and post).

A couple of symptoms I forgot to mention, that may help pinpoint the problem:

1. Sometimes, after it makes that weird noise, grouphead begins to leak water like crazy, like of excessive pressure build up? Porta filters gaskets are ok so it's definitely not that (which I know is a common issue). This seems to be on what you suggest, if it opens up before reaching 9bar and continously pumping, would cause the leack?

2. Steam wand, every now and then barely has pressure, when this happens, I just let it boil up again, after that, the second run will have pressure. (which I don't get, how can the steam wand have pressure, but not the group head? )

3. I just descaled when I replaced the gaskets:

https://www.amazon.com/Durgol-Espresso-Decalcifier-High-End-Machines/dp/B000FTO9E4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470842511&sr=8-1&keywords=descaler

Around 6 months ago, so should I use the other bottle?

4. On the coffee front. Yeah I know what you mean, I have my own, no brand old burr grinder and I did, at one point, grind my own coffee, however the following issues arose:

4.1 I live in the boonies (Honduras, Central America), well the country per se is no, but I do live in a town, around 2 hours from the nearest city where I'm able to buy fresh coffee, problem is, I have to buy bulk in order to have a decent amount to avoid making frequent trips just for coffee, which leads me to:

4.2 The town where I live is around %70-90 humidity always, all year round, to the point that if I leave a loaf of supermarket bread, it will grow mold in 48 hours. Around 2-3 years I bought 25lb/11kg of fresh coffee beans and stored them in an air tight container. This lasts around 2-3 months worth of daily espressos and lattes. A month in, coffee was starting to get stale and in a few weeks, started growing mold. So I basically gave up, the only thing that lasts is vacuum sealed coffee and no, vacuum sealing my own beans is just to much of the hassle/cost prohibitive :/

4.3 I also thought it might be the coffee, perhaps the factory changed or changing between brands/ground. So i ran the machine without coffee in the portfilter, same problems.

Boy that was a TLDR: Can't do my own coffee beans









Also yeah, buy a portafilter pressure gauge is costly, because I ship down here from USA, with a courier, so that adds $15 extra in shipping to anything I buy, so trial and error are costly!


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Hi Guppy - Honduras - how very exotic - you will be pleased to hear its raining in the UK (usual English weather)

"Sometimes, after it makes that weird noise, grouphead begins to leak water like crazy, like of excessive pressure build up? Porta filters gaskets are ok so it's definitely not that (which I know is a common issue). This seems to be on what you suggest, if it opens up before reaching 9bar and continuously pumping, would cause the leack?"

are you using the standard crema basket with the crema pin in it ? - if the portafilter is having water push passed the gasket and dripping down the side of the portafilter - then it has to be the portafilter is blocking the water so either

1 - Its a faulty crema pin - (buy a plain 14g basket)

2 - The coffee is so dense it is blocking the water ( either tamp less hard or switch brand) it may be that your coffee is a particularly oil rich bean which with the aid of the humidity is blocking the portafilter.

Re coffee beans - have you tried roasting your own beans from green ?

cheers Jim


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