# DeLonghi ESAM 5500



## minnie ha ha (Feb 10, 2020)

Hi, I have an ESAM 5500. (I love it) It has a water spout at the side and a milk container for ...well...milk. Everything was working fine and then suddenly there is not enough draw on the milk jug to froth the milk. I have cleaned the jug top and replaced the o rings on the thingamijig that goes into it, but no joy. Now it won't express hot water from the spout that fits onto it, and I can't hear the chug chug of the pump that usually makes that sound to dispense hot water. I have managed without it for a while, but I really would like that facility. Can anyone give me a heads up of what to do? Is is a pump replacement?

Separately, yesterday the grinder started whizzing and only ground a few beans for my cup of coffee, ggrrr. Does this mean a new grinder, or can I just give it a clean? I use distilled water in the machine.

Many thanks in advance for your help

Kim


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## allikat (Jan 27, 2020)

Have you been following the cleaning instructions?

Also distilled water is bad for machines and coffee, the water needs some minerals or it's actually corrosive to the internals.


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## minnie ha ha (Feb 10, 2020)

allikat said:


> Have you been following the cleaning instructions?
> 
> Also distilled water is bad for machines and coffee, the water needs some minerals or it's actually corrosive to the internals.


 I don't know what to say. There is no scientific evidence that I can find that confirms this property of distilled water. I have found loads of hysterical comment about exploding stomachs. 
Having worked in laboratories for a few years, using gallons of distilled water in highly sensitive laboratory machinery there was no evidence of the corrosiveness of distilled water. 
To answer your question, I have run through the cleaning routine using Delongi descaler as per the instructions. I have also used the Delonghi milk cleaner on the milk container head.


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## cracked_bean (Apr 13, 2014)

I work in a lab where we use distilled water for everything important. I also have a computer at home that I have ran distilled water through the cooling loop of. I think the difference here and with coffee machines is that in the water loop I change it once every 6 months or so, therefore there is some corrosion but only minor amounts until the water is again full of ions. In the coffee machine a lot of water is regularly run through and with high temperature at that.

The other side of it is as well that people say that the contamination in the water is required to get the coffee flavors.


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## minnie ha ha (Feb 10, 2020)

I bow to your superior knowledge on flavour, I will, in future add some tap water to the distilled. I have very hard water in my area, and tap water only will build up scale very quickly. I only have one or two coffees a day, so there isn't vast amounts of water running through the machine, only when my son comes to stay and brings friends does any kind of volume run through the machine, and that happens less than once a month.

Please HELP!!!!!!! I haven't brewed a coffee for over 24 hours now, and I'm getting desperate. I even went to Waitrose for a freebie ?. Whilst an academic discussion on the pros and cons of distilled water is interesting, it isn't getting me any closer to a working machine aaargggghh.



cracked_bean said:


> I work in a lab where we use distilled water for everything important. I also have a computer at home that I have ran distilled water through the cooling loop of. I think the difference here and with coffee machines is that in the water loop I change it once every 6 months or so, therefore there is some corrosion but only minor amounts until the water is again full of ions. In the coffee machine a lot of water is regularly run through and with high temperature at that.
> 
> The other side of it is as well that people say that the contamination in the water is required to get the coffee flavors.


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## minnie ha ha (Feb 10, 2020)

Ah well, thanks for reading it and the advice about water


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