# francis X1 broken pump?



## skipdiver (Jun 12, 2015)

Hello,

First of all I'm not a coffee guy at all and have never used any espresso machines so bear with me if I'm using the wrong terminologies or asking things which appear to be blindingly obvious to those itk.

A few days ago I retrieved a francis x1 (and all it's parts..filter handle, two filter screens, spout, tamper and the manual) from a skip. Of course I wasn't expecting it to work because nobody bins a £300 appliance for no reason, right? Anyway, after filling the tank & switching on (red light working) no water is getting sucked up the pipe, indeed I cannot hear or feel any pumping noise/vibration. I didn't wait until the green light came on as I am worried that heating the boiler whilst empty will damage the appliance further so switched it off pretty sharpish.

I'm guessing that the pump is utterly broken as there is no noise/vibes...or am I wrong & there could be something else faulty like a relay not passing volts to the pump, or something jammed/blocked in the pump mechanism?

Any advice/suggestions will be gratefully received. I have a decent toolbox & multimeter and am fairly happy with stripping the thing apart.

regards, phil


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## HizerKite (Feb 25, 2011)

skipdiver said:


> Hello,
> 
> First of all I'm not a coffee guy at all and have never used any espresso machines so bear with me if I'm using the wrong terminologies or asking things which appear to be blindingly obvious to those itk.
> 
> ...


Hi, if this is the mk 3 (latest model) which it sounds like it is as you mention a green light. The pump will not run until it's got upto temperature then settled down to the right temp for brewing. Usual fault on these is the heating element. I have repaired nearly 100 of them so let me know if you need a hand. It also has an 'autofill' circuit that should pump for a few seconds when 1st switching on if the boiler is low on water.

Richard


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## skipdiver (Jun 12, 2015)

Thanks for reply Richard, I could certainly do with a hand - you must have a ton of knowledge on these things after fixing ~100:good:

Yes I believe from what I have googled ths is a 3rd gen, and I think maybe the heating element is okay as the temp gauge was rising before I switched it off. I was expecting it to start drawing water as soon as Switch-on as surely the boiler must be empty, however as noted no sign of this 'autofill cct' working thats why I switched it off for fear of running it on empty.

I;ve done more searches and see quite a few mentions around the net of the need to prime the pump after periods of non-use & also found a blog that lists procedure for possibly 'jammed' pump http://ulkapumprepair.blogspot.co.uk/ ( a different machine but same pump type). Any thoughts on how this info aligns with your experience?

As an aside, I came across a site craystone that sells spares for francis x machines and parts seem quite expensive for what they are:confused:

regards, phil


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## HizerKite (Feb 25, 2011)

skipdiver said:


> Thanks for reply Richard, I could certainly do with a hand - you must have a ton of knowledge on these things after fixing ~100:good:
> 
> Yes I believe from what I have googled ths is a 3rd gen, and I think maybe the heating element is okay as the temp gauge was rising before I switched it off. I was expecting it to start drawing water as soon as Switch-on as surely the boiler must be empty, however as noted no sign of this 'autofill cct' working thats why I switched it off for fear of running it on empty.
> 
> ...


Hi Phil

I should be fairly good on these now, I have even thrown a few on a fire to strip off the powder coating then re coated and built from scratch so not a lot I can't sort on them.

The pump is unlikely to be totally silent even if blocked or dry and in fact makes a lot of noise if run dry. The boiler will likely still have water in it even if not been used for years. To test the autofill circuit, If you have it in bits and are happy to play around with connections, take the top wire (a single white or cream wire) off the boiler sensor (with the machine unplugged) then switch on and the pump should run. Only do this for a few seconds as you don't want water going everywhere. The sensor is just a piece of metal that goes into the boiler and when water reaches it, the circuit completes and the pump stops running as has reached its required level..

I always totally dismantle and descale the boiler and have never yet found one that isn't full of muck so would be best to do this before attempting to make a coffee.. I have some lovely photos of the insides of ff boilers that are pretty nasty to look at.

Am happy to talk you through the repair process if required, can do this via skype of phone if needed.

Let me know if you need assistance and we can get the machine sorted I'm sure. The 3rd gen that you have is a bit of a pain as the control board can be unreliable and is expensive to replace - that said, sometimes the control triac blows and needs replacing which is pretty straight forward and cheap to do. I also replace the heating element on every machine as these are the weak point of the X1 and can cause overheating as due to the design, they can go short circuit on one terminal then run through the boiler regardless of the control board trying to regulate temperature - a dangerous design imho.

With regard to Craystones, their prices are approx 3 times what I pay for parts so not a company I use.

Regards

Richard


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## Steevdee (Jul 23, 2016)

Hi @HizerKite I see you fix coffee machines. The allen key hole on my FF X1's shower head has been rounded, is that something you could mend? Thanks.


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## GCGlasgow (Jul 27, 2014)

@Steevdee it might not be a good idea to put your email address on an open forum. there are threads on here about removing threaded screws if you search.


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## HizerKite (Feb 25, 2011)

Hi Steevdee, I'm guessing it's the mark 3 x1 (newest version)? The allen screw is a weak point and can easily be rounded off as they can get stuck. I've removed quite a few of them so am pretty sure could sort it.

Are you anywhere near Suffolk as if you bring it to me would be easiest

Regards

Richard


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## bunjysville (Dec 23, 2019)

HizerKite said:


> Hi Phil
> 
> I should be fairly good on these now, I have even thrown a few on a fire to strip off the powder coating then re coated and built from scratch so not a lot I can't sort on them.
> 
> ...


 Hi Richard, i have the same problem, being that i think the heating elements needs replacing. How much would i be looking at for parts and labour to fix, or would i be better off buying another 2nd hand one?

Ta. Ben.


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