# Gaggia Classic problems with flow (steam but no drip)



## 4n7 (Oct 14, 2016)

Hello All,

I'm looking for a bit of advice with my Gaggia Classic.

I've had a water block before and stripped it to find a big piece of scale in the pipe by the solenoid.

I've stripped and rebuilt the thing twice since then as it's blocked again, I can't work out what is causing the issue, all the pipework seems to be functioning fine and is clear.

The steam wand works fine, when I click for water I'm getting the noise but no water, inside I see no water flowing through the polypipe.

I'm looking at getting a solenoid (from ebay?) to test that, are there any other things I should be checking?

Thanks in advance for any advice offered, I've been trying to search forums and youtube but can't find any advice beyond where I'm at.

Ant


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

4n7

imho buying a new solenoid valve will be a waste of money.

I see you live in London so I ask how often do you descale the machine ?

How many cups do you make on average per week ?

Have a read of this thread, your problem is well covered here.

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?33343-Intermittent-Classic-water-flow-problem


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## 4n7 (Oct 14, 2016)

Thanks for the reply Ratty,

I usually make one double espresso every morning, run through cafizza about once a month.

The water is hard, once I get this thing fixed i'm going to start using bottled water.

I'll have a read through of this thread thanks ( I hoped someone would say don't buy the solenoid!)


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

I have cafiza urnex, i use that for back flushing.

I didnt think it could be used to descale as well, but they might do a product for that and thats what you have.

I think you need to descale once every month. Its scale thats your problem, and loose scale is getting into the solenoid valve, all thoroughly explained in the linked thread

Once you've read the thread ive linked you should have a good insight into it


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## 4n7 (Oct 14, 2016)

I've since opened up the whole thing and cleaned up again but still nothing.

Is it possible the electric mech in the solenoid has stopped? Or been wired up wrong?

The solenoid pipe is clear and has movement so I'm not sure why this doesn't flow, the steam works fine.

I labelled all the cables to be sure but didn't label the solenoid connectors


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

there are 2 wire connections to the solenoid,

on my machine the *blue wires* are connected to the spade nearest the boiler

and the *black wires *are connected to the spade nearest the pump


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## timmyjj21 (May 10, 2015)

The solenoid can be wired any way, as long as you are using the correct 2 pins. I find the wires will naturally want to sit in their old positions so will often tell you where they want to be!

I didn't read the link previously given, but can guess the content...

If you want to check solenoid function, use a wooden chopstick pressed against the black box of the solenoid and turn the machine on. You may hear the solenoid activate, but also feel it clunk through the chopstick. Take care with live voltage and only do it if you are confident of not electrocuting yourself.

I would bet the tiny hole in the solenoid valve is still blocked, despite cleaning, and it needs another go. Jiggle a pin in all the holes, use a bit of force, get an insulin syringe and squirt descaler through it, etc.


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## 4n7 (Oct 14, 2016)

Thanks all,

The wiring is as supposed to be (I had marked them)

I can feel the thunk on the solenoid, I've taken it apart fully twice and checked the pipes on the solenoid, I can blow through it.

I'll take it apart again but is there any other part I need to look at?

I can see water coming through the Perspex pipes.

I will get to the bottom of this!!!!


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## 4n7 (Oct 14, 2016)

Sorted, the centre hole in the solenoid pipe had white fluid blocking it, im guessing the last caffiza clogged it there.

Painful to go this route every so often, tempted to get one of those capsule things but it wouldn't seem right!

I used a big pin and may have bored the hole a little (at least of scale)

Thanks all for the advice.


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## timmyjj21 (May 10, 2015)

Umm...Caffiza? I have to ask, Did you add back flush powder into the water tank?

The central hole of the solenoid valve is tiny and has a 90° bend in it. Once blocked, the scale doesn't budge as the descaling solution doesn't get good penetration into it. Sound like you did the right thing with the pin, it sometimes needs a bit of force to punch the scale out.


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## 4n7 (Oct 14, 2016)

I only use caffiza in the head thingy wherebyou put the coffee.

It just looked milky in the pin hole and I couldn't see any obvious blockage, previously there's been a little scale stone there.

I broke 2 pins in the effort!


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