# Gaggia Classic problems, no water through grouphead or steam wand



## apowers

Hi

Just cleaning up my Classic after about 4 years of non use. Used to work fine no issues before it went into storage.

Now no water comes through Group head or through Steam wand.

Tried to descale but doesnt look like water is being sucked up the tubes also sounds like the pump is working as its loud.

I have cleaned the Grouphead and screen as well as removed Solenoid and cleaned out as well. Checked water flows through this.

Still doesnt work?

Any ideas?

Thanks


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## marcuswar

I had a Classic that wouldn't pump water through the brew head and it was the 3 way valve that had blocked with scale.

Have you tried removing the actual valve itself (held on with two bolts at the rear bottom of the boiler) and soaking it in some descaler (citric acid).. if it starts fizzing then you know there is definitely scale in there to dissolve. They have really small holes in there and it doesn't take much for them to block completely.


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## El carajillo

Did you take the solenoid appart and check for scale /flakes inside? Is the suction pipe blocked or kinked ? Is the solenoid clicking when switching ?


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## marcuswar

El carajillo said:


> Did you take the solenoid appart and check for scale /flakes inside?


Hey El carajillo...Jinx! ..


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## apowers

marcuswar said:


> I had a Classic that wouldn't pump water through the brew head and it was the 3 way valve that had blocked with scale.
> 
> Have you tried removing the actual valve itself (held on with two bolts at the rear bottom of the boiler) and soaking it in some descaler (citric acid).. if it starts fizzing then you know there is definitely scale in there to dissolve. They have really small holes in there and it doesn't take much for them to block completely.


Which bit is the valve?



El carajillo said:


> Did you take the solenoid appart and check for scale /flakes inside? Is the suction pipe blocked or kinked ? Is the solenoid clicking when switching ?


Yes removed & descaled in some descaler. Will check pipes. Not sure I can hear clicking?


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## marcuswar

The OPV valve.


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## apowers

marcuswar said:


> The OPV valve.
> 
> View attachment 5755


Yes removed & soaked in citric acid. Ran some water through it & can see it run through


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## oracleoftruth

I spent ages working out why mine didn't work after I stripped and descaled everything until I worked out that I'd kinked the silicone tube under the pump so it couldn't get through.


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## gaggiamanualservice.com

follow my link in respect to solenoid issue ( likely issue ) http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?3334-How-to-check-if-the-solenoid-is-blocked


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## El carajillo

That is the over pressure valve O P V NOT the solenoid valve , that only returns water to tank if water cannot escape through brew head.

The SOLENOID valve is to the left of the OPV underneath the red arrow, two 4 mm allen screws holding it .Remove nut holding solenoid (black box) then use 19 mm spanner to undo solenoid to sepparate. You will probably need a vice to hold the S/v as the nut is tight OR screw it to a piece of wood to hold it,do not damage the flange or lose the "O" rings.


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## marcuswar

Yes I know that's the OPV but that's what I'm sure that's what has blocked on mine and soaking it in descale solution fixed the issue.


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## El carajillo

marcuswar said:


> Yes I know that's the OPV but that's what I'm sure that's what has blocked on mine and soaking it in descale solution fixed the issue.


Marcus I was not being facetious, just trying to clarify for apowers which valve I was talking about.

In your initial written post you mention the "three way valve" being blocked with scale , this is the "solenoid valve" . Then in the photograph you indicated the OPV.


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## marcuswar

Oops my bad , I did indeed say three way valve.. I meant OPV... a case of more haste less speed I think!

Sorry for the confusion caused.


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## oracleoftruth

And they could both be blocked so soak everything and check everything and make sure tubes are clear and unkinked.

If that doesn't work then ....um....


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## marcuswar

oracleoftruth said:


> ....If that doesn't work then ....um....


I guess in that case it he would have to remove the boiler and open it up to see if anything internal was blocked ?


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## oracleoftruth

Well...yeah. which seems unlikely but no harm in doing it and good chance to really descale and check the boiler.

Oh actually just checked original post and I would unscrew the two ends of the pump and check that.

It may also need priming which I have no experience of. Think you'd need a syringe.


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## El carajillo

They normally self prime but might be worth dribbling water into top of pump.


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## apowers

Removed & descaled both, no water still.

Could be the pump then? cant see any water being sucked up the pipe so must be the pump?


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## marcuswar

Try disconnecting the tube from the pump that goes to the bottom of the OPV vavle. Disconnect the OPV end and point it back into the water tank. Now run the pump. Is any water coming out of the hose ?


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## apowers

Fixed now, think there may have been an issue with the self priming? Took tube out & poured some water in & ran it. Seemed to work after that.

Thanks for the suggestions guys









Now fully descaled & ready to use


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## marcuswar

Great news, glad you got it sorted.

It's a nice feeling when you eventually fix something that wasn't working. (although usually I end up doing it the other way around)


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## El carajillo

Glad you got it sorted:good:


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## oracleoftruth

Fantastic news! Enjoy the caffeine weekend!


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## nealeb

I've been regularly cleaning the solenoid valve in my Classic since I used to live in a very hard water area and it regularly blocked with scale. I can probably do it in about 10 min these days, even with the boiler hot (I've had a lot of practice!). However, for the last couple of years I have been living in a very soft water area but the solenoid valve is still blocking regularly and needs cleaning maybe 2-3 times a month. The material blocking it is a fine black gritty substance, somewhat like coffee grounds but feeling harder than that. I'm sure it's not in the water supply, I am taking care to make sure that I don't spill coffee grounds anywhere that might end up in the water container, and I can't see anywhere obvious inside (e.g. rubber hose) that might be degrading and releasing tiny particles into the supply. It must be getting in to the water between the jug and the valve itself, which means pump, OPV, pipework, or similar, but I can't see where. I've had the boiler out and inspected its internals, and removed any remaining scale while I was at it. It gets backflushed with Puly Caff every week or so, and probably makes around 5-10 cups a day.

Most people seem to suffer from scale problems, but this one is slightly different. I'm wondering if there are any rubber components in the pump or OPV that might degrade over time. Any thoughts?

- Thanks.


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## MrShades

Jug..... What jug?


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## nealeb

The clear plastic container that holds cold water. I'm sure that it has a proper technical name! I'm just amazed at the level of sophistication that some people go to on this forum for things like temperature control, when my machine can't be trusted to deliver water at the same rate two days running - and I'm talking about anything between normal flow rate and almost nothing...


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## marcuswar

On my old Gaggia Deluxe I used to get a fine black grinds out of the steam wand occasionally which I put down to the actual rubber seal inside the steam valve perishing as around this time it also started to drip and leak a bit more than normal. Maybe the rubber oring/seals inside the pump or the OPV itself are deteriorating ? If you disconnect the pump hose from the OPV and just run water into a jug i.e. not just through the pump, not the boiler, do you still see then gritty grinds?


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## nealeb

Well, the answer was straightforward in the end. I have just removed and stripped the boiler, and found about a level teaspoon of what appears to be a mix of limescale and a black gritty substance that appears to be corrosion from the aluminium boiler shell. On large-scale (e.g. locomotive size) boilers you have a blowdown valve at the bottom of the boiler; open the valve while under pressure and this kind of deposit gets flushed out. In the Gaggia boiler, with the water outlet being a vertical pipe inside the boiler, you are going to get a small amount of this deposit coming out via the outlet very slowly and building up in the three-way valve. And with the amount in my boiler, this would have probably gone on for ever.

Makes me wonder, though - live in a hard-water area and limescale builds up and eventually flakes off and gets released into the outlet. Soft water area and the aluminium gets attacked as there is no protective layer of limescale! Move from a hard-water area to a soft-water area, as I have done, and the corrosion gets under the limescale and dumps it into the water. You can't win!


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## peterj

nealeb said:


> Well, the answer was straightforward in the end. I have just removed and stripped the boiler, and found about a level teaspoon of what appears to be a mix of limescale and a black gritty substance that appears to be corrosion from the aluminium boiler shell. On large-scale (e.g. locomotive size) boilers you have a blowdown valve at the bottom of the boiler; open the valve while under pressure and this kind of deposit gets flushed out. In the Gaggia boiler, with the water outlet being a vertical pipe inside the boiler, you are going to get a small amount of this deposit coming out via the outlet very slowly and building up in the three-way valve. And with the amount in my boiler, this would have probably gone on for ever.
> 
> Makes me wonder, though - live in a hard-water area and lime scale builds up and eventually flakes off and gets released into the outlet. Soft water area and the aluminium gets attacked as there is no protective layer of limescale! Move from a hard-water area to a soft-water area, as I have done, and the corrosion gets under the limescale and dumps it into the water. You can't win!


Any idea what would have been eroding the boiler shell? How old is your unit?


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## nealeb

peterj said:


> Any idea what would have been eroding the boiler shell? How old is your unit?


Probably about 4 years now. However, I used to live in Hampshire in an area known for what was apparently called "aggressive water": very hard and with a tendency to corrode hot water cylinders and similar much more quickly than usual. It might have been something to do with that. I now live in a very soft water area (South Devon). I descaled the boiler soon after moving here (a couple of years ago) but I doubt that I completely cleaned it. It is pretty clean inside now, though. I assume that the aluminium has been attacked as there are pock marks in various of the flat surfaces and particularly around the flat mating surface which would have been near the plated brass(?) lower section. You can get electrolytic corrosion where dissimilar metals are close to each other in a highly mineralised solution (usually sea water but possibly the previous very hard water) and it looks a bit like this. I'm hoping that it won't happen, or at least much more slowly, now that I am in a soft water area. Although you see a number of descriptions of this valve-blocking problem, it doesn't seem to be that common so it might just have been a result of that very hard water.


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## S-Presso

At last! My first post! Re- pump priming problem. I've just fitted a new EX-5 to my modified Gaggia Classic. Just couldn't get it to prime! Tried everything to be found in the forums, but no joy. Just air in all the pipes and no water. After several failed attempts (with the obligatory 10 minute breaks between running the pump for a minute at a time with zero flow and the boiler heating up with insufficient water in it!), I checked the inlet pipe while the pump was running and found a slight disturbance when it was on the surface of the water tank. So, it is trying to pump, but not moving any water. If it won't draw water, what if it can be forced through? The solution - An old liquid soap bottle, well rinsed and completely filled with fresh water, nozzle attached to the inlet pipe - open steam valve, switch the machine on, hit the brew switch and squeeze the bottle - INSTANT primed pump! If all else has failed and you need to try this, do be careful, as electricity and water can be hazardous to your health!

2012 Gaggia Classic, Vibiemme pressure gauge, Auber PID with pre-infuse, brass shower plate holder/water spreader with IMS shower plate and Cafelat silicon gasket. LM and Strada 21 gm baskets, naked portafilter. Mazzer Super Jolly with doser mods ('whippy' mod and 'elvinator'). Made by Knock 58mm tamper, Cafelat tamping stand paired with Attento Click-mat, and Monmouth beans (mostly)!


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## kamal

apowers said:


> Hi
> 
> Just cleaning up my Classic after about 4 years of non use. Used to work fine no issues before it went into storage.
> 
> Now no water comes through Group head or through Steam wand.
> 
> Tried to descale but doesnt look like water is being sucked up the tubes also sounds like the pump is working as its loud.
> 
> I have cleaned the Grouphead and screen as well as removed Solenoid and cleaned out as well. Checked water flows through this.
> 
> Still doesnt work?
> 
> Any ideas?
> 
> Thanks


Is the solenoid clicking when switching ?


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## TomBurtonArt

This post was answered 6 months ago. Please read above.


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## jtg

This fixed it for me (almost), soaked it over night and cleaned it.

I now just have water coming out one side. Any ideas? Thanks.


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## Jumbo Ratty

Water coming out of one side of what?


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