# Pressure stat and brew temp



## carbonkid85 (Jan 19, 2011)

Hello all

Still getting used to using a HX and have read a lot about cooling flushes. Everything I have read seems to suggest that the brew temp of my machine is much too high.

Regardless of how long I flush for, the "water dance" doesn't really stop. If the machine is left idle for a while it can sometimes only push steam through the group head for a long while.

Not sure if it is related to brew temp, but I'm really struggling with basic extraction too. My technique hasn't ever caused problems before, but now I'm getting a couple of seconds of normal flow rate followed by an absolute gusher. Could this be temp related too?

Pressure gauge is reading about 1.3 and I am using a Sirai P-Stat. Would turning it down to something like 1.2 make a difference to any of what I have described here?


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## MelonCoffee (Jun 21, 2012)

Working at a pressure of 1.3 the water in the boiler will be in the region of 124 deg C, dropping pressure stat to 1.2 will reduce the temperature in the boiler to about 122 deg C so hardly likely to have a dramatical effect on the temperature of the water comming through the heat exchanger.

Your problem is more likely to be caused by a restriction in flow (holding water in the heat exchanger for too long). The other thing that can cause a 'too hot' issue is scale - if there is a build up on the exchangers the heat transfer to brew water can be higher. Perhaps a descale might help?


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## carbonkid85 (Jan 19, 2011)

Oh it could very well be scale then. I wasn't able to get into the HX as I didn't have a spanner big enough. The exterior of the HX inside the boiler is completely clear but the inside will probably be a bit of a state. I ran a LOT of citric through this weekend so thought I had sorted it. Maybe it needs a bit more work...

Thanks for the input!


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