# Delonghi Esam4200 Squeaking and Leaking :-(



## Skezza (Sep 9, 2014)

Hello,

I was recently lucky enough to 'inherit' two Delonghi Esam4200's from work. Both were listed broken and destined for the bin, however with not much work, I've got one pretty much working perfectly except for two things:

1. It squeaks quite loudly when the mechanism is moving around.

2. It seems to be dripping water from the steam tap.

Now for the first issue, I tried to add some talc to the drive belt which sits below the motor and mech as I was fairly sure it was that, however that's made no difference whatsoever, which means surely it's the mech itself. I'm guessing to sort this I'll need to strip it and at this point I'm wondering if it's really worth it? If anyone has any suggestions without stripping it, that would be awesome.

For the second issue, the steam tap on this machine was very broken when I got it, it was leaking badly and didn't feel like it was held on by much. It had also been bodged with some glue. I removed the old steam tap and fitted the new one with the O-ring from the new one, it made a perfect cup of coffee with no leaking. Since then, I've had it apart two or three times and I've been pulling the tube out of the tap fairly flippantly which each time requires me to remove the O-Ring using a metal spike or something similar. Since then, it's started dripping just a little bit, a few droplets although it does spit as well. Have I probably just stretched that O-Ring or is the leaking to do with something else? Perhaps I missed something? I was told the steam valve might be broken or more to the point, not closing properly, but I don't know where I would find the steam valve.

The dripping water is *COLD* not hot, so does that mean it's just left over residue water or is it genuinely water from the cup which means the measurements are out?

To be fair, I won't complain, I'm not a coffee expert but it tastes fantastic which is why I was so desperate to stop this machine going to the scrapper and it's very close to working perfectly.

Any help would be amazing, here is a video I took this morning before going to work (please watch in fullscreen as you won't see the spitting otherwise, only the droplets):






Sorry about the aspect of the video, not sure why but I took it with the phone standing up instead of on its side. D'oh!


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## Skezza (Sep 9, 2014)

OK, phoned a Delonghi service centre. They said the squeaking is pretty much impossible to cure and there's nothing you can do







They think the dripping out the steam tap is most likely the O-Ring not being seated properly. Is there any way to properly seat the O-Ring? I currently just put it on the pipe and put the pipe into the tap. Would it be better to put the O-ring into the tap then press the pipe into the O-Ring that way?

Cheers


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

You are not going to like this, but these things are rubbish and not worth much money at all. I'd sell them as faulty / spares on ebay and then buy an aeropress and hand grinder, or if you want espresso a Gaggia Classic and a second hand MC2 or Mignon.

With some freshly roasted beans (see beans subforum) instead of supermarket rubbish you can produce coffee that is 10x better than that thing will ever produce, and with no leaking or squeaking or shoddy plastic parts!


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## Skezza (Sep 9, 2014)

aaronb said:


> You are not going to like this, but these things are rubbish and not worth much money at all. I'd sell them as faulty / spares on ebay and then buy an aeropress and hand grinder, or if you want espresso a Gaggia Classic and a second hand MC2 or Mignon.
> 
> With some freshly roasted beans (see beans subforum) instead of supermarket rubbish you can produce coffee that is 10x better than that thing will ever produce, and with no leaking or squeaking or shoddy plastic parts!


Haha, Aaron, don't be worried about me not liking your opinion. Ultimately, I got the machines for free. I wouldn't have bought one personally as I know they have a very mixed reputation.

I'm guessing you noticed the Taylor's beans on the table?







Yep that's Tesco.

To be fair, I do genuinely get a nice cup of coffee out of this machine, at least for my taste.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Skezza said:


> Haha, Aaron, don't be worried about me not liking your opinion. Ultimately, I got the machines for free. I wouldn't have bought one personally as I know they have a very mixed reputation.
> 
> I'm guessing you noticed the Taylor's beans on the table?
> 
> ...


Just think how much better it would be with a decent machine ,grinder and GOOD beans


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## Skezza (Sep 9, 2014)

El carajillo said:


> Just think how much better it would be with a decent machine ,grinder and GOOD beans


Haha, well maybe I should get some good beans first. This machine does a half decent job of grinding I guess. Where's the best place to buy good beans?


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Try Coffee Compass or Rave, they both have a good selection depending on your particular taste /palate.


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## Skezza (Sep 9, 2014)

El carajillo said:


> Try Coffee Compass or Rave, they both have a good selection depending on your particular taste /palate.


Gosh, this is clearly far more complicated than I first realized







I've been using naff instant up until I was given these machines from work, so as you can imagine, anything was an improvement haha.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

It really doesn't do a good job of grinding, I'm not being obtuse just honest!

try Has Bean, Smokey Barn, Rave, Square Mile or any of the roasters in the beans subforum. Might be able to suggest somewhere local if you tell us where you are.

Porlex Hand Grinder + Aeropress + beans from the above will outperform that Delonghi every day, I think you would be pleasantly surprised


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