# Lelit Elizabeth corrosion (Scale? Leak?)



## MCProtis (Feb 5, 2021)

Gents,

Today I was planning on modifying the OPV to 9,5 bar (from the ~12 bar factory setting) but after popping the cover off I stumbled upon this little green patch of corrosion in one of the copper valves connecting to the Steam Boiler.

Could this be a leak in this copper fitting? Doubt it's scale as I've only used this machine for 4 months with the Lelit filter on, and my water is rather soft. 99% of the time I also use it in Economy mode (Steam boiler off).

Is this something to ring Lelit support / my retailer about? the machine works perfectly but I would hate to see this develop into a more serious issue later on.


----------



## Chriss29 (Oct 21, 2020)

Gents? There are females here too!


----------



## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Observe it and see if it's still leaking...if it is, then you need to give it some TLC.

Contact the retailer and ask them what they would like you to do. They may simply send the part out with some guidance for you to fit yourself. If they do, remember tappy tappy, not torquey torquey, to get the fitting off.


----------



## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

Can you see if this is all around the valve? Or, could it be the OPV dripping on it? The temp the safety valve. That fitting is technically dry. The only thing you'll get there is water from the OPV going there via the X fitting.

but then, saying that, if it was scale, then you'd see the same around the vaccum breaker or OPV.

makes me wonder whether it was like that from new.


----------



## MCProtis (Feb 5, 2021)

DavecUK said:


> Observe it and see if it's still leaking...if it is, then you need to give it some TLC.
> 
> Contact the retailer and ask them what they would like you to do. They may simply send the part out with some guidance for you to fit yourself. If they do, remember tappy tappy, not torquey torquey, to get the fitting off.


 I looked at the fitting for more than 30 mins and it doesn't seem to be leaking. Pulled a few shots, steamed some milk, did a shot with a blind filter, etc. Whatever caused that corrosion doesn't seem to be happening anymore. very puzzling 🤨



MediumRoastSteam said:


> Can you see if this is all around the valve? Or, could it be the OPV dripping on it? The temp the safety valve. That fitting is technically dry. The only thing you'll get there is water from the OPV going there via the X fitting.
> 
> but then, saying that, if it was scale, then you'd see the same around the vaccum breaker or OPV.
> 
> makes me wonder whether it was like that from new.


 I'll try to take a few more pictures around that valve tomorrow to see if that corrosion is seen all around it, but I did not see anything near the OPV or the vacuum breaker.

When the steam boiler is on, I do see water flowing inside the hose through the safety valve with corrosion , which looks normal? Judging from the water flow, excess steam pressure comes out of the steam boiler through that safety valve and is routed through the X fitting back to the water tank


----------



## MCProtis (Feb 5, 2021)

Chriss29 said:


> Gents? There are females here too!


 My bad ! I'll rephrase my post 😛


----------



## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

MCProtis said:


> excess steam pressure comes out of the steam boiler through that safety valve and is routed through the X fitting back to the water tank


 Correct. This should never happen though. As it's a safety valve, pressure is only released if there's a problem, which you'll know there will be noise and constant hissing.

The water you see flowing around there is water from the OPV ending up there due to the cross fitting. Once the steam boiler heats up, the water which ended up around the safety valve heats up and then starts boiling and the slight pressure starts moving the water around.

One of the design decisions on the Elizabeth I'll never understand, as it makes no sense. To be clear, It has absolutely no impact on the machine functionality - it's just a convenient way of routing water back to the tank - just not very elegant IMO.


----------



## MCProtis (Feb 5, 2021)

This took longer than expected but I managed to get a pic of the other side of the Safety Valve, I think it's safe to say that the corrosion is all around this valve.

Another interesting development happened today, both of my steam boiler safety thermostats tripped. Not sure why or how, but I ended up resetting them by clicking them.

After resetting them, the steam boiler became operational again but had a massive overshoot when heating up. I managed to see a steam boiler temperature of ~160C on the LCC before I turned off the machine in fear it may damage it.

I remember that the Elizabeth's brew boiler overshoots to speed up heating time, but does it also perform the same on the steam boiler?

Anyways, I'm seeing a pattern which points to the steam boiler (just my luck). The heating element's OHM reading looks fine (~55OHM), as do the connectors. I'm pointing to a faulty temp sensor. Either way, I managed to open a ticket with Lelit to see if the recommend replacing any part.

This is the part when I regret buying this coffee machine from Amazon instead of a proper dealer like BB. Lesson learned!


----------



## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

Certainly appears to be a mix of scale and corrosion. If I understand that's a safety valve and the water flowing to it is coming from the OPV? It appears to have been leaking from the valve at some point and has sealed itself with scale. Did you flush the boilers when you received the machine and have you been flushing the service boiler fairly regularly since you're using tap water?


----------



## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

@MCProtis forgive me for asking if you're already mentioned it. How old is the machine and what water do you use.


----------



## MCProtis (Feb 5, 2021)

DavecUK said:


> @MCProtis forgive me for asking if you're already mentioned it. How old is the machine and what water do you use.


 Dave, It's just 4 months old. I use regular tap water (my water is rather soft ~60 TDS) filtered in a Brita pitcher + the lelit filter.


----------



## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

@MCProtis Very odd, Elizabeth isn't really machine that has many issues, sound like it's contact the Retailer time for advice.


----------



## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

DavecUK said:


> sound like it's contact the Retailer time for advice.


 ^^^^ >>>>>



MCProtis said:


> This is the part when I regret buying this coffee machine from Amazon instead of a proper dealer like BB. Lesson learned!


 😞


----------



## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Then amazon customer service, they can be helpful...sometimes, especially if the machine was delivered by amazon!!!


----------



## MCProtis (Feb 5, 2021)

I have a reply in my Lelit Technical support ticket

From your photos it seems that the problem is due to the valve. therefore it's necessary to contact your reseller for a proper check of the machine and in case to proceed with the replacement of the defected part

Amazon wants to either credit me some $$$ to keep the machine or outright return / replace the whole machine which sounds rather wasteful 

I emailed B.B. to see if they sell the Ma-Ter safety valve. If they do and it's not very expensive I might try replacing it myself. I'll keep you posted, thank you all for the helpful replies.


----------



## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

@MCProtis - looks like BB has the Bianca safety valve, but not the Elizabeth's.

Even though they look similar, they trigger at different pressures:

the Bianca triggers at 3.0 bar - part code 9700050&#8230; the Elizabeth, part code 9700043, triggers at 5.5 bar.


----------



## MCProtis (Feb 5, 2021)

Looks like this has to go back to Amazon again, because Lelit replied that if I open the machine to change the safety valve, the warranty will be voided. 🙃


----------



## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

MCProtis said:


> Looks like this has to go back to Amazon again, because Lelit replied that if I open the machine to change the safety valve, the warranty will be voided. 🙃


 Good luck with your next purchase... Elizabeth or whatever it might be! Great service from Amazon btw. 🙂


----------



## Inspector (Feb 23, 2017)

Sorry to resurrect, isn't it normal, air bubbles escaping from that Mater 5.5 bar safety valve towards that X fitting in normal use when steam boiler on? Mine seems to does it then those bubbles goes back into water tank when machine idling.


----------

