# Fracino Classic Dual Fuel over filling/over pressurising!



## thedrumchef (Jul 6, 2019)

Help!

My CLA2LPG machine is over pressurising the boiler when water source is turned on. It seems that water is constantly flowing into the tank and filling it up to mains pressure.

I'm running a mobile system so a water Reservoir going into a shurflo 25psi pump with an accumulator. This is then fed into the high pressure machine pump and thus into the machine inlet.

When the tank is empty and everything is then turned on, the high pressure pump engages and fills the tank until it reaches the correct level and then the pump turns off. However, the pressure in the water system seems to push water past the high pressure pump and continues to fill the boiler until its completely full of water and water is flowing through the steam tap.

My first thought was check the manual fill tap. It's closed and seals properly.

Then checked the fill sensor. It works and shuts off the high pressure pump as soon as it contacts the water, however water is still flowing into the system.

Next thought was solenoid. Took it off and tested it, it's working fine. Not stuck open or anything. It's shut when it needs to be.

Then thought maybe a problem with the inlet manifold, so I took it apart but it all seems to be in check!

So, on the inlet manifold where the water pipe connects to it, the manifold splits the flow 3 ways. One goes through to the manual fill/waste, one goes up to the solenoid and one seems to bypass any kind of valve and goes directly into the back of the boiler. When this last pipe is disconnected from the inlet manifold the boiler drains. This unvalved connection is what seems to be filling the boiler up to mains pressure. Am I missing something, is this supposed to be an open connection into the boiler, what would be the purpose of the solenoid in that instance?

Totally stumped at the moment, any advice would be much appreciated.

Edit:

It's probably worth mentioning that this machine has been sat unused for over 10 years so this is my attempt at getting it refurbished. Most of the other components/thermostats seem to be working correctly.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Possibly the seal on the solenoid is worn and allowing water to creep past even when closed.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

You have either misdecribed the situation or misunderstood it, or the machine was purchased by you and perhaps someone else has worked on it. If it was as you described, as soon as the machine is up to working temperature it would push water out of the boiler through that last pipe??

One goes through to the manual fill/waste- I don't understand, *does a pipe come from an internal tank* to here, what waste are you talking about, when you say manual fill what exactly do you mean?

One goes up to the solenoid - If there is an internal tank (has it got one) I would expect a feed from that, or the rising main (switchable) probably, the solenoid then decides whether to fill the boiler if needed, or remain unenergised to produce a shot from the brew circuit.

One seems to bypass any kind of valve and goes directly into the back of the boiler. It depends whether there is a check valve in the inlet manifold or not, if you disconnect the pipe from the manifold, of course the boiler will drain.

The above illustrates the confusion.

Has it got an internal tank?

You should take a few photos from different angles tip: try not to make them like those "guess what this is photos", give the shots a bit of context, take the trouble to put arrows and annotations on them.?

Any advice you get before you answer the basic questions is unlikely to be any help because people will either be guessing or making assumptions based on information that's confusing/doesn't quite make sense.


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## thedrumchef (Jul 6, 2019)

DavecUK said:


> You have either misdecribed the situation or misunderstood it, or the machine was purchased by you and perhaps someone else has worked on it. If it was as you described, as soon as the machine is up to working temperature it would push water out of the boiler through that last pipe??
> 
> One goes through to the manual fill/waste- I don't understand, *does a pipe come from an internal tank* to here, what waste are you talking about, when you say manual fill what exactly do you mean?
> 
> ...


 I was talking about the 3 main pipes coming off from the inlet manifold. One is to a boiler manual fill tap, one to the boiler fill solenoid and the other, which I've only recently learned, is to the heat exchanger. It's fine I hadn't realised that the third pipe coming from the inlet manifold was going into the heat exchanger and not directly into the boiler. Turns out there is a crack in the heat exchanger itself causing the boiler to constantly overfill. So pretty much the worst outcome possible. But yes, it has an internal boiler tank. Don't all fracinos?


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

thedrumchef said:


> I was talking about the 3 main pipes coming off from the inlet manifold. One is to a boiler manual fill tap, one to the boiler fill solenoid and the other, which I've only recently learned, is to the heat exchanger. It's fine I hadn't realised that the third pipe coming from the inlet manifold was going into the heat exchanger and not directly into the boiler. Turns out there is a crack in the heat exchanger itself causing the boiler to constantly overfill. So pretty much the worst outcome possible. But yes, it has an internal boiler tank. Don't all fracinos?


Think Dave's talking about an internal reservoir tank as opposed to having to be plumbed in.


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