# Bambino Plus Leaking



## Basenjigirl (Jun 5, 2017)

Hi Guys, i have just purchased a Bambino Plus. It makes great coffee and frothes milk brilliantly. but everytime it purges the steam wand, I end up with water all over the counter top. it appears to shoot up the water trap and leak around the sensor plate. is anyone else having this issue?


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

Can you show us a video?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## themerlin1976 (Mar 1, 2021)

I had the same issue with my Bambino, it's caused by the little pipe that empties into the drip try (from the solenoid) being a little too far back, so the water is hitting the back of the drip tray.

I solved it in the following way.

Put in the cleaning disk and and pull a few shots, this will cause hot water to back flush and soften the plastic pipe. When the pipe is soft stick your finger in and bend it towards the front of the machine.


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

kennyboy993 said:


> Can you show us a video?


 Probably purging onto the countertop and another ancient post dug up.


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## dutchy101 (Jun 12, 2020)

I got a replacement Bambino because my original machine was excessively vibrating and I am getting leakage every time I perform the cleaning function with the new unit. Annoying as the machine is fine otherwise.


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## zakarados (Mar 4, 2021)

I am getting the same issue on my Breville Bambino Plus, 1 month old, and they want to send it off for repair.

Not cool...


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## Callum_Pg (Oct 28, 2020)

themerlin1976 said:


> I had the same issue with my Bambino, it's caused by the little pipe that empties into the drip try (from the solenoid) being a little too far back, so the water is hitting the back of the drip tray.
> I solved it in the following way.
> Put in the cleaning disk and and pull a few shots, this will cause hot water to back flush and soften the plastic pipe. When the pipe is soft stick your finger in and bend it towards the front of the machine.


Can you take a picture of the location where we can see the plastic pipe?


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## Scwheeler (Jan 13, 2020)

Assuming we are talking about the same thing (and it's where I also think water leaks on mine) my over pressure/back flush pipe only sticks down about 1mm and so cannot be bent. Is yours lower? I've often though a small flexible hose would fix the problem as it looks like the drip tray was designed to have something tuck in here (picture below)


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## Callum_Pg (Oct 28, 2020)

Scwheeler said:


> Assuming we are talking about the same thing (and it's where I also think water leaks on mine) my over pressure/back flush pipe only sticks down about 1mm and so cannot be bent. Is yours lower? I've often though a small flexible hose would fix the problem as it looks like the drip tray was designed to have something tuck in here (picture below)
> <img alt="F3E1B1A2-9757-43E6-B32D-D985C65713FC.thumb.jpeg.aa487953def687acc8b76af8d14794ef.jpeg" data-fileid="54178" data-src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2021_03/F3E1B1A2-9757-43E6-B32D-D985C65713FC.thumb.jpeg.aa487953def687acc8b76af8d14794ef.jpeg" src="https://www.coffeeforums.co.uk/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">


This is hard plastic, I don't think hot water can soften this. This is the area where we frequently clean it.

I think I understand the problem, if you did not push the drip tray all the way in, water will flush out all over. Just make sure the drip tray is push in and engage with the main body. Even the slightest disengagement will cause the water to leak out.


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## facboy (Dec 13, 2019)

i wouldn't say it's loads of water, but mine does overflow a bit. i personally think it's because that baffle and the hole behind it restrict the flow too much so when it is dumping water into the drip tray the backpressure makes that small partitioned section overflow a bit. as far as purging the steam wand (in the OP), mine has the same problem, again i think it's just not a great design - too much flow and it causes it to spill over that area. i wouldn't have said it was a huge amount. i just purge it into the milk jug (or any other container) instead.


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## BristolTom (Mar 30, 2021)

I am thinking of buying a bambino. Are people generally happy with the performance and durability before I take the plunge?


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

Does this machine have a float to show when the drip tray needs emptying? it may indicate a bit late.


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## Callum_Pg (Oct 28, 2020)

facboy said:


> i wouldn't say it's loads of water, but mine does overflow a bit. i personally think it's because that baffle and the hole behind it restrict the flow too much so when it is dumping water into the drip tray the backpressure makes that small partitioned section overflow a bit. as far as purging the steam wand (in the OP), mine has the same problem, again i think it's just not a great design - too much flow and it causes it to spill over that area. i wouldn't have said it was a huge amount. i just purge it into the milk jug (or any other container) instead.


I normally don't wait until the dip tray is near to full before emptying the tray. I have been using this machine for over 8 months, not a single time of water over flow or stuck or leaking.


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## Callum_Pg (Oct 28, 2020)

ajohn said:


> Does this machine have a float to show when the drip tray needs emptying? it may indicate a bit late.


It does. My recommendation is not to wait until the dip tray is full. Try to emptying it at least once a week. Do a thorough cleaning at least once a month. So far I have not encounter any issues.


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## Callum_Pg (Oct 28, 2020)

BristolTom said:


> I am thinking of buying a bambino. Are people generally happy with the performance and durability before I take the plunge?


I have been using this machine for 8 months, so far it works like a charm! Here are the things that I perform :-

1)For the dip tray leakage issue as mentioned here, my recommendation is not to wait until the tray is full before emptying the tray. 
2)I use a clean water to run a blank froth after used. 
3)Make sure to use a filtered water so that it will not build up the calcium which can choke the machine.
4)Perform backflushing as scheduled by the machine (machine will prompt).
5)Perform the descaling when prompted by the machine.


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

I have seen videos of the auto steam purge. No problem but the demonstrator pointed it in a sensible direction. Could that be the problem?

On both of the Sage machines I have used there is a hold in the drip tray to do just that. Not automagically though.  Just steam comes out when I purge. Neat feature, drip tray over full and jet of steam through a hold into it and water will go all over the place. For some reason I never checked to see if this happened.


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

Callum_Pg said:


> I have been using this machine for 8 months, so far it works like a charm! Here are the things that I perform :-
> 
> 1)For the dip tray leakage issue as mentioned here, my recommendation is not to wait until the tray is full before emptying the tray.
> 2)I use a clean water to run a blank froth after used.
> ...


 I'd suggest people back flush more often than the machine suggests. Some people on other machines would say weekly.. I think monthly is adequate. Remove and clean the shower screen area as well. I'd suggest doing that before back flushing. Wipe over the area behind the shower screen.

The filter they supply now will remove calcium until it reaches it's maximum capacity. The capacity will depend on how hard people's tap water is. When it's replaced is likely to be a sensible time to descale or say 1/2 way through. It's hard to say really. When the filter is removed for this place it in a mug of water. Don't let it dry out. If I was using this filter I would buy some test strips and check a bit of hot water out of the machine after it has cooled from time to time as I am mean and the filters aren't cheap.

If the machine prompts for descale my only experience is with the DB. A test strip is used to set the machine's prompt time. I'd advise setting it for harder water than what actually comes out of the tap.


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## facboy (Dec 13, 2019)

Callum_Pg said:


> I normally don't wait until the dip tray is near to full before emptying the tray. I have been using this machine for over 8 months, not a single time of water over flow or stuck or leaking.


 i empty mine after every use so it's not that.


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## dutchy101 (Jun 12, 2020)

Same here. Most I get is 2 coffees and milk before I empty the tray in mine.

It's a brilliant unit in my opinion and perfect for a starter unit.


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

Sounds like as was suggested earlier a video is needed. Loads sold and it doesn't seem to be widely reported. @kennyboy993 has been using one for a while.  He loves changing machines. Man of experience.

A video. I suspect it should also include a shot of the puck before it's used and after as well.


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

Ha ha John is right about me changing machines. I'll be moving on from bambino soon

I think it's a great machine though ultimately it's main asset - super quick heat up - is also it's biggest limiter.

Bambino brew temp is directly related to flow rate because it only heats at brew time - it's not the same as older thermoblocks where the block gets to a certain heat and therefore stores heat in some small way. Thermojet only heats when you're pulling your shot so it's setup to heat water to the right temperature on an assumed rate of flow - around 36g in 30 seconds for example.

If you deviate too much from that the brew temp is adversely affected.

Which pretty much rules out experimenting with more difficult beans eg with coarse grind and longer ratio etc.

But for middle of the road beans, grind etc it's a great little machine - and the auto milk works very well


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

That relates to all of the thermo machines really. The PID can be balanced for a certain flow rate so when flushing for instance the water wont reach brew temperature.

I used a straight BE and often made 3 drinks on the trot. One day I tasted each one. Mine was always the last. Not much difference between 2nd and 3rd but the first was weaker.  Strength of the taste often comes into one of the metrics on taste especially as people make and drink more and more coffee.

That's one way to see if thermojet is better than thermocoil. Knowing how Sage work it might also offer some advantages on descaling.

I did my own thing to get around this. Fitted a pressurised basket with nothing in it and pulled a shot, a single will do it and it also heats the portafilter. Then fitted the basket I wanted to use, added the grinds and pulled the shot. I used an extraction tool of Amazon to get the hot basket out. What mustn't done after this is a machine flush as it will cool things again so do that first.

Another person simply ran off a bit of steam and pulled the shot as soon as the machine allowed. Flushing before that for the same reasons.

While the thermojet unit is small the element that heats it isn't. It wont cool rapidly. That's why heating water to an accurate temperature isn't easy. The element mustn't exceed that temperature otherwise it will carry on heating. This applies when water flows as well. It will stop at some point.

People might think that a boiler solves this. It needn't unless other steps are taken. On E61 for instance the grouphead is part of the heating so within limits it can help maintain a stable temperature when cold water goes into the boiler when a shot is pulled. Bigger boilers help even on E61.

This is a simple explanation of what goes on and the reasons. Generally people just see the word PID and that's that. In practice the thermo machines can probably work more effectively than others and improvements tend to up the cost rather sharply.

In short best temperature control will be over a limit water flow rate what ever machine is bought and PID isn't a magic bullet.


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## dutchy101 (Jun 12, 2020)

So my 2nd Bambino is now leaking every time the steam wand purges. It really leaks when I perform the clean function, but I have been tollerating this. Now it's doing it every time I make a coffee I'm not prepared to accept it any longer. Will be returning the unit


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