# Mazzer Royal stopped working, mostly



## bagpuss (Feb 6, 2015)

Hello all, looking for some help/guidance/suggestions before I dive in with the tools, please.

I have a Mazzer Royal that has not missed a beat for three years and now has a problem. Most of the time it won't work. Went wrong three days ago. About once a day when I try it, it spins okay, but once it stops it won't go again.

Background:

It's about 11 years old, but was not used till I got it 3 years ago.

Light domestic use since.

Has been rewired with an external Auber Instruments Timer. Done 18 months ago, and it's worked fine since.

The various switches (hopper etc) were shorted.

I've checked Auber, and I think it's okay. Bridging the cable running to the grinder does not make grinder run.

This occurred as I changed beans. Ran it empty, filled hopper, ran with new beans. I thought there was an unusual noise, almost like there was grit in the coffee, but having inspected the burrs, I don't think there was. (Ti burrs, so thank goodness!)

Planning to open it up and dig around. But where might the fault lie, from the sounds of it? A capacitor? Contactor?

Also, I'm west London, if there's a good place or person to take it to?

Thanks for any pointers!


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Replace the capacitor and contactor and it should be absolutely fine.


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## bagpuss (Feb 6, 2015)

Thanks Chap.

I can't seem to find a direct replacement for the Lovato BF16 contactor, but can get a BF18 that looks like it's a very similar spec, but 18A. RS has them. Ought that to be okay? Or even a Hylec one from screw fix?

Similarly for the capacitor, RS has similar, or should I go to a capacitor specialist who would, I'm sure, advise correctly?

any advantage to upgrading or putting in better quality components?


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

Be careful of capacitors when playing with them. They can give quite a jolt if not careful.


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## bagpuss (Feb 6, 2015)

I've been doing some looking. Seems I can't get a straight swap for either. Can I over-spec and be careful/improve? With the contactor, is there any reasonable option for making it quieter? A solid state contactor? They seem to be very expensive.

So can I get an 18A, 230V, resistive contactor and that should work safely?

Capacitor: having a bit of trouble finding a 16uF replacement that has similar spec to the markings on the extant one.

425V ~ 30000 h/cl.A

475V ~ 10000 h/cl.B

500V ~ 3000 h/cl.C

Again, can I get bigger one and be sure? It's the 425V ~ 30000 h/cl.A bit that I can't seem to replicate.

Thanks!


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## espressotechno (Apr 11, 2011)

No problem in fitting a bigger 18A contactor - just ensure it's a resistive load type.

The new capacitor should be 16uf - any suitable for 230v will be OK.


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## bagpuss (Feb 6, 2015)

Boom!

No, not a capacitor accident - thanks for the reminder ashcroc. Royal rolling again! We're back in the game.

Have put a new capacitor in and it's come back to life. Hadn't actually ordered a new contactor yet, and glad I didn't now. But I'll know where to look in the future.

Thank you very much coffeechap and espressotechno for your help and advice. Grinder fixed, something learned.


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## bagpuss (Feb 6, 2015)

I should mention what I've learned.

(Small lesson: I've learned that capacitors and contactors can go wrong but are easily and relatively cheaply replaced.)

Big lesson: I've learned that it's important to have two grinders. I've previously had to justify the presence of a Mini E next to the Royal by saying it's for decaf, too much hassle changing beans, etc. True, of course. But given that the Royal went into "deep meditation mode" a whole week ago, thank goodness I had a backup!


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

n+1 just like bikes. Although I'm down to 1 electric and an Aergrind now.


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