# Fracino Engineer?



## Seb217 (May 28, 2018)

Hi, I wonder if there is a Fracino Engineer anywhere near Nottingham? I have a few problems which are beyond my level of understanding, so it's time to call in the professionals! Whilst I know that Fracino are based in Birmingham, which isn't a million miles away, I thought I'd see if there was anyone more local. Thank you in advance for your help.


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

there quite straight forward, any espresso service engineer should be able to sort


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## espressotechno (Apr 11, 2011)

Ask you favourite local coffeeshop who they use....


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## NewboyUK (Jul 14, 2018)

Fracino will travel to Notts. They carry all spares so would be quick and easy..

Whats the problem wiyh it?


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## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

I was really disappointed with Fracino when I had a fault with my Classico. They emailed me the number of their guy who covers the Bolton area and when I contacted him he was based in Huddersfield and understandably wasn't interested in coming out to me and even if he had there'd have been one huge call out fee. When I emailed Fracino back explaining how I purchased my machine from them instead of using one of the well known Italian brands because I thought I'd have good support going forward, they didn't even reply. In the end I had to find a guy localish to me and he sorted it out no problem, they're bog standard machines mostly and as has been mentioned previously, anyone should be able to sort it out.

The cheapest way to sort it if it's a small machine like a Cherub or Classico is to find a guy, get it in your car and take it to him, then be prepared to leave it with him to sort in his own time, then pick it up and pay him. This worked well for me, as I saved the call out fee and the guy was bombed out with work and happy for me to drop it off at his unit to fix at his leisure.


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## Seb217 (May 28, 2018)

Just wanted to say Thank You to all of you who have replied to me on this forum so far. I'm completely out of my depth with trying to understand coffee machine mechanics and so all of your help is much appreciated. What lovely people there are on this web site - restores my faith in human nature


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## Seb217 (May 28, 2018)

How I wish I had time to go to my local coffee shop - I am working a full time job whilst trying to set up a mobile coffee van at the same time!



espressotechno said:


> Ask you favourite local coffeeshop who they use....


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## Seb217 (May 28, 2018)

The machine looks basic enough on the inside, but it seems that looks can be deceiving in this case  LOL



jimbojohn55 said:


> there quite straight forward, any espresso service engineer should be able to sort


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## Seb217 (May 28, 2018)

I've just booked in to take my machine to Birmingham next week for diagnostics - it's only 50mins drive and saves on the call out fee 



NewboyUK said:


> Fracino will travel to Notts. They carry all spares so would be quick and easy..
> 
> Whats the problem wiyh it?


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## Seb217 (May 28, 2018)

I am so sorry and very shocked to hear of your experience with Fracino - they have been nothing but very friendly and helpful with me so far. I am taking my machine to them in Birmingham next week and fingers crossed the few small problems that I have will turn out to be just that.



cold war kid said:


> I was really disappointed with Fracino when I had a fault with my Classico. They emailed me the number of their guy who covers the Bolton area and when I contacted him he was based in Huddersfield and understandably wasn't interested in coming out to me and even if he had there'd have been one huge call out fee. When I emailed Fracino back explaining how I purchased my machine from them instead of using one of the well known Italian brands because I thought I'd have good support going forward, they didn't even reply. In the end I had to find a guy localish to me and he sorted it out no problem, they're bog standard machines mostly and as has been mentioned previously, anyone should be able to sort it out.
> 
> The cheapest way to sort it if it's a small machine like a Cherub or Classico is to find a guy, get it in your car and take it to him, then be prepared to leave it with him to sort in his own time, then pick it up and pay him. This worked well for me, as I saved the call out fee and the guy was bombed out with work and happy for me to drop it off at his unit to fix at his leisure.


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## caffeinegeek (Aug 29, 2018)

Hi, I was an electro-mechanical engineer in a previous life and now I sit around drinking coffee and working out how to make a better coffee machine!

I spent 3-4 days working on an old Contempo 1 group. I pulled it all apart and now it works better than it did new, but from what I can see the more recent single group machines like the Bambino aren't that different? Their new machines have a few added system safety features but seem to be little different from mine. Their copper boiler and piping must cost a fortune to produce, but I get the impression most of the Italian and copy machines follow the same principles.

I had no problem getting technical info, parts lists and diagrams from the Fracino website and their service department in Birmingham were very helpful. If you are using a Fracino trained service tech. or getting their factory to look at it there should be no problem. You didn't say what your faults were but IMHO on older commercial machines of any brand I see the biggest problem as hard water limescale. There are water jets on the pressurised side only 0.7mm diameter and easily blocked with scale. I will post a new thread with a list of things to look for to help diagnose faults. The documented methods for back flushing the group head won't always work. As for the rest of the machine, the boiler and heater isn't a quick job to de-scale and needs some out of the box thinking.

Don't be tempted to dive in yourself without knowledge and engineering skills - high pressure water, steam and electrics inside the cabinet are not a healthy combination for DIY repairs! My machine was supposedly re-furbished. Beware there are resellers of older used machines on auction sites who put on new shiny stainless steel covers. But what you are really buying is hidden inside! My re-seller didn't know a lot about pressure settings or the importance of having accurate pressure gauges on the front panel.

My Fracino machine and boiler serials were engraved on the cross bar underneath the top cover but you need a glancing light to show it up. Fracino can tell you the model version and age from that. Their oval sticky label carrying the serials is underneath to the right of the group head. But due to heat, it will probably have fallen off!

I hope you get a good thorough repair done. I was surprised how long it took me to go through everything on my machine and older machine with limescale could cost a lot in repair time, but I'm now very satisfied with its solid build quality and performance.


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