# Gaggia Classic after steam



## Jonathan007 (Aug 15, 2012)

Hi

I have a Gaggia Classic and after I have steamed milk I switch the steam off and run water through the brew group.

Thing is, because I have steamed the milk it takes about 6 seconds for the water to come through. I understand that water will have been used for steam but I'm worried that the steaming process has left the boiler empty. Will this cause any harm?

Thanks for your time

Jon.


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## espresso_a_day (Aug 18, 2010)

You are right that the boiler is (partly) empty after steaming.

By pressing the brew switch you are switching on the pump and refilling the boiler (I think this is called venting the boiler). This is exactly what you should be doing.

The inflow into the boiler on the CC is at the bottom. The boiler has a vertical dip tube so water going into the brew head and into your cup actually comes from the top of the boiler. The 6 sec is the lag until the water level is above the entry of the dip tube.

I usually refill the boiler with the steam wand open, as I once read that is recommended, presumably because this will take water from the highest point in the boiler (though not sure this is all that important given the dip tube).

Because the heating elements of the CC are mounted externally on the boiler, they are AFAIK pretty well protected from overheating. Again AFAIK for other single boiler machines with internal heating elements like the Silvia, overheating is a real danger if you let the boiler fall dry, so refilling the boiler with water is really important there.

My CC is fitted with a PID, and it seems that filling about 2/3 of a small glass of water after steaming also gets the boiler temperature back to brew temp. This is handy to know if you are making more than 2 milk beverages where I find it convenient to brew -- steam -- brew.


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## Jonathan007 (Aug 15, 2012)

Thank you so much for you thorough help.

Regards

Jon


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