# Was I sold a refurbished / used Rocket Giotto PID at an official distributor?



## josebaristawanabe (Dec 12, 2018)

Hi, I'm from Argentina and I had a friend traveling to Europe, where he was kind enough to bring me a Rocket Evoluzione Giotto R, he bought it from the official Rocket distributor at the country he was visiting.

He was back home 2 days ago and I Installed and setup my machine as per the users manual instructions. Was able to brew a couple shots while dialing my grinder, and a continuous hissing sound started to bother me, it was coming from the cup warmer. Turned off the machine and went online to read about this issue, found it most likely was the pressure relief valve.

Removed the top cover and the his was indeed coming from that valve, along with steam and moisture being sprayed to the internals, read a bit more and found that gently tapping the valve might make it seal and so it did, although just temporarily.

The title of my thread comes from this:


Once I opened the top cover I saw some scale on the boiler ´s insulator, and on the water tank metal cover, will upload pics.

Other issue with the machine was NO HOT WATER coming out at all from the hot water wand, with only fixed after removing the shower tip and putting under running water and blowing a big scale amount out of it with my mouth.

When opening the machine ´s box as soon as I got my hands on it there was water over the top, most likely from someone putting the box upside down on the travel, not sure if it is normal for rocket to ship machines with water on their circuit, but sounds counter intuitive 100%

The machine was listed (and still is) at the dealer ´s web for € 1500, which seemed to me as a steal (no to mention I got a 5% first purchase discount and got 21% VAT back at the airport with a refund ticket), honestly this is the only reason I was able to purchase my dream machine to replace a (busted after just 6 months) Breville Barista express. So, I ended up paying € 1200 ish for it, I even emailed the dealer inquiring if the published price might be an error before purchasing.

Adding to this, I filled the tank with bottled water since the first use (nestle, that was the lowest calcium value on all the labels of water I read @ the supermarket.)


I phoned the dealer about my issue and told him about all this and he told that all the machines they sold were brand new and that he was shocked to hear about scale being there.

I think I would have taken my chances if the machine was published as a refurbished for what I ended up paying, but would feel cheated if it actually is, and it was published, advertised and told by the seller it was brand new after asking for these issues.

Would appreciate if any user with the knowledge can confirm it is possible for a brand new machine to ship with water, and if the (actually not that much) scale deposits inside and the Hughe scale build up / clogged hot water wand tip are things that might happen every now and then at a brand new machine.

I'm sorry for the post being this long, and hope someone was brave enough to read till here and help.

Thanks a lot in advance, Jose.


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

Hi Jose,

congrats to the purchase nevertheless, what a bargain!

Usually they test machines at the factory to ensure everything works fine. They don't use hard water, though, so someone else must've used it. The pressure relief valve is affected by limescale build-up and will eventually malfunction due to small particles of limescale sticking onto the seal. The valve therefore cannot close properly and will always hiss, making the problem worse over time. Constant exposure to water, limescale and heat will harden seal rubber, so any deformations caused by the particles will hinder proper closure even after removing the obstructions.

I suggest you run a thorough cycle of descaling and replace the valve. For the great deal you've made, fixing it with a few simple steps should be a no-brainer 

Again, congrats and I'm sure you'll enjoy your Rocket for many many years!


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## josebaristawanabe (Dec 12, 2018)

Thanks Hasi!!! and yes, I agree that it was a great deal even if used, just sucks not to be told by the seller, if this is the case.

I read in the manual descaling is not recommended by Rocket, but I might try it, I have a couple of Dezcal bags, the seller offered to send a valve for free, will take it and try to use the machine as its now working by the gentle tap method to make it (partially) seal.

Thanks for your answer !!!

José.


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

Not recommended? That's interesting, but @DavecUK might be able to shed more light on that...?

I own a Rocket Evo V2 for as long as it's been on the market, occasional descaling is a necessity when plumbed in and the manual even gives instructions if I'm not mistaken...?


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## josebaristawanabe (Dec 12, 2018)

Hasi said:


> Not recommended? That's interesting, but @DavecUK might be able to shed more light on that...?
> 
> I own a Rocket Evo V2 for as long as it's been on the market, occasional descaling is a necessity when plumbed in and the manual even gives instructions if I'm not mistaken...?


Strange, maybe Rocket changed their recommendation later on / for the PID machines?

Would appreciate more input on this, since I'm not sure I will find an espresso service spot (here they only do commercial and mostly locally manufactured ones) so if this is just an opinion from rocket I might run a descale as per other Rocket owners recommendation, I will stick to bottled water till I find a proper filter to soften tap water, plumbing in is left waiting for a kitchen redo in my house.

José.


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