# Classic steaming



## surfer (Oct 15, 2010)

I was thinking about the steaming process with my classic, how the indicator light goes off while the elements heat the boiler again to make more steam. My question is as the water is boiled off, can the boiler empty and cause the whole thing to overheat. Is there a thermal cut out to avoid this. Do I need to run the pump to recharge the boiler.

How many times will it steam till there is a problem? Thanks for any info.


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## lookseehear (Jul 16, 2010)

As with all 'single boiler, dual use' machines which don't automatically refill the boiler, you will have to do the refilling yourself.

There should be thermostats and thermal cut outs which stop you from burning your house down, but I believe it is possible for you to burn out your heating element if the boiler runs dry. To be safe, after steaming you should run the pump and keep the steam wand open until water pumps out, as this is an indicator that it is full. This means that next time you turn the machine on you can be sure the boiler isn't empty.


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## DonRJ (Apr 3, 2010)

My rule of thumb for steaming when I had a Gaggia was to never steam more than 500ml of milk at a time without recharging the boiler as described by lookseehear, better safe than sorry and I couldn`t have descibed the procedure and issues any better. I do the same with my Silvia too.


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## gaggiamanualservice.com (Dec 22, 2009)

only steam for the froth you want to foam, you will blow the thermal fuse if you leave to steam too long, single boiler by rule of thumb generally means single use until filled again

mark


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