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Dying Barista Athena - 2006/07/03 00:59My barista Athena won't steam any more. It ran out of pressure, and the only way to get any appreciable amount of steam out of it now, is to unscrew the steam knob until it pops out, and hold it there.
Sigh. Are these things expensive to fix? Should I be looking at buying a new machine?
(well, it does steam, it just takes 30 minutes to do it!)
What should I do?
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dave
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Re:Dying Barista Athena - 2006/07/03 10:37You might start by checking to see if the steam wand is clogged with dried milk. How well does water run through the wand if you open the steam valve with the pump running?
Use a straight pin or small needle/etc. - the key is something that fits without stretching the steam hole - and push it up into the wand. If you encounter resistance, excepting natural bends in the wand, or find that this makes some difference, you might leave the wand soaking overnight in soapy water. Doesn't hurt to do this anyway, just rinse it out well afterward and let it cool down beforehand, to prevent suction from drawing any detergents into the machine.
Have you maintained the machine by descaling it periodically, including the steam wand? It is also possible that accumulated scale in the valve is impeding flow. If your wand is clean and there is no improvement, your steam valve may be choked up.
Forgive me if I'm making assumptions about how the Athena works when I haven't used one. When set to steam, if you pump water (through the group if necessary), is it very hot and steamy, hotter than brew temperature water? You also want to be sure that it is heating sufficiently to generate good steam pressure. I'm assuming for now that it is, since you can get some usable steam.
DaveDave is an Ottawa resident and Coffee Expert
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Yes, I can get water to flow through it quite readily, and it doesn't seem clogged up.
I have maintained it, and descaled it periodically. I've done a three descalings on it in the past couple weeks, trying to get it working better, no help.
If you put the steam switch on, you get very hot steamy water through the brew group, or through the steam wand.
I'm wondering if something came lose in the steam valve.
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dave
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Re:Dying Barista Athena - 2006/07/08 21:00If you can pass lots of water through the wand, then you might focus on the steam itself.
If you are simply not getting much steam generated, but everything else seems to be fine, I would question if there is a problem with your steam thermostat. Heavy scale accumulations on the boiler element could still be a possibility, assuming the machine has seen sufficient use.
You confirmed that you get hot, steamy water when applying the steam switch. Is it significantly hotter than your brew water (at regular brew temperature without using the steam switch)? Do you have a thermometer to compare the two?
Does the ready light go off when you flick the steam switch and then eventually come on again (or vice versa)?
I doubt that this is your solution since you mentioned it taking 30 minutes to steam milk, but be sure to bleed any water from the wand shortly after engaging the steam switch. This will free up some space and give you a little head room for building up steam. If necessary, let it bleed off steam/water for a little while to increase the head room, then close the valve and give it some more time to replenish the steam.
If tremendous patience is not being rewarded with lots of steam and scale is not thought to be a problem, look at the steam thermostat. Scale accumulation on an in-boiler element can affect its ability to heat the water effectively. Is it taking any longer than normal to heat up or cycle to brew temperature?
My Gaggia has a very powerful element in a very small boiler (~1425W for a 3.5oz boiler). It gets ready to steam within about twenty seconds. Machines with larger boilers take a little longer, but within a couple of minutes you should be getting sufficient steam to work with unless the boiler (assuming the Athena has a boiler, since it has shot timers) is simply not getting to temperature.
DaveDave is an Ottawa resident and Coffee Expert
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