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Nuova Simonelli Mia Problem - 2005/11/03 10:35Hi all,
I've just purchased a second-hand Mia. The claim was that it was a gift and had never been used. From looking at it that seems likely.
Now that I have fired it up I have a problem. I've followed the directions in the user manual and the first time it worked, but now ... The Mia does not have a self-priming pump, so when I first filled it with water I primed it as per the instructions. Water came out of the steam wand and the group as the instructions indicated. I then ran water through the group as if I were making coffee. I then followed the directions for making steam and it seemed to steam quite well, except that when I turned the steam switch off it kept steaming for about 30-40 seconds. Eventually the steam fizzled out.
Now, I can get water to run through the group to make coffee, but I can't get it to make any more steam. If I follow the directions for making steam I get a few drips of water out of the steam wand. If I keep pressing the steam buttons for about a minute steam starts to come out from near the group but nothing other than a few drips from the steam wand.
Any ideas as to what has caused my problem? Any suggestions for fixing this?
Thanks for your help.
Richard
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colin
Admin Admin
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Re:Nuova Simonelli Mia Problem - 2005/11/03 18:23Let's see if I am hearing your correctly - to do that, let me tell you a story. A gal e-mails me and she says: "I want to steam milk for cappuccino so I turn the steam switch on for a few seconds and steam some milk but the steam fizzles out after a few seconds. It must have taken me 12 minutes like this to steam enough milk for one cappuccino!"
No, she wasn't blond!
I told her: "When steaming milk, let the thing heat up. Leave the steam switch ON for the duration of your steaming session and then bleed off the excess heat through the group prior to brewing shots when you are done steaming"
So, what I am hearing here is that you are not leaving the STEAM switch on long enough.
ColinColin is the Senior editor and creator of the CoffeeCrew.Com Website
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Richard
Visitor
Re:Nuova Simonelli Mia Problem - 2005/11/03 21:54Hi Colin,
Thanks for the suggestion. I don't think this is my problem, as I'm following the instructions. To be specific, I let the machine heat up until the pilot light goes out (meaning it is at coffee brewing temperature). At the start I press the steam release button for 2 seconds to let out stale water (according to instructions) and then let go of the steam release button. I then press the steam heating button for 20 seconds or so (the instruction manual says to press for 20 seconds). I then press the steam release button again, while still pressing the steam heating button, and nothing comes out except for a couple of drips of water. If I keep pressing the steam heating or steam heating and steam release buttons for about a minute, steam starts to escape from around the group but still just a couple of drips of water from the steam wand.
So, any other suggestions?
Thanks.
Richard
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colin
Admin Admin
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Karma: 19
Re:Nuova Simonelli Mia Problem - 2005/11/04 18:19I think I am fair familiar with the Mia -
I think the Steam switch needs to be depressed and left depressed during the steaming session.
I will see if I can dig up a picture of the Mia to confirm this.
Have you de-scaled your Mia lately?
I had a girlfriend named Mia once.Colin is the Senior editor and creator of the CoffeeCrew.Com Website
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Richard
Visitor
Re:Nuova Simonelli Mia Problem - 2005/11/06 11:06Hi,
I can't point you to the exact page as I can't access their site at the moment. But it was under discontinued products.
There are four switches on the Mia, one for power, one for coffee brewing, one for heating for steam, and one for releasing steam. According to the instructions you press the steam release button for a couple of seconds, then press the steam heating button for 20 seconds. I guess you would then press both the steam heating and release buttons to generate the steam.
I've just tried descaling the machine and now get steam again. Thanks for the suggestion. Supposedly the machine has never been used so I didn't think of that first up. What is now happening is that I get very "wet" steam for the first 30 - 60 seconds of steaming. I again follow the instructions, heat the steam for 20 seconds or so, then press both the steam release and heating buttons. When I do this I am now again getting steam, but it spits out water with the steam. If I run the steam for about 30 - 60 seconds it will spit out around 100ml of water. Far too much to use to steam milk. After that first 30 - 60 seconds I then get nice "dry" steam that would be very suitable for steaming milk. The dry steam will run continuously for about 2 minutes.
Do you think it needs longer than the 20 seconds or so to heat up to a proper steaming temperature? Or is this a known/common quirk and you just run the first bit of steam until you get "dry" steam? Any other suggestions?
Thanks again.
Richard
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colin
Admin Admin
Posts: 730
Karma: 19
Re:Nuova Simonelli Mia Problem - 2005/11/07 23:17for all the machines I have used, I give the machine 45s to come up to a good head of steam...Colin is the Senior editor and creator of the CoffeeCrew.Com Website
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