Another Problem With M2 Machine

[junkdigger]

A friend of mine is having a steam problem with an M2 machine. The problem is no steam through the wand, when you press the button for steam. Everything else seems to work OK. The thermocouple is out in the wand, so they have been doing it manually, by pressing the button for steam, then pressing it to stop. They can't afford the $ 600.00 for a new wand. Can anyone help me out in troubleshooting this problem? First thing I plan on looking at is the switch, and I assume there is a steam valve controlled by the switch. Is there any other component I need to check? Is there a common problem item when steam is not getting to the wand?


This forum has helped me twice before with this machine, and I thank you.


Thanks

Michael

 

[CCafe]

Those arms are susceptible to plugging up with milk. I would check to see if the tip is plugged first. If you know the tip is fine I would suggest taking the arm off the machine. Pull up the lid, put a flat blade screwdriver in between the c-clip and the pipe. Turn the screwdriver slowly and you should start to see the the clip come out of the groove. You may need to use another screwdriver with a bigger blade to get it out all the way.

Take your flat blade screwdriver place it by the wires and carefully hit it with a small hammer. A single blow should help dislodge the steam arm. With the wires still connected and the steam arm somewhat dangling from the articulation turn it on. If you see steam shut it off immediately.

Now you'll know that everything is working fine and the steam arm is plugged. If the arm is plugged your SOL and your going to have to fork up about $475 for a new arm.

If you don't properly clean the arm after every drink or after you have made several drinks in a row your going to have problems. The TurboSteam arm has a inner and outer pipe. The inner pipe contains the wires to the probe and the outer pipe carries the steam. If you don't purge the arm after the last drink has been made then the milk will dry to both surfaces. So you can see the milk can plug the arm fairly quickly. If this is the case there is no way to clean the arm and you will need a new one.

Before you continue on make sure your boiler is hot and creating steam. I would hate for you to tear your machine apart and find out that you have no steam because of an error or a high limit needs to be reset.

Now if your not getting any steam to the arm then you will need to check the solenoid valve on the boiler. You will need a 14mm open end wrench to take the nut off holding the solenoid in place. Remove the solenoid while its still connected. Put your screwdriver down the center of the solenoid. Turn the steam arm on, point the screwdriver towards the floor, if the solenoid falls off with no resistance then the solenoid is bad. If it sticks to the screw driver and slowly falls off or doesn't even move then I would say the solenoid is fine and maybe the valve is stuck.

If this is the case you will need a crescent wrench to remove the stem of the valve from the base. Inside is a plunger connected to a spring. It should come out with no resistance. Turn it right side up and it should fall out. If not the valve is bad.