baby GAGGIA wont produce water through group head!!

[fernandov]

HI all, new to this forum and i hope someone can help. i have an older (2002) baby GAGGIA and water does not come through the group head, i replaced the pump, cleaned the group head and boiler by dismantling the whole thing and no clogs appear. cleaned the shower screen and diffuser disk as well. added two new thermostats and group head gasket. there is plenty of steam so water is getting to the boiler. the only two parts that i haven't touched are the 3 way solenoid and valve assembly. can these be cleaned or do they just get replaced? could the problem be with one of those? thanks for any help.

 

[shadow745]

You should be able to take the 3-way apart and clean/inspect. Much cheaper alternative than replacing it. When you activate the pump is there water flowing anywhere?

 

[fernandov]

baby GAGGIA

You should be able to take the 3-way apart and clean/inspect. Much cheaper alternative than replacing it. When you activate the pump is there water flowing anywhere?

yes water does come out but not at the force it should be. i only get 48ml of water on a 20dec shot pull. and no crema like before. i did take the 3 way apart and cleaned it. it didn't even look corroded but i tiny little red washer got unseated so i out it back in place. when i reassembled is when the water came out better but not perfect. i wish i could find just the valve part as the coil is still good. i think the valve is not letting enough water thru for some reason. back flushed as well with cafiza at a high strength. looking around for the internal guts of the 3 way. i cleaned the group head and boiler and didnt see any clogs..ran a thine wire through all the orifices so that can't be the problem. thanks for your reply.

 

[shadow745]

Also look for signs of scale in that 3-way... anything that might keep the piston from sealing tightly. I have soaked solenoids for long periods of time, but still had to tear into them to clean/descale manually. When you pull a shot do you have water coming from the 3-way into the drip tray DURING the shot? Or just after you kill power to the pump as it should be?

Slow flow/less crema can also be caused by too fine on the grind. How much water do you get from the group in 10 seconds with no portafilter/basket in place?

 

[fernandov]

Also look for signs of scale in that 3-way... anything that might keep the piston from sealing tightly. I have soaked solenoids for long periods of time, but still had to tear into them to clean/descale manually. When you pull a shot do you have water coming from the 3-way into the drip tray DURING the shot? Or just after you kill power to the pump as it should be?

Slow flow/less crema can also be caused by too fine on the grind. How much water do you get from the group in 10 seconds with no portafilter/basket in place?

thanks shadow745. i finally got it to work like it's supposed to. i did take the 3 way apart and it didn't look bad but a washer got loose and put it back in its place. then i descaled it, back flushed it and water finally started moving more freely!!! finally got the baby back to work! thanks all for the great help i got here!!