11mo ago

Anyone around who has experience with magnet valves? I got one here (in a coffee machine) that buzzes loudly when active, is that a sign it's going to bite the dust soon? Any suggestions for fixes,

Anyone around who has experience with magnet valves? I got one here (in a coffee machine) that buzzes loudly when active, is that a sign it's going to bite the dust soon? Any suggestions for fixes, like repeated descaling, or simply giving it a good whack? Or save myself the hassle and just get a replacement part?

/cc @coffee

4 comments

The espresso machine I bought off ebay for spare parts (to repair mine) had a buzzing magnet valve. (And the valve did not close)
It turned out the shower sieve was broken and on every cup the machine flushed coffee into the three way valve.
I used coffee machine degreaser and did a lot of backflushing with a "blind sieve" in the portafilter. With the degreaser buzzing slowly got better until it finally stopped and the valve closed correctly again. I never opened or changed the valve.
It was just dirty.
I'm using the machine I bought for spare parts for half a year now (and of course I replaced the shower sieve, which was about 7 euro or so)
(Oh and the machine is a Rancilio Silvia, my old one is 16y old and the spare parts one around 4y or so)
- Yeah most likely build up of coffee oil and a few thorough backflushes with espresso cleaner usually quiets the rattle

I know some folks open them, clean them and change o-rings, etc. If it's not hugely expensive, I'd personally replace it when it goes. I don't know if buzzing is a sign of death but the ones in the espresso machines I've handled did not emit audible noise other than the loud clicking when they switch.

This is probably not useful but with my machine I just use it (relativly noisy) until it stops working..