Coffee maker repair

[christinescoms]

Hi, I have a coffee maker, which is your usual filter-based dripper, only equipped with a mill, so you have freshly ground coffee each time. It can boil the exact amount of water you set, saying you select 6 cups with buttons, pour water to the 6 cups mark and it boils water exactly until the tank is empty. It was running nicely for about two years after which a limescale removal was needed. I used a generic acidic mixture sold for exactly this purpose. Immediately after that, the machine went haywire, right now it never boils out all the water, leaving random amounts of water in the tank.
Now, I was thinking about how these recognize the time required to boil, had two ideas in mind: timer, factory preset like 120s for 2 cups, 180s for 3 cups, etc...but that doesn't seem to be very dependable, considering very different conditions the machine can operate in. But a dead capacitor in the timer would explain erratic behavior. The other idea is some kind of simple sensor down the boiling tube, to detect if water still comes from the tank or not. This seems to be more likely to me, especially considering it stopped working properly after using the cleaning liquid, the sensor could get damaged. I'm generally able to fix many home appliances but here I am lost. After disassembling most of the maker I could not find any clues, not even sure if the cleaning process is a culprit or it was just a coincidence. Does anyone have an idea what should I look for?

 

[christinescoms]

Hi, I have a coffee maker, which is your usual filter-based dripper, only equipped with a mill, so you have freshly ground coffee each time. It can boil the exact amount of water you set, saying you select 6 cups with buttons, pour water to the 6 cups mark and it boils water exactly until the tank is empty. It was running nicely for about two years after which a limescale removal was needed. I used a generic acidic mixture sold for exactly this purpose. Immediately after that, the machine went haywire, right now it never boils out all the water, leaving random amounts of water in the tank.
Now, I was thinking about how these recognize the time required to boil, had two ideas in mind: timer, factory preset like 120s for 2 cups, 180s for 3 cups, etc...but that doesn't seem to be very dependable, considering very different conditions the machine can operate in. But a dead capacitor in the timer would explain erratic behavior. The other idea is some kind of simple sensor down the boiling tube, to detect if water still comes from the tank or not. This seems to be more likely to me, especially considering it stopped working properly after using the cleaning liquid, the sensor could get damaged. I'm generally able to fix many home appliances but here I am lost. After disassembling most of the maker I could not find any clues, not even sure if the cleaning process is a culprit or it was just a coincidence. Does anyone have an idea what should I look for? learn more

thanks in advance for any help

 

[ramondo]

Model and type? Does unit have a storage tank that will hold 18 or more cups of water but you can select to only want six cups? If you determine the amount of water supplied by adding only that much then I would assume there is a temperature sensor that will allow heater to boil water until empty then when heater temp rises it will open circuit to heater.

 

[aliarifat794]

If you identify a faulty temperature sensor in the coffee machine, you can try to replace it.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

Put another batch of de-scaler through it - it's possible some "chunks" of scale broke loose and one has jammed a flow sensor. Dissolving that away would fix the problem, in that case.

[And PLEASE stop double posting every question! - if you want to add something, you do not have to quote the entire question when it's directly above; that's just crazy].

 

[Doug]

Maybe there is a filter in it that's clog
Is it a crusinart?

 

[TO-3]

Some coffee machines don't use sensors but just some kind of mechanical valve in the heating circuit.
Water comes in, is heated, the steam closes the valve and the hot water exits to the other side. This continues till there is no water left.
Perhaps the valve got damaged due to the product.

 

[shokjok]

Two suggestions:
1. Locate a thermal fuse below the hotplate or the reservoir, check to see if it opened.
2. NEVER use tap water in a coffeemaker or kettle. Use distilled water to prolong its life and improve the taste of the hot beverage.