Kat & Dane at Seattle Coffee Gear walk you through the all important backflushing process, necessary for keeping semi-automatic espresso machines with 3-way …
How to Backflush your Espresso Machine
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Was this… BEFORE GAIL???
@robocomp Sorry, no 🙁 We have never carried this model so aren’t familiar
with its cleaning / maintenance needs. – Kat
@92benjy We will do one – have had a few requests for a Silvia-specific
video. You can’t see the release valve on the Silvia, but if you remove the
drip tray grate, you’ll see the water come out behind the back panel and
release into the drip dray. – Kat
holly sh!t that dirty mine is never like that, but I backflush without
powder after every coffee and backflush with powder once a week.
@robotmotor All you’ll need to do is clean around the brew group, the
portafilter and baskets — check to see if you can remove the filter screen
in the brew head and clean up behind that (not sure on these machines if
that’s possible). Other than that, descaling. That’s pretty much it – Kat
Dear SCG – what’s the name/term for the part of the machine through which
water (and detergent and old coffee) flushes out every time you turn the
machine off (appears to be located just behind the brew head on the machine
you used in your demo)? My machine is a version of the Ascaso Dream that
predates the UP, and I can’t imagine where water will flush out of it…
Thanks
@williamsalaska Awesome! Glad we could help. – Kat
@joeldamianicigan Thanks!
@krssnoop Great to hear – thank you 🙂 – Kat
what is 3 way valve?
Cool thank you really helped me out.
Rancilio is capable for this?
I’ve owned a Silvia v.3 since late December 2009 and I haven’t backflushed
it. I was aware of the process but the manufactures advise against it.
After seeing this vid. I’m pretty eager to backflush the machine. However,
because I haven’t done so regularly, it could hurt the machine! What do you
suggest I do?? Thanks
Have you descaled the machine regularly? If there is scale build up, the
boiler can’t get to the right temperature. Feel free to send me your
make/model info via a message here and I can perhaps help you figure out
what’s up – Kat
Hi, thanks for that info. I’ll check it out.
@SeattleCoffeeGear Thanks, Kat!
If that doesn’t work, try unclogging the wand tip, if it doesn’t get purged
of milk after steaming, if could be clogged with milk protein. Hope that
helps.
yep, we had a Giotto at my last workplace. This is the ECM Giotto.
@WhoIsIshYambot We don’t have this specific machine, but DeLonghis in
general do not have a solenoid valve and, therefore, do not require
backflushing. – Kat
what if you do this on a machine without 3 way valve?
it;s a rocket giotto or cellini
@sherryB89 Rancilio has since changed their tune on this and now recommend
backflushing to care for the three-way valve system. You can follow this
process, it will just take you a bit longer to get to the white/non-coffee
suds. You may have to run backflush detergent through it twice, just watch
how it’s clearing out. Three months is not too long and you won’t damage
the machine if you do it correctly. – Kat
We also call this a brew pressure release valve, which releases the steam
pressure off the top of the coffee puck after you’re done brewing. The
water then drains down into the drip tray and leaves you with a dry puck.
Very nice instructional video!
Tighten the end of the steam wand. It’s probably too loose.
nice machine, what kind is it? …. i want one for my house
Yes – any machine that has a 3-way release valve…sometimes called a brew
pressure release or a solenoid valve. The Silvia does need to be
backflushed regularly for optimal performance.
I own a Delonghi and I just make sure to run it without any coffee every
once in a while, as well as making sure to wipe the brewhead off with a
damp rag every time I make espresso.
Yours doesn’t have this system and should not be backflushed; you will
damage the machine. It is a brew pressure release valve that is either
mechanical or managed via a solenoid, but not all machines have them. This
was one piece of functionality added in the UP version. – Kat
Exactly the information I was looking for, thank you! I’m looking for ways
to improve the performance of my machine; lately the pump seems to be
having trouble, apparently related to how firmly I pack the coffee into the
basket…a pack that’s too tight will result in no coffee coming out
together with a sound of futile struggling from the pump itself. I’m now
considering taking the whole thing apart… Your ‘brew head upgrade adapter
kit’ also looks like a good idea.
hello! just wondering. i just bought a delonghi ec702, and i want to know
how to clean it. does backflushing work with it? im not quite sure becuase
the manual is too vague with the whole cleaning process. im not quite sure
how to clean it daily since it doesnt have a 3 way valve
You could take the brew head apart and clean it thoroughly; the other thing
to think about is descaling — have you been doing that regularly? That can
impact the pressure in the boiler and then the brew head pressure. But this
also does sound like there is a grind/tamp issue going on and you may need
to re-calibrate your situation so that it’s not over-pressuring. – Kat
it doesnt heat up enough to turn the water over 100 degrees celsius needed
to create steam instead of water.
Can you backflush non-professional machines like Saeco Via Veneto?
@SeattleCoffeeGear oh I see, love the vids thanks for sharing your
knowledge 😀
I have Europiccola. Do they need to be backflushed?
I have an automatic Astra Mega III. We have it installed, in my home, on my
back porch. Can you tell me what a 3 way solenoid valve looks like and does
my machine have a 3 way valve? Am I supposed to backflush this machine? I
am clueless…..!! Thanks! Tara
thanks kat for the help but please tell me how i can clean my brivelle
espresso machine she dont have Backflush
Hi there – sorry, but I am not familiar with this machine. I would contact
whomever you purchased it from or try to find a manual online. If you have
the 3 way solenoid/release valve then you will need to backflush, but
definitely confirm that you do before doing so, otherwise you will damage
it. – Kat
If I do this on a silvia v3 where will the water come out.? Or you could
maybe show us with another video but on the silvia – there fab(the videos),
thanks kat
You don’t need to do this on a machine without a valve; nothing would
happen because this technique is specific to cleaning out that valve. If
you want to clean up behind the brew head screen, we recommend removing it
and cleaning it that way.
@krssnoop Yeah, we also pull about 40 shots a day on ours on average and
didn’t backflush for a few days on purpose so that this would be a good
demonstration. – Kat
@GirlPaint Nope; they do not have a three-way brew pressure
release/solenoid valve, so you don’t need to do this maintenance on them. –
Kat
It’s a really good idea to ‘soak’ your filter basket in a small bowl of hot
water with a teaspoon of the same detergent added while you do the
back-flushing…
Greetings from northern Italy, very nice work! But, what is this ‘Cafiza’?
It contains tartaric acid, like other descaling products, or something
other? Thank you in advance, ciao! 🙂
Thanks for a pretty nice video ) do you have any idea where can I find some
info about how to clean bosch tca 5201 espresso machine. It’s not
professional. it’s for home use and it stopped producing coffee )
I have a Starbucks Barista espresso machine. The steam wand no longer
steams but rather, a stream of hot water is comes out. Anybody have any
idea why that might be?
Yup! We soak all components every time we backflush – Kat
@idlehands28 You only backflush machines that have a 3-way solenoid/brew
pressure release valve. Non-professional machines have these as well, but
the Via Veneto does not. Let me know if you have any other questions – Kat