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Slow flow rate from Gaggia Classic group head (pawb.social)

submitted 1 week ago by OmegaMouse@pawb.social to c/coffee@lemmy.world

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I've had a Gaggia Classic for a few years and over the last few months I've been having issues with the flow from the group head.

I think it might be an issue with the solenoid valve. There was some guidance I saw online about flicking rapidly from the group head to the steam wand, as this forces water through and clears any blockages. And yes this does seem to work - if I rapidly flick the switches the water suddenly flows a lot faster from the group head. But it's not a permanent fix.

I've descaled it several times. Is there something else I can do, or does the valve need replacing?

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[–] Spokesyon@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I wasn’t using the correct water, and after about two years I needed to replace my valve. After inspection my boiler was also beyond descaling and the steam valve was drippy. I replaced those parts because I could but only the solenoid valve was required. FWIW there are videos on how to clean the valve (after removing it) but they didn’t work for me.

[–] OmegaMouse@pawb.social 1 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Thanks for this - I could certainly take it apart and try and clean everything individually. Are there any particular guides you used when doing this?

What kind of water do you use now? Distilled or through a brita filter?

[–] Spokesyon@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

https://youtu.be/0ipvBdWaVzQ

I used this, but I’ve installed the shades pid, shades pressure gauge, and a dimmer mod so I was fairly familiar with the innards.

Consumer carbon filters don’t really remove enough hardness to be effective. For convenience I use distilled gallons and third wave espresso packets. There are cheaper methods though.

[–] Spokesyon@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Do not use straight distilled water though. It will damage the machine and taste very very bad.

[–] OmegaMouse@pawb.social 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Would you use 50/50 distilled to tap water for example?

[–] Spokesyon@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

There’s a bunch of deep dives on water chemistry, but I mix third wave water packets into one gallon of distilled water.