2w ago

Good old superautomatic coffee machine

I know this model. It's ~30 years old, can make a decent shot. This particular one didn't smell, looked clean enough, had all parts, powered up, but decided to leak coffee powder everywhere once I got it home. Pump doesn't prime but I think it should be an easy fix, the pump makes the normal pump sound. Worst case I need a 30$ gasket kit and a weekend of futzing around. Not bad huh?

4 comments

Nice 30 years old is probably a good thing these days.
- No:
  Collecting my usage stats.
  Firmware that constantly needs upgrades.
  Screens that can fail.
  Phoning home.
  Bricking it.
  Right to repair issues.
  It also has a handy self-test mode. Hold the two other buttons down then press the power button.
  I'll admit from what I remember it doesn't make the best espresso. But.. the newest Philips machines still use the same damn brew unit from what I could see. The newest machines do look sleek and pretty.
  
  As if household pressurized steam wasn't complicated enough.
  Sounds like you're a coffee guy? I'm guessing you know how to clean the inside properly than.
Just to add to the fun, this machine has the annoying "feature" of different screw head types. The two screws that hold down the bean hopper are regular Philips P1. The screw under the water hopper is a Torx T10. The two screws behind the front panel that hold the top housing are Pozidriv P1. And the last one, the one hiding in the hole under the coffee hopper, is a Pozidriv P0.
This is important because chewing up the screw heads with the wrong driver can lead to frustration which can break the plastic and then it will never hold together again.
And I had to vacuum half a cup of beans from the bottom, like, I can only surmise someone unscrewed the coffee hopper without taking the beans out first, then gave up.
It is a large thing to work on. The towel is because it catches screws and dirt and what not once I took it apart on the floor. (That's where shit ends up anyway, right, so just start there...)