Coffee Bean 101…. Coffee and Espresso Information

How To Repair An Espresso Machine When The Brew Thermostat Has Broken.

February 15th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed

You get up one to make yourself a nice espresso using your Gaggia semi-automatic or Rancilio Silviaespresso machine only to find its cold. So after checking to see if the machine will heat to steam temperature and it does (as you can get steam from the steam wand) you then find out that what in fact you need is a new brew thermostat. So how do you go about making an espresso machine repair without having to send it back to the shop where you brought it or the manufacturer? In this article we will explain how to replace that faulty or broken brew thermostat.

However before you start working on your machine please make sure that there is no water in the reservoir and the machine is unplugged.

Now let’s look at the instructions on how to replace the thermostat in your Gaggia.

Remove the top of the machine
Remove the 2 wires from the thermostat (it is easy to do by pushing them off with a flat headed screwdriver)
Using a 17mm wrench rotate the thermostat counterclockwise. Then once it has become loose you can rotate it with your fingers and remove
Now get the replacement thermostat (the one you ordered) and apply thermal mastic to the base of the thermostat but no to the threads and install. Originally start tightening the thermostat by hand until it will not turn any further and then with the 17mm wrench and 1/8 of a turn and then no more
Reattach the wires (it does not matter which way they go) and then put the top of the machine back on

Now below are the instructions for replacing the thermostat in your Rancilio Silvia. The thermostat for this machine is located on top of the boiler (is a large brass dome shaped device). It has two thermostats and the brew one is on the left.

Remove the top of the machine and the water reservoir
Remove the wires from the thermostat (there are 2). Again it is best to do this using a flat-headed screwdriver
Undo the 2 slotted screws that hold the thermostat down it might be useful to have a magnet to hand in order to catch the screws
Remove the old thermostat and apply thermal mastic to the base of the thermostat and put it in place
Now put the holder back over the thermostat with the screws to secure it
Attach the wires, again it does not matter which way these go
Finally install the top and the reservoir

Hopefully after you have carried out your espresso machine repair you should be up and running again and looking forward to your next morning espresso.