Help Please: Trying to figure out what happened to my DeLonghi EC155 espresso machine

[enargins]

I have a DeLonghi EC 155 espresso machine. I've had it for a couple of years, and it's made great (to me anyway) espresso. I use only distilled water in it, to keep it from getting hard water deposits, as I live in a very hard water area. Everything's been great.


The other day I had a leak in my kitchen area, and then maintenance guys were working. I stepped away for a few minutes, and when I returned, everything on one side of my kitchen had been moved to the other side, including my espresso machine.


I've since put everything back. But now my machine doesn't make good espresso anymore. It tastes all heavy and with a burnt taste. The espresso coming out looks the same as it always had, with the same amount of crema (though the first batch after I put it back didn't have any crema). But I'm on my 3rd batch now, and it just tastes awful!


What could they have done to mess up my machine so? Maybe they banged it when they put it on the other counter?


I'm hoping there's something I can do to fix this, as I don't want to have to buy another machine, as this one was working great up until now.


Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[PinkRose]

I have a DeLonghi EC 155 espresso machine. I've had it for a couple of years, and it's made great (to me anyway) espresso. I use only distilled water in it, to keep it from getting hard water deposits, as I live in a very hard water area. Everything's been great.


The other day I had a leak in my kitchen area, and then maintenance guys were working. I stepped away for a few minutes, and when I returned, everything on one side of my kitchen had been moved to the other side, including my espresso machine.


I've since put everything back. But now my machine doesn't make good espresso anymore. It tastes all heavy and with a burnt taste. The espresso coming out looks the same as it always had, with the same amount of crema (though the first batch after I put it back didn't have any crema). But I'm on my 3rd batch now, and it just tastes awful!


What could they have done to mess up my machine so? Maybe they banged it when they put it on the other counter?


I'm hoping there's something I can do to fix this, as I don't want to have to buy another machine, as this one was working great up until now.


Any ideas? Thanks!

Is this the same machine that you posted about back in 2015? http://www.coffeeforums.com/forum/c...esso-s-not-good-my-new-machine.html#post83325

If you are not seeing any visible dents in the machine or parts, the guys probably didn't drop it or bang it.

Did you have water in the tank when they moved it? Could they have tipped it and gotten water inside the machine?

I hope you can figure out what happened.

~ Rose

 

[enargins]

They switched your coffee...

That must be it!!!!

 

[enargins]

Is this the same machine that you posted about back in 2015?

No, this is actually another machine, my third EC155! I gave up on that other machine. I had bought that one as a used "display model," and I saved about $20 off the purchase price. But I figured, they probably never cleaned it or whatever. So I gave up on it and then switched to Aeropress for a while (which I loved!). But then got tired of all the work involved with Aeropress and bought another EC155. So this one's about a year or two old, and haven't had any problems with it at all. Until now.

If you are not seeing any visible dents in the machine or parts, the guys probably didn't drop it or bang it.

I don't know. There are a lot of sensitive parts inside. They could have dropped it on the counter a few inches and banged something up on the inside, without there being any visible marks on the outside. My opinion, anyway.

Did you have water in the tank when they moved it? Could they have tipped it and gotten water inside the machine?

There was water in the tank, but it was low. I don't think they would have tipped any water into the machine.

I hope you can figure out what happened.

Me too!

Thanks!

 

[PinkRose]

That must be it!!!!

Since you had a leak in your kitchen area, did you notice any additional dampness and humidity in your kitchen?

Was you coffee supply safely stored? Could it have been compromised by the humidity in the room? Humidity and room temperature make a difference in espresso preparation.

Have you tried using new coffee beans?

 

[enargins]

Good point about the humidity. But, yeah, the coffee was safely stored in air-tight containers. The like was just something that came up from the floor, so I don't think it affected the humidity that much. And, yes, beans are the same. No change.

I did run a bunch of water through it, and it's starting to taste better, though still not back to where it was. So I think I'll try that some more and see what happens.

Thanks for the input, anyway.

 

[PinkRose]

Good point about the humidity. But, yeah, the coffee was safely stored in air-tight containers. The like was just something that came up from the floor, so I don't think it affected the humidity that much. And, yes, beans are the same. No change.

I did run a bunch of water through it, and it's starting to taste better, though still not back to where it was. So I think I'll try that some more and see what happens.

Thanks for the input, anyway.

Did the water leak in the floor area cause any noticeable mold in the floor or under any cabinets or appliances ?

How do other things taste to you? Are you noticing a difference in taste when you eat or drink other food items? If you have irritated nasal passages or a small nasal infection, that can cause a problem with how things taste.

Just a thought.

Please let us know how things are going. I hope you will be back to enjoying your coffee again soon.

~ Rose

 

[shadow745]

No, this is actually another machine, my third EC155! I gave up on that other machine. I had bought that one as a used "display model," and I saved about $20 off the purchase price. But I figured, they probably never cleaned it or whatever. So I gave up on it and then switched to Aeropress for a while (which I loved!). But then got tired of all the work involved with Aeropress and bought another EC155. So this one's about a year or two old, and haven't had any problems with it at all. Until now.



I don't know. There are a lot of sensitive parts inside. They could have dropped it on the counter a few inches and banged something up on the inside, without there being any visible marks on the outside. My opinion, anyway.



There was water in the tank, but it was low. I don't think they would have tipped any water into the machine.



Me too!

Thanks!

It's awesome that you have found a machine that simply works for you, but you being on your 3rd one kinda hints toward lousy build quality/reliability. When the 3rd one bites the bullet (or bean) maybe step up a bit for better espresso and drastically improved reliability. A Gaggia Classic or the Rancilio Silvia (which I have) will likely survive a typical hurricane/tornado and still function like it should.

 

[PinkRose]

It's awesome that you have found a machine that simply works for you, but you being on your 3rd one kinda hints toward lousy build quality/reliability. When the 3rd one bites the bullet (or bean) maybe step up a bit for better espresso and drastically improved reliability. A Gaggia Classic or the Rancilio Silvia (which I have) will likely survive a typical hurricane/tornado and still function like it should.

That's funny . . . I was thinking the same thing. I don't know what the life span is for a Delongi EC155, but it seemed very strange that the same day the machine was moved, it started misbehaving.

It may be working its way towards biting the dust.

Being on the lookout for a replacement is a good idea. It pays to be prepared.

~ Rose

 

[enargins]

Did the water leak in the floor area cause any noticeable mold in the floor or under any cabinets or appliances ?

How do other things taste to you? Are you noticing a difference in taste when you eat or drink other food items? If you have irritated nasal passages or a small nasal infection, that can cause a problem with how things taste.

Just a thought.

Please let us know how things are going. I hope you will be back to enjoying your coffee again soon.

~ Rose

No, it was just a small leak that came up from the floor and got the carpet wet. Wasn't a big deal. No change in tastes or health effects.

But, as noted, it is starting to taste better after I ran a bunch of water through it. Not sure what happened. All I know if that the first batch I ran through after I moved it back had no crema at all. Second and subsequent batches tasted like crap. Then I ran a bunch of water through it (about 10 oz) to check the temperature, and it started tasting better. Still not back completely to where it was before, but definitely drinkable now, whereas before it wasn't.

So, who knows what happened? I sure don't. Maybe some thingamajig got out of alignment or something and is getting back in place. I have no idea.

 

[enargins]

It's awesome that you have found a machine that simply works for you, but you being on your 3rd one kinda hints toward lousy build quality/reliability. When the 3rd one bites the bullet (or bean) maybe step up a bit for better espresso and drastically improved reliability. A Gaggia Classic or the Rancilio Silvia (which I have) will likely survive a typical hurricane/tornado and still function like it should.

Well, I don't know if it's a reflection of build quality, per se. My first machine I didn't maintain. I mean, I ran cleaner through it once in a while like you should. But I live in a very-hard-water area, and it got calcium deposits, and the flow got worse and worse and the coffee started tasting more and more bitter. Can't blame the machine for that. Should have taken it apart and cleaned it to get the deposits out.

The second machine I bought as a used "floor model," which was a mistake. It didn't taste right right from the start. So who knows that that machine had been through, in terms of servicing and cleaning (probably none).

And this, my third machine, has worked great for a year or two, using only distilled water to avoid hard-water deposits. No problems at all until this recent situation.

So perhaps another machine would be sturdier, in terms of banging it around. But I don't think you can take the fact that it's my third machine as evidence of anything except for user neglect with the first two.

 

[enargins]

it seemed very strange that the same day the machine was moved, it started misbehaving.

It may be working its way towards biting the dust.

It does definitely seem strange. And still unexplained. However, the drastic change from before and after it was moved cannot be explained by "working its way towards biting the dust." If that were the case, it would be a gradual decline in quality. In this case, it was fine one day (and all the days prior to that), and then, all of a sudden tasted like crap. So that indicates an abrupt change caused by some event, not a gradual decline in quality.

Anyway, as noted, running the water through it seems to have helped, and it's much better now than it was when I first posted this. So, still have no idea what's going on, but at least it's starting to taste better, which is good.

 

[shadow745]

I definitely understand hardness as I have a background in water treatment, have been around different treatment/softening systems, but can honestly tell you that using all distilled water (or R.O.) for coffee is not the best thing to do. Coffee needs some minerals for maximum flavor/texture and any water that's totally 'pure' can typically lead to flat/bland coffee. If I were to use something that pure I'd mix in a bit of your tap water or add a pinch of sodium bicarbonate to help buffer it a bit. That will give you somewhat softened water with a bit more body.

 

[PinkRose]

So, who knows what happened? I sure don't. Maybe some thingamajig got out of alignment or something and is getting back in place. I have no idea.

Hummmmm...….. Could it be possible that your coffee machine is angry with you for letting those strangers pick it up and move it to another location? Now that you've been giving it a lot of extra attention, maybe it will forgive you and start to behave.

 

[enargins]

Yes, I think that's definitely it. Either that, or it was terrified that it was being stolen, and it's taken a couple of days for it to recover and calm down.