ECM Classika PID: Basic Maintenance

[@osobaerwd2146]

Please add ECM Classika PID descale video, thanks

[@medroastt9888]

Excellent video! Thank you.

[@Winston_Smith_84]

I just bought a “Prosumer” espresso machine and a “Prosumer” grinder. Now I need to become a Prosumer. 😂

[@shadowcats]

When cleaning using cafiza detergent - not clear if each of the five backflushes with detergent requires a reload of 3g of detergent between cycles, or if the initial load of 3g is sufficient whole the whole cleaning. I get there should be10 total, five with detergent and five without, but do I use a total of 15g of detergent for this, or only 3g? Thx.

[@Wholelattelovepage]

No reload - the initial 3g of detergent is enough for the first 5 cycles. AJ

[@Allabertina]

I've had my Technika V for 3 weeks now, making 2 to 3 brews a day. Coffee taste has now changed to a darker, bitter taste. I clean the portafilter and basket daily but did not backflush. I'm convinced that it's time for a proper cleaning, so my response to a question about the frequency of cleaning is once every 2 weeks (in my case 40 brew cycles max). If I backflushed with clean water like I should have, the no of cycles could have been 50 to 60?.

[@Wholelattelovepage]

Hi AK, Be careful about overdoing it with Cafiza (detergent) backflushing. Doing too often will wash away lubricants including coffee oils from internal group components resulting in squeaky and/or stiff operation and extra wear of internal cams and actuators in the group. ECM recommends detergent backflushing every 120-140 brew cycles. Plain water back flushes can be done daily to weekly depending on use level. Thos do not remove lubrication.

[@Allabertina]

@Whole Latte Love You guys are fantastic for always responding. Thx so much. I read the same in my instruction booklet and will heed the advice. Will it help if I backflush daily with clean water after having made my coffee? That is what is suggested in some videos. If I can make a suggestion: could you perhaps make a video about cleaning the Technica V and similar machines if the following applies?: I went through the booklet last night and realised that my effort to clean it the previous day was not according to the instructions, and it also did not improve the taste of the coffee. The instructions provided by ECM state that, with 3 - 5 gms of Cafiza in the blind filter, you push the lever up for water to fill the blind filter and then bring it down HALFWAY, i.e. the lever will be at an angle of appr 45 degrees. You leave it there for 20 secs before lowering it all the way. When you do that the water and some detergent in the portafilter and brew head (?) squirts out. It is a little bit messy. Before you do this your PID will show a read out "CLn 8" in my case, which changes to "CLn 7" after one round of flushing as just described. You repeat the cleaning process as described above and each time the PID readout will drop one value until it reaches 0 (zero) but instead of showing 0 it has now been reset to your chosen amount of brew cycles before you have to clean it again and the displayed readout is now the temperature. You then rinse the portafilter and the blind filter with clean water and fit the portafilter (I would say portafilter plus regular filter but the instructions are unclear about this aspect). You then flush with water for 40 seconds and remove the portafilter. Then, finally, flush without the portafilter for another 40 secs. That would be to wash out the detergent. Your machine is now clean. My feedback after having done this is...... it worked. My coffee tastes great again.

[@Wholelattelovepage]

@@Allabertina Hi, we do our best to monitor the comments here! Happy to hear your coffee tastes great again. Yes plain water backflushing daily is fine. I believe very few people do, and it might be a bit of overkill but if it works for you go for it!

[@jenniferabela6933]

@@Allabertina Hey! I'd be looking at your grinder as well, it's more likely that you've got old dirty oil built up around the blades rather than just in the machine itself.

[@Allabertina]

@Wholelattelovepage I assume that I should also stick to ECMs recommendation of not descaling frequently. I phoned that agent after I have had the machine for 10 months and they said not to descale yet!

[@Jose-nc8xw]

Hi there, thx for the great video. One question though, where do you possition the flow control for backflushing? 10g/s or more? Thank you!

[@Wholelattelovepage]

You’re welcome! Leave at the stock flow rate for back flushing 1.25 turns open.

[@Jose-nc8xw]

Perfect. Thank you for the prompt response!

[@davidcarlin3850]

You should explain what a backflush actually does and why it’s important

[@Wholelattelovepage]

Backflushing helps clean the shower screen and internal group components.

[@Goenzelsen]

What about descaling?

[@Wholelattelovepage]

Hi CE, We are producing new videos all the time and will have a descaling video for the Classika in the future.

[@AC-wl7ve]

does this machine need to be descaled?

[@Wholelattelovepage]

If not treating water to prevent scale then yes it should be descaled.

[@AC-wl7ve]

@@Wholelattelovepage i would just be using brita filtered water. how often would you say i need to descale if im making 2 coffees a day?

[@Wholelattelovepage]

@@AC-wl7ve It depends on how hard your water is. If very soft then every 6 months. The harder the water the more frequent the descaling. If classed as very hard every 30-45 days is not out of the question. Brita makes a bunch of different filter types. To my knowledge most only do particle filtration and activated carbon to treat chlorination and chemicals. I'm not certain but I don't think many (if any) Brita filters soften water - reduce or exchange scale causing calcium. I do recommend BWT products for scale prevention. The have the activated carbon for chlorination and ion-exchange which replaces calcium with magnesium. At 2 coffees a day, the relatively inexpensive BWT Bestsave in-reservoir pad filters are probably your best option. When used as directed on tap water that starts as safe to drink no scale will form in your machine: www.wholelattelove.com/products/bwt-bestsave-s-anti-scale-filter They also make the Penguin pitcher which uses the same ion-exchange tech: www.wholelattelove.com/products/bwt-penguin-2-7-l-water-pitcher

[@troym3219]

Or rather than spending money on the spray, soap and water does the same thing. And you don't have a plastic bottle waste.

[@rotemp7535]

Hey, what is the maintenance cycle? Is it on a weekly or monthly basis?

[@Wholelattelovepage]

Hi Rotem, it'll come down to your frequency of use. As a general rule of thumb, if you're brewing a few shots a day, we generally do a water backflush daily and a detergent backflush weekly. ECM's recommendations are a bit more infrequent, recommending a full backflush every 90-140 brew cycles. AJ

[@rotemp7535]

@@Wholelattelovepage What about Bz10 in this manner?

[@youngolf1]

'now that we are at steam temperature, here's what we are going to do...'......LOL!! you talk so much all over the topic, i lose the key thing to do. must be me. good info, but your video could be in half the time.