Gaggia Classic Repairs. Recommendations please.
Discussion
Hi all,
I have an old (1999-ish) style Classic Gaggia which has recently died. It's had work done in the past by www.gaggia-service.co.uk, but they seem to have disappeared. Can anyone recommend an alternative? I'm in Northant's but would rather courier than drop off & collect.
Thanks in advance, CF
I have an old (1999-ish) style Classic Gaggia which has recently died. It's had work done in the past by www.gaggia-service.co.uk, but they seem to have disappeared. Can anyone recommend an alternative? I'm in Northant's but would rather courier than drop off & collect.
Thanks in advance, CF
Trying2GoFast said:
What's the issue with it? No steam, no heat or anything else?
Good point:A few weeks of low/erratic pressure, no crema, steam wand (standard) either unable to turn off (constant weak steaming) or no/weak pressure. I descaled & cleaned the head, planning to get it looked at but then it died completely. I'd switched it on, gone up to shower & came down to find it hot, but no lights, power, completely unresponsive Changed the plug fuse, nothing.
I think it has had at least one replacement pump sometime in the last 20 years, gets regularly descaled & uses bottled water only.
Thanks, CF
Gaggia will sort it. They mended mine. They are in Elland, near Halifax.
https://www.gaggiadirect.com/maintenance-and-repai...
https://www.gaggiadirect.com/maintenance-and-repai...
CardinalFang said:
Good point:
A few weeks of low/erratic pressure, no crema, steam wand (standard) either unable to turn off (constant weak steaming) or no/weak pressure. I descaled & cleaned the head, planning to get it looked at but then it died completely. I'd switched it on, gone up to shower & came down to find it hot, but no lights, power, completely unresponsive Changed the plug fuse, nothing.
I think it has had at least one replacement pump sometime in the last 20 years, gets regularly descaled & uses bottled water only.
Thanks, CF
Sounds like it could be the steam valve was on its way out, when you de-scaled, it had dislodged a bit of scale and then likely got stuck in the solenoid. The brew (or steam maybe) thermostat may have also been on the way out, and it caused the thermal fuse to trip, hence no power when you came back from a shower.A few weeks of low/erratic pressure, no crema, steam wand (standard) either unable to turn off (constant weak steaming) or no/weak pressure. I descaled & cleaned the head, planning to get it looked at but then it died completely. I'd switched it on, gone up to shower & came down to find it hot, but no lights, power, completely unresponsive Changed the plug fuse, nothing.
I think it has had at least one replacement pump sometime in the last 20 years, gets regularly descaled & uses bottled water only.
Thanks, CF
They are notoriously easy to fix - I've done about 4 in my time as well as tinkering on bigger machines. You could probably have it disassembled in 30 mins, get the boiler out and descale it using some mechanical persuasion (dremel with a wire brush works wonders), and get a new thermostat/thermal fuse and you'd be golden.
Bonus is that your era of solenoid will be bigger, means its easier to dismantle. Is it a 1300W heating element or a 1425W? Should say on the base of the machine, on the label with the manufacturing date.
Trying2GoFast said:
Sounds like it could be the steam valve was on its way out, when you de-scaled, it had dislodged a bit of scale and then likely got stuck in the solenoid. The brew (or steam maybe) thermostat may have also been on the way out, and it caused the thermal fuse to trip, hence no power when you came back from a shower.
They are notoriously easy to fix - I've done about 4 in my time as well as tinkering on bigger machines. You could probably have it disassembled in 30 mins, get the boiler out and descale it using some mechanical persuasion (dremel with a wire brush works wonders), and get a new thermostat/thermal fuse and you'd be golden.
Bonus is that your era of solenoid will be bigger, means its easier to dismantle. Is it a 1300W heating element or a 1425W? Should say on the base of the machine, on the label with the manufacturing date.
Trying2GoFast,They are notoriously easy to fix - I've done about 4 in my time as well as tinkering on bigger machines. You could probably have it disassembled in 30 mins, get the boiler out and descale it using some mechanical persuasion (dremel with a wire brush works wonders), and get a new thermostat/thermal fuse and you'd be golden.
Bonus is that your era of solenoid will be bigger, means its easier to dismantle. Is it a 1300W heating element or a 1425W? Should say on the base of the machine, on the label with the manufacturing date.
Thanks, it's a 1300W. Appreciate the advice but there's no way I'm subjecting it to my DIY/Mechanical skills! I'm probably the only Gaggia owner whose Rancilio wand swap actually made the steamer worse...hence it doesn't have it any more & the wand now has an odd angle to it. (was at least a year ago so don't think it's relevant to the current problem...fingers crossed)
Do you do these kind of repairs? Happy to put money the way of a PH'er if you want to pm me?
CHs, CF
I've overhauled a few in my time and serviced them. My only reservation is that parts aren't cheap and it may be beyond economical repair.
Full service kit would likely be about £30 - o-rings, boiler seal, head gasket. If you need a new steam valve, a second hand one is about £35, thermostats are about £10 each, of which there's 2, thermal fuse is about £5.
Would then need to refurbish the solenoid which is maybe 45 mins work.
Not saying I'd charge for labour, just parts & shipping, but you can see it'd probably sum up to £100 or so in parts alone, then shipping.
I'm in Northampton this bank holiday Monday just by chance - I could pop in and have a look and take it away if you'd like? Not sure where about in Northampton you are but could make something work I'm sure.
Please excuse the random spaces in the text - had the 403 forbidden error and this is the only way I could figure out to make it work.
Full service kit would likely be about £30 - o-rings, boiler seal, head gasket. If you need a new steam valve, a second hand one is about £35, thermostats are about £10 each, of which there's 2, thermal fuse is about £5.
Would then need to refurbish the solenoid which is maybe 45 mins work.
Not saying I'd charge for labour, just parts & shipping, but you can see it'd probably sum up to £100 or so in parts alone, then shipping.
I'm in Northampton this bank holiday Monday just by chance - I could pop in and have a look and take it away if you'd like? Not sure where about in Northampton you are but could make something work I'm sure.
Please excuse the random spaces in the text - had the 403 forbidden error and this is the only way I could figure out to make it work.
Trying2GoFast said:
I've overhauled a few in my time and serviced them. My only reservation is that parts aren't cheap and it may be beyond economical repair.
Full service kit would likely be about £30 - o-rings, boiler seal, head gasket. If you need a new steam valve, a second hand one is about £35, thermostats are about £10 each, of which there's 2, thermal fuse is about £5.
Would then need to refurbish the solenoid which is maybe 45 mins work.
Not saying I'd charge for labour, just parts & shipping, but you can see it'd probably sum up to £100 or so in parts alone, then shipping.
I'm in Northampton this bank holiday Monday just by chance - I could pop in and have a look and take it away if you'd like? Not sure where about in Northampton you are but could make something work I'm sure.
Please excuse the random spaces in the text - had the 403 forbidden error and this is the only way I could figure out to make it work.
I’m in Finedon, between Kettering & Wellingborough, so no more than 30 mins from the town centre. Given the new ones are £400+ I’d rather keep the old one going than just have it go to landfill somewhere. Power of PH too, so let’s see if we can work something out.Full service kit would likely be about £30 - o-rings, boiler seal, head gasket. If you need a new steam valve, a second hand one is about £35, thermostats are about £10 each, of which there's 2, thermal fuse is about £5.
Would then need to refurbish the solenoid which is maybe 45 mins work.
Not saying I'd charge for labour, just parts & shipping, but you can see it'd probably sum up to £100 or so in parts alone, then shipping.
I'm in Northampton this bank holiday Monday just by chance - I could pop in and have a look and take it away if you'd like? Not sure where about in Northampton you are but could make something work I'm sure.
Please excuse the random spaces in the text - had the 403 forbidden error and this is the only way I could figure out to make it work.
Chs, CF
CardinalFang said:
I’m in Finedon, between Kettering & Wellingborough, so no more than 30 mins from the town centre. Given the new ones are £400+ I’d rather keep the old one going than just have it go to landfill somewhere. Power of PH too, so let’s see if we can work something out.
Chs, CF
Fair enough. My friends (who I'm seeing) live by the racecourse so not too far out. If you message/email me on here I just want to see a few pics of it too to make sure it's not a coffee deluxe or anything.Chs, CF
Trying2GoFast said:
The Gauge said:
A few years ago I was a member of a UK coffee forum and when my Gaggia Classic failed a member repaired it for me free of charge.
Aha I was part of said forum until it all went downhill... now just mess about with my own stuff! Gassing Station | Food, Drink & Restaurants | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff