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Date: 16 Dec 2006 05:49:46
From:
Subject: new Vibiemme machine - strong rubber aftertaste ?
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Hi everybody,
I was wondering if anybody had any similar experience, is it normal /
expected and how long it'll last or possibly any advice on how to get
rid of it.
Basically I bought a new Vibiemme Domobar (single boiler, non-HE,
reservoir not a plumbed one) - fully unpacked, from the store and no
water in the boiler before the first use (but everything was done
properly by them) - so brand new and "directly from the factory".
First coffee was ok (or I didn't notice anything, not sure) but as
soon as I got back home coffees started gaining more and more of that
very unpleasant rubber aftertaste. It's the kind of taste that you
could even notice in a strong coffee (if not right away then after you
belch it out after a few minutes - pardon my language :), it's both
the taste and the smell - and practically renders coffee undrinkable.
It smells of some rubber gasket inside or something, could also be the
hoses (inlet and return one to the reservoir), or something artificial
or silicon inside. It could also be something burnt inside but I
don't think that's the case as everything is working properly and
machine produces excellent espressos - apart from this "minor
problem"...
That was a 4-5 days ago - so then I reasoned it's just new and from
the factory, it needed some water running thru and 'washing'
inside. So, then I tried using a lite citric-acid solution (as
recommended by the "Jim Schulman's Insanely Long Water FAQ") and
ran quite a few water and solution thru it - I believe it gets close
to 100 liters now, or half of it at least - so quite a few - like
in a busy coffee shop - each day for a few days already. Immediately
afterwards it gets much better w/ just a hint of that taste somewhere
behind - but as soon as I start running normal water and water rests
for a few hours inside the machine - it gets pretty much the same as
before - it may have improved a tad but basically I think it's the
same as it was at start - simply undrinkable.
Also, for some debugging purposes - it's not the group that smells
- and backwashing it w/ detergent is not going to help (unless there
is something to put into the reservoir directly - not sure where the
detergent goes if applied ?). The water itself smells (and tastes even
worse), no matter if I take it from the group directly or thru the
steam wand on the left. Also the return water that goes back to the
reservoir smells even worse - so it's somewhere inside, between the
boiler/pump and OPV, not after that...
So now I'm getting pretty desperate - it seems like this is going
to last and that running citric-acid-solution each day before drinking
the coffee and couple of liters at least is the only solution - and
that is not an option of course.
So any suggestion please? Anybody else had any similar experience -
is it ok and how long it'd last and how to get rid of it - or
should I just return it and replace it. And I'm planning on doing
that first thing on Monday, but I don't want to make an idiot of
myself - "sorry, my coffee doesn't smell nice..." :) - but
frankly it seems like a real problem. Btw. this is my first 'real
espresso machine' so basically I don't know how it is supposed to
be at first, is it normal to expect something like that or not...
Many thanks,
Dragan
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Date: 16 Dec 2006 10:57:42
From: marcel
Subject: Re: new Vibiemme machine - strong rubber aftertaste ?
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I have the VBM Domorbar myself. If the water going back to the
reservoir is bad it's either the pump or the silicon hoses, since this
water has never really been near the boiler. One thing you could try is
to run hell lot of Cleancaf (http://www.urnex.com/cleancaf.htm) etc.
through the pump/hoses. Just push the water delivery button and run the
pump for a minute, dumping the water from the return hose. Let the pump
cool down(if the Cleancaf solution is cold just one minute), then
repeat.
Keep in mind that the pump builds a nine bar pressure in the boiler
when running, and it's cooled by the water running through it, so don't
use a boiling solution or anything like that. I think warm should be
fine, just give the pump time to cool.
I've never had problems with my machine, so you might just want to
return it. These parts should be easily replaced.
ns.gaga@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi everybody,
> I was wondering if anybody had any similar experience, is it normal /
> expected and how long it'll last or possibly any advice on how to get
> rid of it.
> Basically I bought a new Vibiemme Domobar (single boiler, non-HE,
> reservoir not a plumbed one) - fully unpacked, from the store and no
> water in the boiler before the first use (but everything was done
> properly by them) - so brand new and "directly from the factory".
> First coffee was ok (or I didn't notice anything, not sure) but as
> soon as I got back home coffees started gaining more and more of that
> very unpleasant rubber aftertaste. It's the kind of taste that you
> could even notice in a strong coffee (if not right away then after you
> belch it out after a few minutes - pardon my language :), it's both
> the taste and the smell - and practically renders coffee undrinkable.
> It smells of some rubber gasket inside or something, could also be the
> hoses (inlet and return one to the reservoir), or something artificial
> or silicon inside. It could also be something burnt inside but I
> don't think that's the case as everything is working properly and
> machine produces excellent espressos - apart from this "minor
> problem"...
> That was a 4-5 days ago - so then I reasoned it's just new and from
> the factory, it needed some water running thru and 'washing'
> inside. So, then I tried using a lite citric-acid solution (as
> recommended by the "Jim Schulman's Insanely Long Water FAQ") and
> ran quite a few water and solution thru it - I believe it gets close
> to 100 liters now, or half of it at least - so quite a few - like
> in a busy coffee shop - each day for a few days already. Immediately
> afterwards it gets much better w/ just a hint of that taste somewhere
> behind - but as soon as I start running normal water and water rests
> for a few hours inside the machine - it gets pretty much the same as
> before - it may have improved a tad but basically I think it's the
> same as it was at start - simply undrinkable.
> Also, for some debugging purposes - it's not the group that smells
> - and backwashing it w/ detergent is not going to help (unless there
> is something to put into the reservoir directly - not sure where the
> detergent goes if applied ?). The water itself smells (and tastes even
> worse), no matter if I take it from the group directly or thru the
> steam wand on the left. Also the return water that goes back to the
> reservoir smells even worse - so it's somewhere inside, between the
> boiler/pump and OPV, not after that...
> So now I'm getting pretty desperate - it seems like this is going
> to last and that running citric-acid-solution each day before drinking
> the coffee and couple of liters at least is the only solution - and
> that is not an option of course.
> So any suggestion please? Anybody else had any similar experience -
> is it ok and how long it'd last and how to get rid of it - or
> should I just return it and replace it. And I'm planning on doing
> that first thing on Monday, but I don't want to make an idiot of
> myself - "sorry, my coffee doesn't smell nice..." :) - but
> frankly it seems like a real problem. Btw. this is my first 'real
> espresso machine' so basically I don't know how it is supposed to
> be at first, is it normal to expect something like that or not...
> Many thanks,
> Dragan
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Date: 17 Dec 2006 03:49:55
From: daveb
Subject: Re: new Vibiemme machine - strong rubber aftertaste ?
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NOT normal -
suggest return for another unit.
Dave
189
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Date: 17 Dec 2006 15:14:23
From: Dragan
Subject: Re: new Vibiemme machine - strong rubber aftertaste ?
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...yeah, I believe you're right, it looks faulty - but I guess I needed
some reassurance,
thanks to all!
daveb wrote:
> NOT normal -
>
> suggest return for another unit.
>
> Dave
>
> 189
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