📹 Expobar Brewtus IV: Brew Boiler Heating Issues or Cold Water from the Group

Troubleshoot brew boiler issues on the Expobar Brewtus IV.

My brew boiler is not heating/ Cold water Comes Through the Group

If your Expobar Brewtus IV is having issues with heating the brew boiler or cold water is coming from the group when you try to brew espresso, there may be issues with your machine's PID or heating element. Read on to learn how to diagnose the cause of these issues and repair your machine. The Brewtus prioritizes the steam boiler over the brew boiler. You can turn off the steam boiler, and run only the brew boiler to determine if it is or isn’t working. If the steam boiler is turned on, it must be working at 100% efficiency before moving on to the brew boiler. If the steam boiler has a problem, the brew boiler will not heat, by default.

Has the red light come on, heated the steam boiler, then turned off?

• • This is when it begins to heat the brew boiler. If the red light has not come on, the steam boiler must heat first. Either turn off the steam boiler, or give it sufficient time to heat.

Have 20 minutes or so elapsed with the red light off, giving the brew boiler time to heat?

1. • Yes. Move on to the next question.
   • No. Make sure the machine had had 20-30 minutes to fully come to temperature.

Is the PID Display On?

• No. Check for loose wires to the PID. They will run from the temperature probe on the top of the front boiler to the PID display. They are very thin wires, like speaker wires. They can come loose, or break. Inspect for any damage, and make sure they are tight in the PID.
• Yes. Move on to the next question.

Is the PID displaying numbers?

• Yes. The numbers have not been rising. They seem to be stuck at a room temperature setting.
  If the Display is on, and the machine has been sitting for an adequate amount of time without rising, this indicates a heating issue with the brew boiler. Continue on to next question. This could either be a result of the high limit being popped, power not being supplied to the element, or a bad element.
  Yes. The numbers are rising and behaving normally. Move on to the next question.
• No. If the Display is blank, Testing for voltage from the board to the PID is necessary to determine if the control board has failed, or the PID has failed.

Is the PID displaying any error codes?

• Yes.
  • What color is the PID?
    • Blue
      • Try resetting all of the variables in the PID back to a factory recommended setting. 

• • • • • If the Error Code is an E1, E2, A1, or A2, the temperature probe will need to be checked for loose wires to the PID. They will run from the temperature probe on the top of the front boiler to the PID display. They are very thin wires, like speaker wires. They can come loose, or break. Inspect for any damage, and make sure they are tight in the PID.

          • Replace the temperature probe.

    • Red

      • The Red PID and probe configuration is older and outdated. They cannot be just swapped out for a new PID or probe. The entire PID KIT upgrade will need to be purchased. This contains the new blue style PID, the temperature probe, a static relay, and instructions on how to install.

Is the little dot on the PID solid? Is the green light on the Static relay solid?

When the machine is on and the steam boiler is heating, the dot on the PID display and the green dot on the static relay will be solid, they will not blink. When the steam boiler heats and the brew boiler starts to heat up, these lights will still be solid. When the brew boiler fully heats all the way, this is when the light on the static relay will be blinking as well as the dot on the PID display. Blinking on one and not the other would indicate a lack of communication between the components. If the green light is not on at all on the static relay, this would indicate either power is not being supplied to the relay, or the relay itself is not directing power and is therefore faulty, however if this is the case, chances are the brew boiler isn't at temp anyway.