A tasty repair

[Shock]

Saw someone advertising this old Breville Espresso machine for parts.
The heater and water pressure works, but it is stopping halfway through the brew.

Gave it a good clean (like my life depended on it) and decalcified the lines. Still has the same problem. I noticed the power button doesn't seem to be responding, but it does seem to have some button modes that are being detected by logic. So I left it in run mode and tried power cycling at the wall and voila it made me a perfect Espresso.

So I'm expecting it's got a power related issue, when it stops it's pausing to heat and the power cycle overrides and seems to constantly heat. Found this website which points to an X2 cap which confirmed my suspicions and seems to be a great resource.

Been too lazy to open the cover and repair it yet, just enjoying my 10c a cup power cycled Espresso.

[Alex Eisenhut]

Good job, but: ESpresso. 

Can't help it, haven't had mine yet.

[abraxa]

...and because of this, engineers can be great husband material. Repairing stuff that's broken because of planned obsolescence can save a lot of money

On the flip side, the garage may end up full of stuff that's broken and not yet repaired 

[Shock]

Good job, but: ESpresso. 
Can't help it, haven't had mine yet.

I've been listening to Dire Straits for far too long .

...and because of this, engineers can be great husband material. Repairing stuff that's broken because of planned obsolescence can save a lot of money

On the flip side, the garage may end up full of stuff that's broken and not yet repaired 

She reacted more to this coffee machine than last week, a perfect condition Samsung Series 8 55" LED TV that I acquired curbside style (was a firmware fix). Living the high life here with surplus electronics hehehe.

[Shock]

Getting sick of power cycling, but the coffee is so damn good I cannot stand to be without it. I decided to quickly open it up today, just to check what C1 (X2 capacitor) was involved. It's exhibiting both dim leds and short running cycle which points to low voltage and defective X2 so willing to take a punt on it without disassembling it further and leaving it apart.

See the below photo, it looks like a Chinese brand UTX? Does anyone have high quality suitable replacement suggestions for it? Something that is a good fit for the temp and humidity, 250/275 volts AC?

Was interesting that the website that shows disassembly instructions etc was correct, you need to actually palm strike from the rear to remove the top cover, it's on tighter than a friction fit.

[Shock]

I have two of these now just brought another one for $20, yet to test it. There appears to be a healthy supply of them out there to choose from.

They have a lot of stainless on them but just a pity they weren't 100% metalised. It's just mostly a couple of small wear spots they get but nothing important. Still only $20 in so far and I expect about 20 years mileage out of these two units.