Leak - Investigation

Note: See here for steam wand leaks

The first step is to ensure that the boiler is not actually over filled as this can cause the anti-vacuum valve to leak. Once we have establish overfilling is not the cause, we need to open the back of the machine to see where the leak is coming from.

During troubleshooting, I recommend having the machine's back open like this during the leak test, with towels covering the wiring to keep them safe. It is safe to operate the machine without the panels on (just keep your hands away from the hot parts!). If you can pinpoint exactly where the water is exiting, that will be a great help. I suspect it is coming from the steam manifold. Another possible source is a failing seal between the boiler and the top plate, but this is very rare.

It's normal for the steam manifold to vent a few drops of water (the blue shop towel catches this) but it should stop once boiler pressure builds and closes the anti-vacuum valve.

This is the steam manifold

If the leak is coming from the manifold, you want to check that

1. The steam manifold o-ring looks okay - attach a photo of the o-ring situated in the manifold itself so we can make sure the o-ring is also the correct spec
2. The anti-vacuum valve is not sticking, failing to seal due to scale, or the o-ring is torn - you'll need to disassembly the anti-vac valve to check this

3. The two plugs pictured below are threaded tightly (it takes a 2mm hex key to tighten) - one on top of the manifold, the other on the side
4. The steam manifold is tightened snug to the top plate

Complete list of Exploded Parts Diagrams