Grouphead Restrictor Valve Blockage

Lower flow rates (or no flow at all) during the chamber fill may mean that your restrictor valve between the boiler inlet tube and grouphead chamber is blocked. If this issue occurred after you swapped between Spring and Direct configs, it is likely that the inlet is blocked due to incorrect piston linkage assembly.

If there was no recent configuration swap, it is likely a clogged restrictor. Sometimes coffee debris can make its way back into the valve and clog it. Hard brew water also causes scale that can block the valve.

Unblocking the valve

The first (and easiest) way to try and unclog the valve it is to heat the boiler up to Steam temperature and try and use this high boiler pressure to blast through and clear the restrictor valve. In most cases, this will be enough to unclog it.

If this does not work, you will need to disassemble and remove the restrictor valve to clean it.

Let us know if this issue occurs frequently for you - there is a possibility the restrictor you received is a tiny bit out-of-spec and we'll happily ship you a new one.

Removing the restrictor

There is also the option of removing the restrictor entirely - some users prefer the fill characteristic of the grouphead without the restrictor valve.

To do this, you'll need to remove the mushroom piece, the wave spring, and the 'donut' or 'orifice' ring. You can remove this donut piece with tweezers or you can use the 90 degree hex key to push it from inside the group to get it started.