Espresso Machine, She Not Working!

Q: I need help on how to prime a Brazila espresso machine. It has 4 buttons. 1 marked on/off 2 shows two cups 3 shows dripping liquid 4 steam It has a steam valve, and all appears to work properly, Please hurry, the odor of the bag of freshly ground beans is making me crazy.

A: Continuous running commercial espresso machines need a special water pump, this is a separate unit usually installed under the counter that provides high pressure to force fresh water into the pressurized hot water tank. The machine will not work without the pump. If you bought a used machine, it's not unusual to sell them without the pump. You can get a pump at any commercial espresso machine dealer like Faema. They are not cheap. If you ran the machine without the pump - without water - you may have damaged the heating element or the pressure tank. Every home machine I know of does batches. You fill them with water and make a few cups (after a prolonged wait as it heats). There is no "priming". A continuous operation commercial machine is not suitable for home use. They need a lot of maintenance, pose a serious risk of injury and damage if not cared for properly, and are not intended to be "on" but unused for long periods... and take a long time to heat up from cold if you not left on all the time. If you want one for parties and wouldn't have it on all the time, fine - but it is not practical for morning coffee. It worries me that you obviously don't have the instruction book Your home insurance could be invalidated by having such a machine operating.

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