Gaggia cubika broken down...help, I need coffee!

[hjscho]

My Cubika had broken and I need to try and fix it...fast. Gaggia want £65 to have a look at it. I think there is an air lock in the pump, as water/steam flows from the nozzle, but not through the main part (where the coffee comes from - dont know its name). Has anyone had the same problem? how did you fix it? A new pump is only £25, so I am tempted to try that instead.

any advice?

I'm sure I read somewhere espresso machines are prone to the odd airlock and I thought it was easy to clear. I could be wrong. Have you looked on the Gaggia site??? You have my sympathies, £65 god I hope mine doesn't break down. You could get the pump then you'd have one in reserve £25 isn't too bad.

I am struggling to clear it...very annoying.
I have contacted Gaggia via the website who gave me a few tips (the same ones that are in the troubleshooting section in the manual) and then informed me of the cost of repair. DH suggested that I should buy a new one for that price, as then I'd get the warranty. I feel reluctant to buy another gaggia now!

I have searched for tips online but cannot find anything. I've even been on coffeegeek site and that wasn't much help, as messages are hard to search (not like MN ). I'd just like to find a way of clearing the air lock.

One question for you MilaMae, have you noticed if one of your tubes that feed from the water reservoir actually gets hot and lets water back? I have realised that one of mine does and I'm not sure if it is a link to the airlock.

We've had no probs at all but ours is a Classic (almost 2 years old). I did see several reviews saying the Cubika was less robust which is why we got the Classic. How long have you had it??? Might be worth saying you've heard of others with probs look at the reviews on Amazon.

An update, just in case anyone needs to do the same thing. We managed to clear the air by kind of 'burping' the machine. It is much better and I am drinking coffee as I type. It still doesn't seem quite right. DH is going to have a look inside tonight as he thinks I may have tugged too hard on the tube whilst removing the water reservoir (all the reviews moan about how tough it is to remove it) and it could be letting in the air. TBH we have nothing to lose if he breaks it, but at least we know how to clear the air if it builds up again.

New update...DH took the whole thing apart and cleaned a lot of limescale off the big parts. It now works like a dream.