Sunbeam Barista Max Repair Recommendation

admira on 12/10/2020 - 21:05

My neighbour put out their Sunbeam Barista Max machine on the kerb a week or so ago and I have been keeping my eye out for one so I picked it up. It has all the bits and bobs, and appeared to be working (I tested without coffee in the basket). Grinder works, etc. I cleaned it meticulously, but … once I put coffee in the basket and press the buttons, water comes out everywhere but the basket.

Should I just ditch it (like my neighbours did) and buy a new one, or can anyone recommend a good repair place?

Thanks!

Home & Garden Coffee Machine Sunbeam

Comments

  • brendanm on 12/10/2020 - 21:07
    +3

    Repair it yourself. You have $0 invested and nothing to lose.

    • admira on 12/10/2020 - 21:14

      That did cross my mind as well. A bit of googling shows its probably a loose hose in the machine which should be easy enough to fix. I will admit to having next to zero skills when it comes to these things though. Still, only one way to learn…

      • jackinyourbox on 12/10/2020 - 21:19

        I pickup up the office saeco unit because was leaking and being disposed of. Mine turned out being the steamer boiler crack but managed to repair. Just open it up and have a play. Be cautious of the high pressure water though when diagnosing

  • Switchblade88 on 12/10/2020 - 21:13
    +2

    everywhere but the basket

    So over the top of the basket then? Or out of the bodywork?

    First is a play around with a new group seal that is really cheap. Second is a repair tech and internals that'll cost more than a new machine.

    At least you've got a grinder, if nothing else!

    • admira on 12/10/2020 - 21:16

      Water comes out from the bodywork around the basket (but not the basket itself) as well as the milk frother. Yes the grinder works well and I’m happy about that! I would worry about breaking the grinder trying to fix it myself.

      • Switchblade88 on 12/10/2020 - 21:27
        +1

        That sounds like the hose from the pump to the group head is off/broken, and it's spraying water over the internals - including the 240v components :/

        I doubt you could pull the grinder components out to make it standalone unfortunately, but if you were willing to spend some time you could at least pull the panels off and have a squiz inside. Fixing a plastic hose is a cheap option - and fits the symptoms - but if it's anything more technical you can just put it back together and leave the water tank empty (assuming it doesn't beep constantly when empty!)

        If you're not keen on tinkering with the internals then I'd suggest using it only as a grinder as-is, but you've got nothing to lose by having a look inside.

  • ThatKiwiFella on 12/10/2020 - 21:16
    +2

    Assuming the water is leaking from where the group head seats, it probably needs a few new o rings

  • admira on 02/11/2020 - 17:40

    For closure to this story… I opened it up… everything looked ok from what I could see so I closed it back up and called Bravo repairs. They couldn't do it, so I went to Metro Wide appliances and it was a broken valve. So I couldn't have done it myself without a spare (which they had). It now seems to be working well :)

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join