The issue is the support for the gasket assembly. It’s basically a plastic puck that the valve and gaskets attach to. The issue is one of the screw holes [that the valve attaches too] is stripped, so when the pressure reaches a certain point the valve moves up a little breaking the seal and filling the inside with water.
I can get a new one for ~$14 CAD, or I could attempt to fix the screw hole with some wood glue or crazy glue; however, it is a high pressure seal that is used for making things that I’ll drink. It won’t come into contact with the water though, unless it leaks again.
I think the cheapest option would be to inject some wood glue (which I already have) into the hole, drill out a pilot hole when it’s dry and reassemble. It would be water proof and strong, but still might not work correctly. I could also use a bit of crazy glue but that might be a bit too fragile and could pool on the bottom, blocking the screw from fully seating.
…I mostly wrote this for myself to understand my options better, but decided to post anyways to see if any of you peeps have a better idea or experience with problems like this.
Here’s the part:
https://espressodolce.ca/collections/delonghi-parts/products/brewing-gasket-support
*I bought the part. Thanks y’all haha
**I also tried to see about glueing up the screw holes just to see if it’ll work, but the insides seem to be full of degraded plastic. Gross! I think the whole thing is degraded and needed to be replaced any way. I already replaced the o-ring that goes in it because of that issue, so probably the same thing with the puck.
Wood glue is not very watery proof, and doesn’t more stand up to heat very well. Even the more waterproof kinds like titebond 3 are not really fully waterproof.
I would buy the replacement part. I’m all for DIY solutions when they make sense but in this case it’s only a $14 the replacement part.
You can’t fix a seal with wood glue or cyanoacrylate. Buy the part.
Looks like ABS plastic. You can dissolve ABS with acetone, reshape and it’ll harden back up as the acetone evaporates.
Also consider epoxy. I like to mix it with a bit of colloidal silica to get it less runny.
It will never be as sturdy as it was and will likely deform, which may compromise its ability to seal and hold pressure reliably.
Epoxy/silica introduces food safety concerns (assuming this is in the path of pressurized, boiling water), and assuming OP is not a person that typically does repairs introduces cost as well. A small pack of epoxy, which is more than enough, is probably like $5-7. I don’t know how much silica is but that’s not necessary, tbf. If OP doesn’t do this kind of stuff often the excess is wasted, essentially, and you’re already at almost 50% of the cost of the replacement part for a chance at a a fix that might not work or be food safe.
Buy the replacement part
I saw someone online selling replacement stainless steel pucks for this but who knows where I saw that now
Ahhh that would be awesome! I’m sure I’ll love the dedica once I get it working, but I don’t like how the internals are almost entirely plastic excepting the screws and the thermoblock.
If you can fix, then fix it. Else buy a new one.
If it’s likely to come into contact with water, could that water then end up in the cup?
If yes, you need to consider the safety implications of the materials you chose. I expect the manufacturer chose safe materials, while your glue might not be safe under high pressure and temperature. What if something really nasty gets in your cup as a result?
I mean, generally I agree, but assuming the supplier handed you safe ingredients is exactly how quite a few poisoning incidences throughout history have happened.
While that’s highly applicable to whether you should glue it or not, it’s surprisingly less applicable as to whether what the manufacturer decided to glue it with in the first place was equally acceptable.
A shocking number of manufacturers/distributors do not care what goes in to the process.
Manufacturing things in the Wild West means you can get away with anything. The safety of the general public becomes a concern only when you’re trying to do business with a country that has regulations in place.
If you had asked about replacing the machine vs fixing it, then fix it. However in this case the fix is buying the part. DIY repairs are for when you can’t get the part or they don’t sell them.
“Anyone can buy a new boot, but to fix an old one not too many people can do it” - https://youtube.com/shorts/SSDwSiQQ8fI
Use “crazy glue” assuming this is a colloquial term for Cyanoacrylate, CA or super glue.
Fill the whole hole up, then drill it out with a drill bit a bit smaller than the diameter of the screw threads, then screw the screw in.
Just glueing the screw into the hole will not generate much clamping force and may not fix your problem.
To fill something with crazy glue it helps to use something as a filler that the glue will soak into. Baking soda is commonly used for this, it results in a very hard material.
“Krazy Glue” is a brand of superglue in the US
It’s a CA glue
I thought the part would be super expensive. 14 is a bargain for appliance parts. My only concern is whether the part might be poorly manufactured
First, yes, fix it.
I wouldn’t use wood glue or cyanoacrylate. Get a proper tube of two part epoxy that will set foodsafe.
You could do both, I reckon. You can try to fix the part while having a new one on stand by. If your repair fails, you’ll have the new part ready to go and it’ll’ve cost you the $14 and you holding the new part for however long it took for the repair to fail (the repair might work well for quite a long while.)
Buying the new part is of course the simpler option.
Delonghi parts are easy to get a hold of too, so get the part if you can
If it’s plastic then fill with epoxy and send it.
But that part is really cheap. I’d buy new unless it’s not available.
