La Specialista pouring cold coffee, heater element the usual suspect?

[Thomas Martinez]

Saw a few posts about the Delonghi La Specialista not heating up proper. Thought I’d start a discussion on this since these are not exactly cheap machines and most owner will encounter this problem at some point.
Start with increasing the temp setting and performing a reset on the machine. If the issue persists, the heater element is usually the problem. Many have pulled the machine apart and inspected the heater element itself prior to replace it.
How many of you has performed this disassembly on one of these machines? Is the heater on the La Specialista a sealed unit that you simply replace, or can it be cleaned out? Would it be possible to test the heater element with a multimeter prior to performing the disassembly? Any tips on this process for those who have performed the maintenance?

 

[Scottish Bible Basketb]

yeah you can ohm test the heater prior to disassembly. Disconnect the heater from the machine and set your meter to the resistance/ohms setting. The reading should be between 15 and 30 ohms depending on the wattage of the unit. If the reading is 0 ohms it’s an open circuit and the heater element is dead.

 

[Divine Worm Ma]

Mine did it last year. The thermoblock is a sealed unit with the heater element embed inside the thermoblock so it cannot be serviced. It took me 2 hours to complete with a lot of swearing. The challenge with thermoblock machines is the silicone hose on the bottom that become brittle over time so they must be snipped and replaced.

 

[Enchanting Elk]

have you guys checked the thermal fuse prior to condemning the heater? mine was reading cold but the 5 dollar fuse on the thermoblock were dead.

 

[Feverish Disco Dynasty]

Delonghi products over the last 5 years has drastically declined in quality. Mine failed after 14 months. Binned it and purchased a Gaggia instead. Never looked back.

 

[Scottish Bible Basketb]

have you guys checked the thermal fuse prior to condemning the heater? mine was reading cold but the 5 dollar fuse on the thermoblock were dead.

this is the right answer. The thermal fuse is what the machines use to protect the element so it will pop far more frequent than the element itself will fail. Always check the cheap parts first.

 

[The Muppets Turtl]

yeah you can ohm test the heater prior to disassembly. Disconnect the heater from the machine and set your meter to the resistance/ohms setting. The reading should be between 15 and 30 ohms depending on the wattage of the unit. If the reading is 0 ohms it’s an open circuit and th…

Wait so can you just test the heater element direct or is it part of the circuit with the thermal fuse?

 

[Scottish Bible Basketb]

Wait so can you just test the heater element direct or is it part of the circuit with the thermal fuse?

test each separately. Pull one lead off the fuse and test the fuse by itself. Test the element terminals off the machine by itself. This will tell you which component has the failed thermal fuse or element.

 

[The Muppets Turtl]

test each separately. Pull one lead off the fuse and test the fuse by itself. Test the element terminals off the machine by itself. This will tell you which component has the failed thermal fuse or element.

Got it thanks. So is the thermal fuse visible once you separate the top of the machine, or is it somewhere hidden in the machine?

 

[Divine Worm Ma]

Got it thanks. So is the thermal fuse visible once you separate the top of the machine, or is it somewhere hidden in the machine?

On the La Specialista the thermal fuse is clipped to the top of the thermoblock under a metal cap. It’s visible once you separate the side panel of the machine. No need to separate the rest of the machine.

 

[Breakable Baboon]

Setting the machine to maximum temperature and performing a reset is such a delonghi cope when dealing with these machines lol. If the element is dead no amount of resetting will warm your water.

 

[Alert Ant]

Same issue as me. I had lukewarm coffee for ~2 weeks then suddenly out of water. Replaced the heater element and the ntc sensor. It was the ntc sensor because the machine thought it was already at brewing temp. The replacement for the sensor cost ~$8 and it’s been working perfect for over a year.

 

[The Muppets Turtl]

Same issue as me. I had lukewarm coffee for ~2 weeks then suddenly out of water. Replaced the heater element and the ntc sensor. It was the ntc sensor because the machine thought it was already at brewing temp. The replacement for the sensor cost ~$8 and it’s been working perfect…

oh interesting. How do you test an ntc sensor? Is there supposed to be a certain reading on a multimeter?

 

[Alert Ant]

oh interesting. How do you test an ntc sensor? Is there supposed to be a certain reading on a multimeter?

Most ntc sensors will read 50k to 100k ohms at room temperature. As it heats the resistance will drop. If the reading is too high or 0 it’s a faulty sensor. The easiest way to test it is to dunk it in a pot of boiling water.

 

[Mic]

These machines are designed to fail. Planned obsolescence and essentially every component is in one thermoblock so when one component fails the whole thermoblock has to be replaced. The epitome of moddern appliance design.

 

[Enchanting Elk]

These machines are designed to fail. Planned obsolescence and essentially every component is in one thermoblock so when one component fails the whole thermoblock has to be replaced. The epitome of moddern appliance design.

its not really planned obsolescence. The reason the element is in the thermoblock is simply for cost reduction. Nothing to do with it failing. Most of these machines fail at the peripherals not the element itself.

 

[Elegant Eel]

Pulled the machine apart 3 weeks ago. The two screws on the bottom panel are tricky because two of the screws is hidden under the rubber feet. Once you know that its not bad. Just a heads up to others who might not know.