Smeg ECF01 Questions & Answers
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Just finished descaling. Turned on machine this morning and the steam light fixed and lit but not functioning.
Hi Margo thank you for your feedback, Have you contacted us to discuss this further? We would love to have an opportunity to discuss this further with you, Can you kindly email us direct with your full name address and contact telephone number and we will have one of our team contact you, our email address is diamondservice@smeg.com.au and please mark to the attention of Lesley Anne. Thank you Smeg Australia
Hi, my Smeg efc01 espresso machine has a problem. After turning it on yesterday and waiting for it to heat up, it then started flashing all 3 buttons, 3 times, repeatedly. It won't respond to any button pressing and I've tried a factory reset. I removed the bottom cover to clear some debris from the water inlet and noticed some debris also in the water tube. I didn't want to dismantle any more but thought there might be a blockage somewhere inside. I couldn't find anything in the troubleshooting section of the manual or any useful google results. Can you tell me if this is a recognisable, easily rectified fault? Cheers Nick
I am descaling but nothing is coming out of the wand just water from the centre coffee dispenser everything appears to be clean on the wand itself? The machine prompts me to descale every time I turn it on. Help please?!
My coffee machine has started making hissing noises during use and then when taking off the coffee thing at the end,it is like it is over pressurised and coffee goes everywhere . It is a couple of years old and has just started happening. Any ideas? Thanks
This could be due to a number of reasons. The most common is that somewhere along the line, you started using coffee that is too finely ground. You should use a coarser grind. Next, decrease the amount of coffee that you put into the portafilter.
You should use a coffee "distributor" to make sure that the powder is uniformly distributed in the porta filter which stops the extraction from spurting everywhere. I recommend getting a "bottomless" porta filter so you can see an even flow of liquid coming down in one central drip.
Next, check the time it takes for your extraction....it should be around 30 seconds and the volume should be 36 gm for a standard dose of coffee. If either of these vary, you need to adjust accordingly.
I know it sounds convoluted, but once you get it right and stick to the same routine, you will have the perfect coffee each time...the key is to be consistent; your coffee will taste much better because the machine has extracted the exact balance of the essential flavours from the beans.
Notes: * Never buy ground coffee. Always get good quality Arabica whole beans and grind your own. A good electric grinder is not expensive and you can ensure that you grind exactly the right dose and degree of coarseness every time....remember, consistency.
* You have a great manual barista machine that will do precisely as it is told. The secret to making it work properly and getting the best brew lies in the process of what you do from grinding the coffee and locking the porta filter onto the machine. This is not only important....it is critical. Enjoy.
Thankyou for your response however I have always done all the above ie have a grinder on the correct setting ,buy good coffee beans .\etc.This has only just started happening and doesn't really make sense why it has started " hissing"
My machine is dripping quite a lot from the milk frother whenever the machine is on. Any ideas? Thank you.
There is pressure/heat buildup due to the heat setting being too high, extracting coffee soon after frothing, or the steam wand is clogged. Pull the steam knob to release the pressure/heat buildup.
Have run descale mode now 3 times the orange steam light will not stop flashing
Hi Wally W, At the end of the rinse cycle, press and hold the steam button to purge any remaining water in the system. This will switch off the orange light. Regards Smeg
Hi I have the same problem as most people above with water not coming through the filter, it was making coffee and suddenly stopped. This is the second machine I got as the first one stopped working and the second one have problems again. This is not acceptable for such an expensive coffee machine. I am using the 2 cup filter. It seems that many people have asked this question but the SMEG representative has not answered yet even. Is there a solution to this problem?
There are 4 main reasons why your extraction is not happening which is common with all barista machines: 1) your coffee is ground too fine; simply grind your coffee coarser. 2) you may be tamping the coffee too hard, tamp only hard enough until there is no more give from the coffee in the portafilter. 3) the holes in the bottom of your portafilter are blocked; blow through the portafilter to dislodge, then rinse. 4) the portafilter has been over-filled with coffee; the tamped level should be flat and approximately 1mm below the top of the portafilter. So far as the market for barista machine pricing goes, the Smeg is low-end. Expect to pay $1800 to $4500 for mid-range, $4600 to $10,000 for upper mid-range and up to $20,000 for high-end.
I have the filter coffee machine so the above does not apply to my machine.
Dear evi c., Do you have the same issue with the one cup filter? Regards Smeg
I have the drip filter coffee machine.
Hi there, I have cleaned my smegg machine several times but it continues to flash orange. Can you help? Annette
Could you possibly mean that you "descaled" your machine several times? If so, Power off the machine on the side and remove the power plug for 5 minutes then switch back on. If the orange light still comes on, turn the steam lever on to dispense some hot water into a cup. If that solves the problem, I suggest that you turn down the water temperature as per the manual.
It sounds like it's still indicating the descaling alert (orange light) despite your cleaning efforts. This could happen if the machine's descaling process wasn't fully completed or if the system didn't register it. Try these... - Check the descaling process, ensure you're following the exact steps in the user manual for descaling. Double-check that the descaling solution is appropriate and mixed correctly. - After descaling, some models require a manual reset to turn off the orange light. - If the water hardness isn't set correctly, the machine might require more frequent descaling. Adjust this as per the manual.
Hope this helps.
When 2 lights flash orange, the heating temperature is too high; cool as per page 6 of the instruction manual; also, the water tank may not be correctly inserted. If all lights flash orange, you will need to have the machine serviced.
Machine only used a hand full of times and now water won't come thru the 2 cup filter.
There is one small hole on the bottom of the filter. Simply clear it with a pin then check by blowing water through it.
My Smeg coffee machine has just 'died'. I've checked the plug, the water, tried a different socket, but nothing?? Is there a reset to factory settings option on the buttons? Mark
Do you mean that the machine does not respond, light up, etc.? If so, I suggest that either the fuse or the main board has blown due to a power surge or lightning strike. In that case, the only remedy is to book it into Smeg.
Thanks, I will do so. Appreciate the response
Hi I have the same problem as most people above with water not coming through the filter, pressure building up and then the seal breaking and water and grounds leaking out the top of the filter. I am using the 2 cup filter. It seems that many people have asked this question but the SMEG representative has not answered yet even though some of the questions are months old. Is thereb no solution to this problem?
Dear Max C., It appears your 2-cup filter is blocked. Please private message us your details and we will organise a replacement filter for you. Regards Smeg
Hi! My coffee machine (ECF01PBUK) not dripping , so when the basket fills with water it doesn’t come through. Rather the water just sits in the basket and at time slightly overflows through the side of grouphead. is this a pressure issue if yes how to fix . Looks like Jessica above posted same issue , though can't see any reply for that. I have cleaned, descaled and scrubbed to ensure there isn’t a blockage. Any ideas?
Hi Bips, Thanks for your enquiry. I take it you're in the UK? If the water doesn't flow through the filter basket, it is blocked and requires a new filter basket. Does this happen with the one-cup or two-cup filter? Regards Smeg
Press error? Any idea how to clear this scm1A
Hi! My two shot coffee filter basket has stopped working. The one shot filter basket is working fine, but I always make a double shot so it’s frustrating to have to use the small one twice. This is the second time the filter basket has stopped working and smeg were great last time this happened and sent me a replacement filter basket, but that one has stopped working about a year later. Is there any way to fix it?
Hi there, our Smeg ECF01 has started leaking from the boiler outlet. Coffee will come out of the filter (we use ESE pods) but it also comes over the filter holder too (the ESE tab isn't in the way). Once the filter holder is removed, water still drips from the boiler outlet until the unit is turned off. Please advise.
We used the paper pods in the coffee grounds holder. The holder flies off without warning. This happens regularly. What can I do?
I have the same problem as others when coffee grounds holder flies off without warning. This happens about every fifth time and we have smashed about 4 cups in the process. What can I do?
My Smeg coffee machine will not clean or make coffee it seems to be clogged. Water is full and connected as water will come through the milk spout. But no coffee or water will come through the main filter although you can hear the machine trying. We have cleaned it but now stuck.
My machine stops after delivering one cup(if not less) whether I choose one or two cups, I have descaled it, reset to factory settingsand tried holding down the button to set the amount per cup, but it stops before I release the button. Help!
Hi, my husband bought me this coffee machine as a gift, which I have had for only 2 weeks. I have mastered the grind and fill for the filter, my problem is every time I make coffee the milk wand drips water both through the process and afterwards for a while. I have had to put a cup under the wand to stop water pooling on the bench. Is this normal?
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