Does anyone shut down their espresso machine for the winter?

Hello Everyone,

We're closing down for the winter (Jan-April) here in St. John's Canada. We have an Simonelli Aurelia II, bought and installed in June and been on ever since (and working well).

I've had conflicting reports from Tecs and others about whether we can shut it off for the duration. The cafe will remain heated throughout and water will remain on. 

Any advice?

Thanks,

Rob Salsman

The Battery Cafe

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If your place will be heated there is no reason to keep the machine on while not in use. As long as there will not be any risk of the water in the machine freezing and splitting a pipe the machine will be fine turned off. I would also recommend turning the water off to the machine too over the winter months.

It is true that turning a commercial machine on and off daily will stress the seals of older machines, your machine should not have this issue.

As a tech, I have never seen any documentation from Simonelli stating that their equipment needs to stay on 24/7. I have only witnessed composite gaskets leak during the on and off cycle, especially in older machines.

Thanks Troy, Appreciate it. Our Tecs here were concerned about voiding the warranty, but I can't find our warranty for this machine!  If I find it I will read the fine print and repost here.

I don't think we received is a written warranty for our Aurelia II. Does anyone know what the warranty is for this machine?

Hey, Rob! Simonelli offers different warranty levels, so I'd look here and see if anything seems familiar: http://www.nuovadistribution.com/WarrantyInfo.html. Hope that helps!

Thanks Jen. This is extended warranty coverage. We had a local reseller do our install, so our extended warranty is with them. I'm looking for the small print on the base warranty: 2 years on Espresso parts. is it void if the machine is shut down?

I would agree with Troy, no need to keep the machine on over the closure period. I am certain leaving it on would most likely not lead to any problems, but their is always a small chance that over three months something may happen (leveling probe may have a problem...or a thermostat issue etc)...why risk it happening when no ones there to keep an eye on the machine? I would still turn the water off at the feed to the ingress hose then empty the boiler as if you were going to move the machines location. That way you for sure can rest assured that there will be no issues hydraulically.

Thanks Alun. We're keeping it on for now, and using it every couple days, cause we live close by and still need a good coffee :). going to consult with our local tecs one more time and decide, cause they are the ones that service it.

I have a La Marzocco GB5 and shut it down for two weeks every winter when I go on vacation. Have never had any issues at all, but I agree with all who say to turn off the water to it and drain it, just to be on the safe side. As long as you follow the instruction manual for the shutdown procedure, you shouldn't have any problems at all. The other thing I do, is when I restart it and it is filled and hot, I run a lot of water through to check for leaks, flush out any residue etc.

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