moka pot safety valve replacement quotation

The devil is in the details. It is often the smallest things, the particularities, that make all the difference. This is also the case in regards to the preparation of a good coffee, a ritual in which all the steps and every single component play a fundamental role. Among all, one of the most important elements is the Moka valve. Often ignored, it is vital not only for the quality of the coffee, but also for the safety of those who prepare it.

The valve was born with the invention of the Moka Express in 1933. It is a safety valve positioned on the bottom chamber. To better understand the importance of the valve and its use, we need to take a step back and illustrate step by step

This is where the valve of the Moka comes into play. It must open when the pressure is too high. By doing so, it allows the steam to escape regularly, without causing any damage. In short, the Moka’s safety valve provides security. Hence, it should only intervene when the coffee maker is used under abnormal operating conditions.

A long-standing and debated question: how far can you fill the bottom chamber for a state-of-the-art coffee? The Moka valve can come in handy to answer this dilemma. Another important role of the valve is that it acts as a "measuring cup". Its position on the bottom chamber is not accidental. Rather, it indicates to those who prepare the coffee the correct amount of water to use. The only exception is for some special coffee pots that are already equipped with a measuring cup. Ideally the water should reach just below the safety valve.

The Moka valve, therefore, is not a decoration or a mere design element. Rather, it is a very important component for the correct functioning of the coffee maker. It guarantees safety and plays a part in the making of an excellent coffee.

Consequently, it is necessary to keep it clean and maintain it regularly. For example, using tap water to make coffee brings with it the risk of limescale deposits obstructing the hole in the valve. The resulting danger is that it could get clogged.

We have seen that one can simply use hot water to clean the Moka valve. To avoid limescale obstructions, simply move the piston that comes out of the valve along its axis when washing it. To ensure the Moka functions correctly, it is recommended to repeat this checkup periodically.

Been using my Vigano stovetop coffee pot on an electric stove for about 6 years. When I first got it I meticulously filled it to just below the safety valve yet was still scared to death of the thing blowing up if I left it too long on the hot ring. Immediately it began to glub and blub Id take it from the hot ring and stand back until it became quiescent.

That was then! I gradually discovered that as long as one does not too strenuously tamp the coffee in the basket (an unnecessary step in any case), filling the base to above the valve and leaving the pot on a low, low setting after it has "perked", is perfectly safe and gives me several cups of HOT coffee instead of one hot and the rest increasingly cooler.

Sorry, I wasn"t clear. I mean the pressure relief valve that is screwed into the side of the lower chamber. On all of my moka pots, this valve now leaks, so the pot never builds sufficient pressure to function.

I found a similar but slightly larger valve at MSC online, and was able to drill out and re-tap the hole in one of my aluminium moka pots to fit this valve with an o-ring. So that one is repaired. However, drilling out and retapping my stainless steel moka pots will be harder, and I am hoping to find the correct valve as used by Bialetti.

Edit: the valve I found is this one https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/03244811 1/8" thread, 15-25 psi, $2.44. But it isn"t quite the correct thread to replace the original valve.

The moka pot is a stove-top or electric coffee maker that brews coffee by passing boiling water pressurized by steam through ground coffee. Named after the Yemeni city of Mocha, it was invented by Italian engineer Alfonso Bialetti in 1933 and quickly became one of the staples of Italian culture.Bialetti Industries continues to produce the same model under the trade name "Moka Express".

Spreading from Italy, the moka pot is today most commonly used in Europe and in Latin America. It has become an iconic design, displayed in modern industrial art and design museums including the Wolfsonian-FIU, the Cooper–Hewitt, National Design Museum, the Design Museum,London Science Museum, The Smithsonian and the Museum of Modern Art.aluminium with Bakelite handles.

After the Second World War, the Italian moka pot spread all over the south of Europe and became the standard way of domestically making coffee. Its popularity led to non-Italian south European manufacturers making copies or new designs inspired by the original Italian design.

In Australia, the moka pot was traditionally used by Italian migrants who arrived mostly after the Second World War. By 2000 the moka had become popular in the homes of many Australians. Today it is quite popular at breakfast time; often Australians will add the brew to a mug and top up with either water off the boil or warmed milk.

Moka pots are typically made of aluminium, though they are sometimes made out of stainless steel or other alloys. Some designs feature an upper half made of heat-resistant glass.

Though everyday usage of these pots does not require much in the way of theoretical understanding, a number of physics papers have been written between 2001 and 2009 providing models for the process, utilizing the ideal gas law and Darcy"s law to provide insights into how the pot works, dispelling the popular myth that a Moka pot needs to boil water to brew (the water"s vapor pressure combined with the expanding gas is sufficient), and offering insights into the dynamics of extraction.

The boiler (marked A in the diagram) is filled with water almost up to the safety release valve (some models have an etched water level sign) and the funnel-shaped metal filter (B) is inserted. Italians generally do not preheat the water used, though established baristas such as James Hoffmann and Tristan Stephenson recommend using preheated water in the base.

A gasket ensures a tightly closed unit and allows for pressure to safely build up in the lower section, where a safety valve provides a necessary release in case this pressure should get too high.

When the lower chamber is almost empty, bubbles of steam mix with the upstreaming water, producing a characteristic gurgling noise. Navarini et al. call this the "strombolian" phase of brewing, which allows a mixture of highly heated steam and water to pass through the coffee, which leads to rapid overextraction and undesirable results; therefore, brewing should be stopped by removing the pot from the stove as soon as this stage is reached.

Moka pots require periodic replacement of the rubber seal and the filters, and a check that the safety release valve is not blocked. When the rubber seal is new, it might alter the coffee taste, so a couple of "dry runs" can be made, without coffee or with used coffee grounds to "prime" it. It is an urban myth that leaving coffee stains in a moka pot is preferable – the rancid coffee should be scrubbed out of all parts of the pot. Moka pots are generally not dishwasher safe.

The moka pot comes in various sizes based on the number of 50 ml (2 imp fl oz; 2 US fl oz) espresso cups they produce. The following table are the standard sizes for the Bialetti Moka Express.

Moka pots are sometimes referred to as stove-top espresso makers and produce coffee with an extraction ratio slightly higher than that of a conventional espresso machine.

A few companies have introduced variations to the Moka pot design. One such design has incorporated a weighted valve called Cremator or Cremavent as a pressure regulator on top of the nozzle that allows pressure to build up inside the water tank in a manner similar to a pressure cooker. As pressure builds up more quickly in this method (since there is much less leakage of vapour) compared to the standard moka pot, it reaches the level required for water to rise through the ground coffee in a shorter time. The result is coffee brewed at a higher pressure and temperature than the standard pot, making it more similar to espresso and therefore with more visible crema.

So you want to learn how to use a stovetop espresso maker? Here are 7 steps to perfect Italian Moka Stovetop espresso coffee! A stovetop espresso maker is also called an Italian coffee maker, moka pot or a coffee percolator.

Stovetop espresso makers were first introduced in 1933 by Alfonso Bialetti in Italy. It is generally called an Italian coffee maker, or a Moka pot. It is a type of Italian percolator for making stovetop espresso coffee.

The highest quality stove-top espresso makers have Italian safety valves. These safety valves make sure the coffee percolator can withstand the high water pressure that develops during the brewing process.

The hot water goes through the coffee grinds and into the top chamber. The steam brewing water gives a bold coffee flavour. This way an Italian stovetop coffee maker brews a thick and rich Moka coffee. Also commonly known as Italian espresso.

What is the actual liquid capacity of each size of moka espresso coffee maker? View our GROSCHE Milano stovetop espresso maker page for this and more information about moka pots.

Safety tip!  Don’t fill water above the safety valve. The safety valve is there to release pressure in case the pressure is too high. That can be due to any blockages.

The safety valve avoids a possible explosion of the pot from high pressure. Make sure the stovetop coffee maker you use has an Italian safety valve. Some coffee percolators use cheap valves that can lead to dangerous accidents while making coffee. Check out the MILANOif you’re interested in buying one.

The best way to clean your stovetop espresso maker is using warm water and a tough sponge. They say the older a moka pot gets the better its coffee tastes. And using soaps remove the conditioning that a moka pot gets with time.

Detergent is not necessary and also not recommended. That is why they say that the older these coffee makers get, the better the coffee tastes. You may have heard that in Italy grandma’s Moka espresso maker is the prized possession of the family.

Once you know how to use a stovetop espresso maker, you have to know about the seals. When cleaning your pot, take a look at the rubber seal and gasket for any hard build up.

So if you find any build up or if the seal appears to be damaged, it’s time for replacements. Usually, the seals should be changed every 6 months. Also if you are a heavy user of the Moka pot you may need to replace them more often.

There are three common sizes to the espresso maker gaskets. The seals come in 3, 6, or 9 cup sizes and are mostly universal in their fit. You should carefully remove the seal in your espresso pot and measure it and compare to the chart below. Then you can select the right one to buy for your Moka pot gasket replacement.

The most important thing to look for is whether the pot is made from aluminum or stainless steel. Aluminum conducts heat faster and brews faster, but it"s not corrosion-resistant, nor is it dishwasher safe. Still, it"s D"Ottavio"s preferred material for gas and electric stoves thanks to its speed and relative ease of use. On the other hand, stainless steel is dishwasher-safe, but it takes a while to heat up and retains heat for a much longer time (which can lead to burnt grounds).

Other considerations you"ll want to take into account are the handle (plastic or heat-resistant metal or silicone) and the gasket (rubber or silicone). If you"re the type of person who tends to neglect things on the stove for even a minute or two, a plastic handle might not last long in your kitchen. And if you use your Moka pot regularly, consider models with a silicone gasket as opposed to a rubber one, which is going to give way far quicker.

One thing you"ll need to make the Moka pot shine, as with any brewing method, is a good burr grinder or a nearby barista willing to freshly grind your beans for you.

While both coffee-brewing methods rely on pressure, espresso occurs somewhere between five and 10 bars of pressure (depending on whom you ask) and the pressure a Moka pot achieves is, optimally, somewhere between one and one-and-a-half bars of pressure.

Because of this, the grind size for Moka pots is typically a little coarser, and, according to Matteo D"Ottavio, the 2020 UK Brewers Cup Champion, should be between espresso (very fine) and drip coffee (medium-fine) grounds. He wouldn"t give us a particular size, but we find somewhere around 500 microns will do the trick with a medium-roast coffee. Along with D"Ottavio, we also recommend you go up in size for dark roast and down in size for light roast.

The imperative thing is to get it dry and keep it dry after use. According to D"Ottavio, the best way to clean a Moka pot is to take it apart, including the screen and gasket, and soak it or wash it with water and a little white vinegar. If it gets really bad (as in, if you find you"ve left grounds or water in it for days on end), fill a large bowl with some mild dish detergent, disassemble the whole thing, and soak it until things loosen up. Once it"s clean, keep everything apart and store the parts loosely piled atop each other to prevent mold and allow for airflow.

PART NUMBERS & MANUFACTURERS REFERENCE: Many of the parts on sale are supplied by the original equipment manufacturers (OEM) whilst others are offered as suitable replacements or alternatives. Any references made to specific manufacturers and OEM part numbers are for guidance and identification purposes only and does not imply that any parts supplied are purchased direct from the OEM. Parts supplied as alternatives may differ from the OEM"s exact specifications.

Have you ever placed your Moka Pot on the stove and as time went by, and you were waiting for your coffee to brew, you started to wonder if your Moka Pot could explode?

Moka Pots are designed to withstand high temperatures and pressure, so it is very unlikely for them to explode. However, if the Moka Pot is not used properly, there is a small chance that it could blow up.

Thankfully, we are here to help. In this article, we will go over some of the things you should avoid doing with your Moka Pot to prevent it from exploding.

A Moka Pot can explode under the right (or in this case wrong) circumstances. If you take a minute to think about how a Moka Pot works everything will start making sense.

A Moka Pot is designed to be placed on a stovetop where the heat will eventually build up enough pressure to force the water from the bottom chamber all the way up to the filter basket and eventually the top chamber where your coffee will be waiting.

It is an espresso machine, without the fancy price tag, that uses steam and pressure to brew coffee. Espresso machines though, use around 9 bars of pressure to brew a shot, while Moka Pots only use 1-2 bars.

When we say boom, we don’t mean that your coffee maker will explode into thousands of pieces, but rather the pressure will cause the top of the Moka Pot to fly off, spraying boiling water and coffee grounds everywhere.

The Moka Pot grind size that you are going to use is important for one reason, and that is because if the grind is too fine it is going to block the filter basket.

If the grind is too fine, and the water can’t get through, the pressure will start to build until eventually…you guessed it, the Moka Pot will explode.

Imagine having a car and the breaks are not working. You’re going to go fast, and eventually, you’re going to crash. The same thing happens with a Moka Pot if the grind is too fine and the water can’t get through, or in our example, you can’t stop your car.

I know this may sound a little bit far-fetched, but we have seen it happen before. So, please, for the sake of your Moka Pot use a medium to fine grind, and if you’re not sure, err on the side of a little bit coarser.

However, with the Moka Pot, if you tamp your coffee grounds, it can actually block the filter basket and again, the pressure will build until…you know what happens next.

Don’t get me wrong, tamping is a good way to help make sure all the coffee grounds are extracted, but with the Moka Pot, you don’t want to go too crazy with it.

If you have an older Moka Pot make sure to check it every now and then to make sure that the safety valve is still working correctly. If it doesn’t you need to replace the valve or get a new Moka Pot.

The original Moka Pot was designed by Alfonso Bialetti in 1933 and if you are a coffee fanatic, especially with Moka Pot coffee its history is old news to you.

I’m not saying that these alternatives are not good, but you need to be aware that some of them are not made with the same quality as the original Bialetti Moka Pot.

Cheap materials and bad design are something that can’t be overstated enough. So, if you are looking to get a Moka Pot to make sure to do your research and don’t just buy the first one you see.

However, if you’re using one of these filters, you need to make sure that you put it in the Moka Pot the right way. If you don’t, in some cases, your pot may explode.

Glass can generally stand up to high temperatures, but there is a point where it will shatter if it gets too hot. This is what can happen if you use a glass coffee pot to brew your coffee.

In all cases, you should avoid putting a glass coffee pot on a heat source that is too high. This can cause the pot to shatter, which can lead to injuries.

If you don’t have any other option than to use a glass coffee pot, make sure to monitor it closely and remove it from the heat as soon as the coffee is done brewing. A low-medium heat setting is generally safe, but it’s always better to avoid it completely.

The Bialetti Brikka is just like any other Moka Pot out there in terms of design and materials. So, if you have one and are interested if it can explode, the answer is yes.

The Brikka can explode, for the same reasons that any other Moka Pot can. It’s all about the pressure building up inside the pot and not being able to release.

You need to make sure that you are cleaning it after every use and descaling it regularly. If you don’t do this, coffee grounds will start to build up and they can clog the safety valve.

Water can also affect the longevity of your coffee maker. If you only use tab water with your Moka Pot the minerals and chemicals in it will build up over time and clog it.

If you are a beginner with the Moka Pot, it’s very easy to forget about it and let it boil for too long. This is a surefire way to cause an explosion.

The metal valve inside the bottom chamber of your Moka Pot is there for a reason. It indicates how much water you should put in so that the coffee doesn’t come out too weak or too strong.

A Moka Pot explosion is one thing out of many that can go wrong with your coffee maker. Admit it, people mess up more frequently than we think. So, let’s put an end to this and list a few more things that can go wrong with your Moka Pot.

The handle of your Moka Pot is made out of the same materials as the rest of the pot. So, if you use it incorrectly it can break. One way that your handle can break is if it’s too close to the stove.

If the handle is close to the heat source, it can get too hot and break. Remember that after you finish brewing your coffee, the pot will still be hot. So, make sure to wait a few minutes before you pick it up by the handle.

Not all the water will be used during the brewing process. So, there will still be some water left in the pot when you’re done. This isn’t a big deal at all and you can just dump it out.

But if you added more water than you should have, then there will be water left at the bottom. This is an indication that you overfilled the pot and you need to be more careful next time.

If you don’t dry your Moka Pot after you clean it, it can start to change color on the inside. This is because water will condense on the inside and cause rust.

A manual espresso maker is another word for saying Moka Pot. So, yes an espresso maker can explode if you don’t use it correctly. You need to be extra careful with the amount of water you use and make sure not to overfill it.

So, the end quote for this article is that everything happens for a reason. In this case, the reason is that people need to be more careful when using their Moka Pots.

If you’re still having trouble with your Moka Pot, then maybe it’s time for a new one. If your Moka Pot is brand new and you still having problems, then you can benefit from this blog post.

Moka FunnelReplacement Aluminium Funnel suitable for Bialetti Moka Express coffee makers.If you are unsure of the size you need please measure the di..