bialetti safety valve replacement factory

Moka pots were invented in the 1930s by Italian designer Alfonso Bialetti and quickly became popular throughout Europe and South America. The original pots were made of aluminum, but today you can find them in either aluminum or stainless steel in sizes that produce a range of two to 12 espresso shot cups.

When it comes to making coffee, there is no shortage of options. From traditional French presses to high-tech espresso machines, there are many ways to enjoy a great cup of coffee. But one piece of coffee-making equipment that has become increasingly popular over the years is the Bialetti Pour Over Coffee Dripper. This device is designed to make pour over coffee, which is a method of making coffee that involves pouring hot water over coffee grounds and allowing them to steep. Unfortunately, while the Bialetti Pour Over Coffee Dripper may have some advantages, there are also some serious issues with it that coffee drinkers should be aware of. In this article, we’ll discuss what makes the Bialetti Pour Over Coffee Dripper so problematic and why it’s important to consider other options when it comes to making pour over coffee.

Bialetti is a part of Italian popular culture because it has been manufacturing its products for over 100 years. The brand is widely used in Italian households due to its popularity as a coffee machine. Your coffee maker may exhibit some fault and malfunction if you are not properly training your machine. Water remains in the boiler after the Bialetti Moka coffee maker has brewed its coffee. As a result, the funnel will not come into contact with the brewer’s bottom. If the machine is already connected to the power supply but it won’t turn on, you could be dealing with a power supply issue.

A safety valve or filter has been blocked, which prevents pressure buildup from being alleviated. To repair it, disassemble the entire moka pot, including the filter and gasket, and thoroughly rinse it. The safety valve can be cleaned by brushing it with a toothbrush.

It is possible to resolve 3 of the problems. It is filling the pot too much, as the water level should not touch the valve; simply fill to the proper level and leave it to run for a few minutes. A clogged valve means that it should never open at all. More information can be found here… (2) The valve is stuck in the open position, preventing it from opening completely.

Coffee is not only easy to brew in a Bialetti Moka pot, but it is also possible to brew in an induction stove. You only need the Bialetti Moka pot, which is magnetic and thus compatible with the induction stove, as well as a few freshly ground coffees. Coffee can be added to the Moka pot, the bottom chamber filled with water, and the pot on the induction stove within one minute of placing it. When heated in the induction stove, the water will rise through the coffee grounds, resulting in a delicious brew. A Bialetti Moka pot should never be tampered with, but it is acceptable to tamper with its grounds. When using moka pots in an espresso machine, this practice can be disastrous. Because the heat generated by the induction stove has been enough to extract the coffee’s flavor without causing the grounds to become ruffled, there is no need to tamper with the grounds. All you have to do is follow these simple instructions to make a perfect cup of coffee with your Bialetti Moka pot.

The cause of the flow problem may be a clog in the brew valve or a faulty brew valve in your system. Have you ever experienced an unusual stop before the flow stopped? A clogged valve is more likely, whereas a faulty valve is more likely to be discovered with strange noises.

If water is leaking from your safety valve, either before or during a brewing cycle, something is not quite right and it will need to be resolved before your machine is able to produce coffee again. The leak from the safety valve could be coming from one of three places:

If the leak is coming from the gold coloured safety ring, you simply need to replace it. Further details on how to do that, as well as how to prevent it happening again, can be found here. You will have received a spare safety ring with your machine.

If water is leaking from the head of the safety valve, it’s likely that the internal seal has become dislodged and damaged. Though this is a rare event, in this case the safety valve will need to be replaced. You can purchase a replacement safety valve here, and there are instructions showing how to replace the safety valve here.

A leak from this point suggests one of two things. The first is that the safety valve isn’t screwed on tight enough. Screw it in hand tight, then use a 13mm spanner to tighten it so that there is ‘metal on metal’ contact between the boiler and the safety ring. You won’t need to tighten it very hard, the thing to feel for is a sudden increase in resistance when screwing it in.

The second thing to check is whether the two red o-rings on either side of the safety ring are in good condition. Simply check that they’re well-seated either side of the safety ring and that they are clean and free of damage. Then screw the valve back onto the boiler. These o-rings form the seal between the safety valve and the boiler, so if they’re not in place the safety valve will leak. If you need some replacement seals, you can buy those here.

I bought a Bialetti Brikka (new-ish version with black bottom but still with the gravity valve) in 2020 for my Covid-Coffee and it was an okay quality. Still lots of aluminium chaff flying around everywhere, definitely needed more cleaning than Bialetti says is “permissible” because dish soap supposedly harms the metal (not true).

The valve is simply a rubber membrane that is not sold as a replacement part, have fun with that I guess. So much aluminium dust and shavings everywhere, even in the valve, where the consumer should never look I guess. The paint on the bottom is even worse than on my old brikka.

And to top it all off, I am not even sure if that valve rubber is silicone or not (confusion with old Bialetti descriptions since the gravity valve Brikkas all had a clear silicone nozzle to constrict flow against the valve). The new valve rubber is white like the main gasket (which is natural rubber IIRC), so have fun when that gets icky and there are no replacements (it’s a rather complex moulding with a tapered inside ending in a slit which gets compressed by the top part of the valve).

I will get my 45€ back and invest that in a cheap espresso machine (I didn’t want to make 4 cups with my old Bialetti all the time, so this should be worth it).

Bialetti is a company that invented moka pots. However, today many other brands offer Italian stove top coffee makers for 2 or even 3 times lower price. Is there any real difference between them except the famous ‘little man with the mustache’ logo, which Bialetti proudly put on its models? (Spoiler: yes)

I decided to compare stainless steel versions, since my new kitchen is equipped with a induction stove (classic aluminium moka pots like Moka Express or Brikka can’t work with it). I choose a Bialetti Venus by Bialetti (‘Made in India according to Bialetti’s quality standarts’ was written on the box) and a similar moka pot by some unknown brand from China (almost 3 times cheaper). Both are for 4 cups, which equals to 160ml. Here they are:

So let’s investigate the differences between cheap Chinese moka pot made of steel vs original Bialetti Venus.I will not describe the unboxing process (though Bialetti packaging was better) and focus on the materials, construction, coffee taste and temperature:

Both coffee makers are made of stainless steel. However the thickness of the metal is different, Chinese one definetly has more slim edges (hereinafter on photos the Bialetti is on left while the Chinese one is on right):

The fact that Bialetti uses a lot more metal while producing their stove top espresso makers is also proven by the weight. According to my kitchen scale it’s 544 grams (19.2 ounces) in the case of Bialetti vs 330 grams (11.6 ounces) in the case of its counterpart. Both measurements are made without boxes:

❕ The main thing, that dissapointed me was the weirdly coated bottom section in Chinese moka pot. While the Bialetti has a equaly shiny polished steel both outside and inside, the bottom chamber of the second coffee maker has a layer of some strange material:

My last observation is about emergency valve that is located one the side of the bottom chamber and that is used to lower the pressure if the funnel would be clogged. They are different:

The Bialetti inspection valve is a patented valve, which has been designed to guarantee the use of the coffee maker in complete safety. Using the coffee maker with drinking water entails the risk of formation of lime scale in the hole of the safety valve, causing the clogging of the valve itself and the malfunctioning of the product.

With the Bialetti inspection valve, it is very simple to avoid clogging arising from lime scale: just move the small piston coming out of the valve along its axis when washing the coffee maker.

As I mentioned above the fact that Chinese has thinner metal body affects the brewing proccess. Bialetti’s upper chamber stays cools longer, while all parts of Chinese coffee maker becomes hot very soon. That means that temperature of extraction is higher on Chinese one. It’s generally condidered to be bad for the coffee taste (because it may become bitter), however it’s better for lovers of hot coffee.

Here are photos of coffee temperature measurement in Bialetti Venus and in ATWFS moka pot just after brewing on gas cooker (photos kindly provided by my reader kroleg-m):

Fill the reservoir with water up to the fill line. If your pot doesn’t have a fill line, or you can’t see it, fill the reservoir to about half a centimetre below the safety valve.

If, like me, you live in a hard-water area, be aware that the safety valve on the water reservoir can get clogged over time with mineral deposits. I’ve not been able to buy the reservoir separately as a replacement part, so it might be worth buying a water filter: Britta has an excellent range of counter-top filter jugs and pitchers for around £20 to £30 ($20 to $40).

Replacement parts: Over time, the rubber gasket seal will deteriorate, and the filter on the jug will become clogged so you’ll need to replace these. Packs of gaskets + filters are about £/$6 to £/$7.

The no tamping rule is also confusing as I fill it to the max but don’t necessarily tamp it because tamping can over pressurise the boiler and that’s no good to anyone as it can cause leakage at the seal or even worse cause the pressure valve to be released and scald someone next to it.