Your Oracle or Dual Boiler keeps heating up
The Oracle, Oracle Touch and Dual Boiler have three things that need to reach temperature: the coffee boiler, the steam boiler and a heater in the group head. The machine only says it is ready once all three are hot. If it sits heating up for ages, it is almost always one of the three that isn’t getting there.
What you can check yourself
- Give it time. According to the manuals the Oracle is hot after about 5 minutes and the Dual Boiler after about 10. The group head can take a little longer. If it is still heating after 20–30 minutes, something is wrong.
- Check the steam lever and the hot water dial are fully closed. If either is open, the machine won’t finish heating.
- Check the water tank is full and sits all the way down. The steam boiler fills itself from the tank, and without water it won’t heat.
- Work out what does work. Hot coffee but no steam means the steam boiler. Steam but lukewarm coffee means the coffee boiler or the group head.
- Carefully feel the group head (not the metal where the water comes out) once the machine has been on for a while. If it is cold while the rest is hot, it is often the group head heater.
- Switch the machine off at the plug for a couple of minutes and turn it on again. If the fault comes back, it needs repairing.
Tip: Unplug the machine before you clean it or take parts off. If it needs opening, leave that to us.
Typical causes when the checklist doesn’t help
Steam boiler heating element
The machine makes coffee, but the steam never comes, or it fades after a short while.
Coffee boiler heating element
The machine never reaches brewing temperature, and the coffee is lukewarm or won’t come at all.
Group head heater
The boilers are hot, but the group head stays cold, so the machine never says it’s ready.
Thermal fuse or sensor
A thermal fuse on a boiler has blown, or a temperature sensor reads wrongly, so the heating is switched off.
Steam boiler not filling
Scale or a faulty valve stops water reaching the steam boiler, and then it won’t heat.
The control board
The board doesn’t send power to the heater, even though everything else is fine.
When does it need repairing?
If the machine is still heating after a restart with a full tank, it needs opening up and measuring. Heating elements, fuses and sensors can be replaced individually, so it is usually a good repair on a machine at this price.
Get a fixed repair priceQuestions and answers
Why does my Dual Boiler make coffee but no steam?
It is almost always the steam boiler: the heating element, a fuse on the boiler, or the boiler not filling with water. The coffee boiler is a separate boiler, so the coffee can work even when the steam doesn’t.
Is it worth repairing an Oracle that won’t heat?
Almost always. A new heating element or sensor costs a fraction of a new Oracle.