The discharge of water …
Back in April we received an email from Tif regarding the issue of water being discharged back into the water reservoir. And today we received another email, this time from William, about the very same. As we didn’t have any specific guidance on this problem we thought we better get on to it to help others who might be out there with this problem too.
So the purpose of this guide to work out why a brewer might be discharging the water and then to propose some solutions that might help get the machine back to making regular coffee.
Cause of the Problem
Water Pump
If the water that is pumped back into the reservoir is cold it is most likely coming from the water pump itself (which sits near the bottom of the brewer). From the photo below (note: the brewer is upside down at this point as this photo was taken as part of our water pump replacement repair guide) one can see a thinner plastic tube; it’s this tube that acts as an outlet for the water pump as it diverts water from going into the boiler unit (to be heated) and instead feeds it back into the water reservoir (ie, from where it came).
In the next photo one can see the outlet tubing that runs from the water pump and then up the left side of the brewer. One can see the solenoid unit (upper right) and the air pump (silver, far right) in the photo too, along with their tubing that connects into the logic board (or processing board) above and the boiler unit.
The tubing then connects to a thicker tube, and the two form the outlet housing that feeds water back into the water reservoir. The thicker tube comes from the solenoid unit, which one can see in the photo above, which, through the solenoid unit, forms a connection to heated water coming from the boiler unit.
Solenoid
The management of water pressure is undertaken by the solenoid unit. As one can see in the photo below, taken from our trusty B60, it sits next to the air pump and they actually work together in managing air pressure (which the machine uses to get the heated water from the boiler unit into your coffee cup). As we mentioned above it doesn’t directly control cold water flow, but rather is looking after what is going on in the boiler unit and what is delivered to your coffee cup.
So if the water being released into the water reservoir is heated, then it’s the solenoid that is managing that process, rather than the water pump.
Solutions to the Problem
Solution One – The Keurig Burp
This procedure is more designed for the “kick starting” of a faulty air pump, but as one could see in the photos the solenoid is right next to the air pump. So the burp can have the same result and we have heard back from readers who have found this so.
Please note if the water coming into the reservoir is cold this procedure will unlikely do anything as the issue is being caused by problems with the water pump, rather than the solenoid.
For details on how to carry out this solution please follow this link to a short article on our site that will step you through it.
Solution Two – Water Pump Replacement
If you have cold water being dispensed into the water reservoir a water pump replacement might just get your Keurig back into action. The attachment of a new pump is quite straight forward, it’s the getting the outer casing off that is the real problem. And even though the pump can be reached without the casing coming off, one just needs to detach the base plate, the pump is however connected to the main power board on the right side of the brewer and access to this does need the casing off.
We have a few guides that will help you through this process. The first is the removal of the casing, and this guide will step you through this. The second guide, accessed from this link, will then step you through the pump replacement itself.
This link will take you through to our parts replacement section, and we have details there on the type of pump you need to buy and what to look out for (as pictured below).
Solution Three – Solenoid Replacement
If the water coming into the water reservoir is warm or hot then the replacement of the machine’s solenoid unit may fix the issue instead. As we mentioned in solution two, the outer casing removal is the biggest hurdle faced as the detachment of the old solenoid and the bolting on of a new one is quite straight forward.
But do not be deterred as we take you through both processes, step-by-step, to help you back to great coffee. This link will take you to the outer casing process and this link will take you to the solenoid repair process.
If none of these solutions work for you, please drop us an email using the Contact Us page and we can then see what else can be done.