From:
Dave.
Question:
Hello!
Your site is great! Thanks for putting together such a wonderful and comprehensive site about Keurig brewer issues.
I have a B60 which is about 3 years old now, and recently started doing something odd. When it draws water from the reservoir into the internal heating tank, there is also a steady drip of cold water back into the reservoir at the same time. Then, when a cup is brewed, it dispenses hot water into the cup *and* a steady stream of cold water back into the reservoir. It does not dispense as much hot water as it should into the cup, but maybe 3/4 the desired amount. If I plug the side of the overflow nozzle from which the cold water comes out, then the brewer dispenses the correct amount of hot water without any issues.
I looked through your posts and I think I may have a water pump issue, but I’m not sure why I would be getting both hot water as expected *and* cold water into the reservoir.
I have followed the de-scaling instructions and run vinegar through it several times over a few days, to no avail. The water coming out is clear, and there does not seem to be any build-up in any of the water lines, including those going to and from the water pump.
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Response:
It makes such a nice change to receive the email that we did yesterday from Dave. We thank him for his kind words (we were thinking of not continuing with the site but his words of encouragement have changed our minds).
And also Dave provided us with excellent detail in what the problem was and his ideas on what could be causing it and what things he had already tried.
Causes
It is an unusual problem Dave faces with his B60 (will still think they are the best brewer Keurig produced in terms of “bang for buck”) in that the machine is having trouble producing sufficient air pressure to produce a full cup of coffee, but rather than this being a problem with the air pump we think it is the solenoid causing the issue.
Normally when we see this issue with partial cup brewing it is due to the air pump not being able to generate the correct air pressure to move the heated water from the boiler unit in to the K Cup holder (or the portion pack holder as Keurig refers to it as). For example what Steve had recently with his B31.
The purpose of the solenoid is to the regulate the air and water pressure in the brewer. The photo below shows the solenoid and a few different tubes that connect in to it. The bottom tube (the one I’m pointing to) connects to another and forms the pair of tubes that pump water back in to the water reservoir (this is the tube Dave mentions when he covers it and a normal cup of coffee can be produced by the brewer). And the thicker tube connects to the top of the boiler unit (see the second photo below and the tube I’m pointing to in that one).
The solenoid also connects into the “brains” of the brewer through an FPN air pressure sensor. The photo below shows the logic or processor board on a B60 and the sensor is the the small black and white box at the top left. The tube sticking out of the top connects in to the tubing assembly that feeds back to the solenoid.
Our approach to the solutions proposed below is to start with the easiest and cheapest and move on from there.
Solution 1 – The Keurig Burp
This solution, which came from a reader a few years back, is designed to help a struggling air pump get jolted “back in to life”. By applying a firm, but gentle, slap to the side of the machine. As the solenoid and the air pump are placed next to each other on a B60, as you can see in the photo below, this might help the solenoid in the same way. The solenoid is the bluish cylinder on the left and the air pump is the silver cylinder on the right.
Without getting in to the machine and having a look it is difficult to say what is wrong with solenoid; but it might just be some clogging of material preventing the unit from performing the correct water and air regulation. However Dave has flushed through a few descaling cycles so this should have moved anything sticking in there.
We have a guide (please follow this link) that steps you through the simple steps in trying to see whether this approach will help solve this problem.
Solution 2 – Solenoid Replacement
If the quick and easy “burp” approach has not worked from solution 1 then is will be best to undertake a solenoid replacement. This provides a much longer term fix to bringing the brewer back to making full cups of coffee.
We have a detailed guide, (or you can access it through our Repair Guides page) with full descriptions and photos, that explains each step of the replacement process. It can be a daunting process in repairing this brewers but it is very satisfying, both from a perspective of the wallet and getting back to making great coffee.
We have mentioned her a few times, but Terri is a great example of someone who stuck with it and for around $35 and some time she got her B70 back up and running when many would have given up. You can read her post through this link.
A solenoid unit will cost between $10 to $20 and are available from both eBay and Amazon (you can often get a cheaper price on eBay … every little bit helps). The photo below shows you what you are looking to buy. We recommend you go for buying a new solenoid rather than a second hand one.
Solution 3 – Water Pump Replacement
Dave mentions that the brewer is not only producing a partial cup of coffee but is depositing cold water straight into the reservoir. This water, as he mentions, is coming straight from the water pump and is the result of the pressure problem we have already mentioned.
A water pump replacement could be undertaken, and we have a detailed guide on this too which you can find on this link, but we would only take this step as a last resort – if the above two solutions have not worked. The water pump is not involved in the regulation of air and water pressure, but is there to deposit water in to the boiler unit – or this case put it in to the reservoir. But it is not doing this “off its own bat” but rather being instructed to do so from the main logic or processor board, which is gaining its data from the solenoid unit.
So the water pump appears to be functioning quite normally; we can’t see its replacement helping at all. Notwithstanding this, if one wished to replace the pump it will also cost between $10 to $20 and again available from eBay and Amazon. What you are looking for is pictured below.
We hope one of these recommendations will fix the problem Dave is having. If not using the Contact Us form and letting us know what happened will enable us to see what could be done next.