Steam and hot-water tap
One tap, and what wears in it
One tap serves both steam and hot water, so this is the only valve on the steam side. A wand that drips with the knob closed points to a worn seat seal (36302002), worn stem O-rings, or scale. Rancilio gives owners no method for this. Its manual says to unplug and let the machine cool before opening it, to use only original spare parts, and, for any problem it does not list, to contact its technical support. Treat it as technician work.
The method on the next two screens is from the same owner's video that claims a V6 (NJS Instructional, 2021). Rancilio's parts list gives the parts and nothing more. At the wand joint it shows a Teflon gasket and a spring inside the wand nut, and no O-rings.
Take the tap out
The owner's video (NJS Instructional).
- Unplug and let the machine cool. Take out the tank and trays, and take the top off.
- Pull the steam knob straight off. A spring clip holds it.
- Remove the cover plate, and most likely the back panel as well, as the video puts it.
- Back off the boiler pipe's nut on the tap with an 18 mm ring spanner. The video does the same at the back.
- Undo the tap's fixing nut to the body with a 17 mm ring spanner.
- Slide the tap out.
Rebuild the tap and refit it
Still the video.
- Hold the brass body in a vice and unscrew the bonnet. It is on "quite tight".
- Unscrew the stem fully.
- Unscrew the seat-seal retainer with pliers and fit a new seat seal.
- Fit two new O-rings on the stem.
- Reassemble in the vice. Refit the tap with the spring washer, the flat washer and the fixing nut.
- Refit the pipe, the knob, the panels and the top. Heat up and check for leaks.