I cleaned my machine today because it was running sluggish and not completing brew amount.. Did as directed and it stil running poorly... I have only had the machine for about 3 months, what is the deal? If I use the basket what grind should use on the bean? Is the pump burned out, or is not good to leave it on while not using? I have it set to be on 16 hrs a day, is that ok???

First; I am NOT a Caffitaly repairman. Though I have worked on mini espresso machines. Sputtering and/or poor steam is an indication that your brewer is not up to brewing temperature.
** Most of these home machines have a very small boiler or tank. They are designed to produce hot water and sometimes steam to brew a small 'European' espresso. Here in the USA we like our coffee weaker and with lots of 'other' things mixed in. The 'Americano' is the same amount of coffee but with a lot of hot water added. This amount will tax the small boiler to it's limits. Top it off with a grande latte would be probably be beyond it's ability to completely froth/heat this amount of milk. When you order a Latte from a Barista you will note that it takes a while to froth a Pitcher of cold milk. They are using a large espresso machine and probably pulling a double shot of espresso. To make a similar drink with any home machine requires doing everything 'double' or twice brew. (3 times?) You will need to check the 'ready' light to make sure the brewer is up to heat prior to brewing your next cup.
** Suggest brewing a regular size or 1/2 a mug of coffee-latte then come back again later for another fresh hot cup.
Aloha! ukeboy57

Since you don't specify what type of machine you have, these directions are a bit general: Run a solution of white vinegar and water through the machine, turning it off 1/2 way through the cycle and let it sit for 20 min to 1 hr. Then turn it back on and let the rest of the solution brew through. Dump that, rinse off the carafe, brew basket or whatever parts are removeable, are run a brew cycle with just water Different makers will tell you different amounts of each to use, but I usually mix about 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar, sometimes more vinegar. Don't use all vinegar, there's no reason to waste it, and less than 1/2 vinegar won't work very well. It depends on what kind of machine you''re descaling for the total amount of water/vinegar mix you would use... if it's a 4 c. Mr. Coffee, I do the whole pot. If it's a 12 cup coffee maker I use about 4or 5 cups of the mixture. Something like a Keurig is a bit more tedious - same general directions, but after rinsing the water holder, run clean water through the brewer several times before making coffee again.

Likely cause of this is a blocked worm drive. The worm drive takes the coffee in and then, after brewing, ejects the used grounds into the Dump box. Over time, coffee grounds accumulate on the worm drive and eventually jam it. This is Malfunction 8. Machine will need to be stripped and cleaned. Hope this helps.

Try cleaning your portafilter. Put a pinch of automatic dishwashing detergent in the portafilter basket only. Brew until you get suds comming out then stop for 1 minute. Repeat 5-10 times, stoping for the minute each time, until you get white foam. Then rinse basket and brew empty for a complete tank. Then try brewing again with coffee.

This may be one of two issues:
1. The pump is malfunctioning which can cause the internal reservior to not completely fill which causes issues during brewing. My unit dribbled random amounts of water instead of brewing for about a week before the pump died completely.
2. The puncture seal isn't in the right position. Open the Keurig fully so you can see the sharp puncture pin. Very Carefully push the black rubber gasket around it all the way up. Then pull it back down about 1/16". Brew a cup, if the problem continues, try sliding the gasket further down by increments of 1/32".

There might be some residue in the machine, you can try using some ScaleKleen which is activated citric acid, use a very small amount diluted in water(about 1/4 teaspoon). Run brew cycle with solution, after cycle complete, rinse reservoir, and run about 4 cycles with fresh water. This will clean out your machine.

The Coffee Maker can be descaled using
a packaged descaling agent or vinegar.
Always mix the descaling solution using
cool water.
• When using a descaling agent, follow
the directions on the package for the
recommended amounts of descaling
agent and water to use.
• When using vinegar, fill the carafe with
a solution consisting of 1⁄2 vinegar and
1⁄2 water.
Descaling Steps:
1. Before descaling, always remove the
water filter (see “Installing the Ion-
Exchange Water Filter” on page 7) and
make sure the brew basket contains
no coffee or coffee filters.
2. Run the Coffee Maker through a
complete brewing cycle using a full
carafe of the descaling solution.
3. If the cleaning needed indicator lights
after the brewing cycle is complete,
repeat Step 2 using fresh descaling
solution. Keep repeating Step 2 until
the cleaning needed indicator no
longer lights after brewing.
4. Rinse the Coffee Maker by running
it through two brewing cycles using a
full carafe of fresh, cool water
each time.
5. Wash the brew basket in hot, soapy
water and rinse with hot water. This
part can also be washed in the upper
rack of the dishwasher.
6. Reinstall or replace the water filter.
Replace the filter every three months
under normal usage, or more often
with heavy use.

Finally, I got my coffee pot to run through without stopping several times. To fix it I had to run vinegar through eight times! Never before has it taken so many cycles to clean out a pot. It is still spluttering a bit so today I am going to get more vinegar or maybe even CLR and run it through a few more times.

If this problem started after moving the machine, pull the machine out a little & look behind it for a kink in the tubing coming to the brewer. These brewers time the water coming through them, so if a kink is restricting the water flow, running the same amount of time equals much less coffee in the airpot.

here is the link to the manual http://www.cuisinart.com/share/man/25_man.pdf page 8 - looks like you have a calcium buildup - descale overnight using vinegar/water 50% if the self clean feature is not able to deal with the problem. hope this helps :)