When brewing with the X1, water starts leaking from the underside of the top where the brass filter holder connects to the machine. Tightening the 4 nuts did not help.

There were two versions of the Francis Francis X1; one without the logo (older) and one with. I guess your only chance is ebay; but why would someone sell the holder without the machine?

First things first, try a descaling solution, especially if you live where there's hard water. Sometimes minerals can crust up the brewing portion of the internal tubing. The steam part still works because it essentially leaves the limescal in the pot, channeling only steam through the steaming wand. Dump out any water in the reservoir, then put in a mix of half filtered or distilled water, and white vinegar. Run it through, setting the switch for brew mode only. Once you see it coming out of the filter holder, turn the machine off. Let sit for an hour or two, then run the same sequence again, shutting it off the moment you see the water/vineger mix coming out. Once again, let sit a while, then on the third cycle, let it run all of the vinegar solution through. Let cool, and rinse the reservoir with water, (put in water, swirl the machine around, then upend it to dump the water out.) then run the full reservoir of distilled wather through, repeating if necessary, to clear out the vinegar.

If that doesn't work, or if the vinegar solution never comes through, not even in a trickle, then there are other issues. Here's how to troubleshoot them.

The next steps will need to be done with some caution, as it may splash or shoot steam and/or boiling water out from the side of the porta filter holder!

Step 1...Remove the filter, and run it without coffee or filter in it. Do this from a few feet away or with something between you and the brew head of the machine, as it may cause hot water to spray with a fair amount of force!

Does the water come through the filter holder? If it does..

Step 2. Run it with the empty filter. If it the water doesn't come through with filter in place, then your filter is clogged, and you'll need to take a pin and clear the holes in it. If it does, then you're grinding your coffee too finely, or tamping it down to hard.

If the water doesn't come through with just the empty filter holder, then you've most likely got a valve (A.k.a. Brew/steam switch) problem. Frankly, it's easier to buy a new machine than replace that valve, especially if it's the automatic variety that switches you to steam whenever it's finished it's brew cycle.

If you've got one with the manual brew/steam switch valves, you can pull the knob off and see if it the stem turns with a needle nose pliers...{{NOTE: DO NOT DO THIS IF THERE IS STEAM LEAKING AROUND THE KNOB! Steam leaking around this knob can indicate that the ceramic valve is compromised, and could cause live steam to shoot out of the place where the knob is!}} if it does turn as smoothly as usual, and the machine works, then you just need to repair the knob because it's gotten stripped out or is broken where it meets the valve stem.

Take out the used kcup and GENTLY explore the holder fitting. There should be a sharp point in the bottom that punctures the bottom of the kcup to allow the brew to flow out the spigot and into your cup. There also needs to be a sharp point on the top to punch a vent hole for the water to enter. It they aren't both open, coffee and grounds will spray everywhere. Take it apart and clean thoroughly as well.

Mine has been doing the same thing.  I alkso received one at Chriustmas and it worked great for a few months.  Below is the answer I received from Keurig:

 

It is possible that the needle that penetrates the K-Cup has become clogged.  Please follow these simple steps to clean it:

Turn off the brewer and unplug it.

Reach under the nozzle (where the coffee comes out) and press up on the bottom of the funnel.  The K-Cup holder will pop out.               

Separate the K-Cup holder into two pieces.  The top piece of the K-Cup holder is where the exit needle is located.

Use a paper clip to clear the exit needle by putting the paper clip in the tube on the underside of the holder. Be careful, the exit needle is sharp.

Wash the K-Cup holder with soap and water, rinse thoroughly.  Also make sure the drawer is clean.

Put K-Cup holder back into the drawer, making sure it snaps into place.

Plug the brewer in and turn on.

Run two cleansing brews (brew without a K-Cup) through the machine, and then brew a cup of coffee.

If you still find grinds in your coffee, it would be best for you to talk to a representative to help troubleshoot your problem and discuss your options.  This could be caused by too much pressure sealed inside the K-Cup or the filter alignment may be off.  Please contact our customer service department at 1-866-901-BREW (2739).  Representatives are available 7 days a week from 7 a.m. – 12:00 Midnight EST to assist you.  Please have the serial number of your brewer available for when you call. 

The serial number for the Mini is located on the bottom of the brewer on a silver sticker.

For the Classic, Ultimate and Select, is located on a sticker behind the drip tray. 

For the Elite, Ultra, Special Edition and Platinum it may be located either on the bottom of the brewer on a white sticker or, behind the drip tray.

 

Sincerely,

Briana Keene

Keurig Customer Service
At Home Division
(866) 901-BREW (2739)
[email protected]

The filter holder not pushed far enough ino lock position, also the basket doesn't quite hold 2 level spoons of coffee.
Thanks, David

COFFEE PREPARATION PROCEDURES
1) Place filter into brew basket.
2) Put the proper amount of coffee into the filter.
3) Slide the brew basket into holder.
4) Place empty decanter on warmer located directly under the brew basket and turn corresponding warmer switch ON.
5) Pour decanter of fresh water through pour-in opening at top of brewer.
6) Hot water will be delivered through the sprayhead. This distributes the hot water evenly over the coffee bed within the brew basket. The coffee will drain from brew basket into the container below.
7) Red light indicates warmer is ON.
8) Before brewing next pot, remove brew basket from brew rails and dump filter into waste basket.

Please rate this a fixya

you can try removing coffee oils from the brew head screen.(not descaling)
but you have to be really handy to remove it from the cafe retro.
need a spring clip or spanner wrench.
if you can get it off try this, if not, send it in to the service center:
Sounds like you might have coffee oil build up. I would suggest soaking the Brew Head Screen, unscrew from the brew head where the coffee oils come into contact with machine, and filter holder in a coffee oil remover by www.urnex.com or dezcal.
Remove the screw if your filter basket has one and do not screw too tight when putting back together or it will happen again.
Further technical info can be found at:
Electra-Craft
41 Woodbine St
Bergenfield NJ 07621
phone 201-439-1700
fax 201-439-1701
[email protected]
www.electra-craft.com

It sounds like you were using the gold permanent coffee filter in addition to a paper filter. You should use one or the other.

The gold permanent filter must be cleaned between each brewing cycle.

Try this:

1. Remove the filter basket from the coffee machine.

2. Remove the gold permanent coffee filter from the basket.

3. Clean the basket thoroughly. Ensure there are no grounds clogging any holes.

4. Insert a new paper filter only into the basket. Do not use the gold permanent filter for this test.

5. Fill the water reservoir with the desired amount of water.

6. Add the desired amout of coffee grounds into the paper coffee filter.

7. Replace the filter basket into its holder in the coffee machine, and close the water reservoir lid. Press firmly on top where it says, "Press to Close".

8. Ensure the glass carafe is placed correctly in its position on the heating plate.

9. Turn the Function Knob to "BREW", then flip the Power Swich to "ON"

Hope that helps.

BrevilleUSA.com has a silicon seal (steam ring) to replace faulty or worn ones. There is no shipping charge, and they are $4 each. To replace the steam ring you'll need to remove the stainless spray disk on the brew head with a phillips screwdriver (one screw) and pull off the old ring (pay attention to the direction and placement of the stainless disk).  Takes about 2 minutes to do.  
Part # .800ESXL/192 
Also, on mine I noticed that the filter holder was ground down at the factory a bit too much on one side, which causes a slight leak down one side (coffee, not water).  You might check the holder (with the filter removed) for imperfections that could lead to your leak. Good luck.

same prob