Bialetti Moka Express 6-Cup Coffee Maker - Answered Questions & Fixed issues

i had the same issue. i ran the base under very hot water from the tap for one minute. This forces the metal to expand and loosen, making unscrewing the base much easier.

Stove top coffee espresso brewers; have three compartments, the lower is a sealed water tank that once heated will push boiling hot water and steam through the coffee grounds and over flow into the 3d chamber at the top of the pot. It is finished once all the water has boiled out of the lower chamber. * Naturally when you boil water in a sealed chamber it's going to pressurize to the point where something will give. In this case it's the coffee grounds. But what if the grounds plugs up the filter and pressurizes it beyond what the chamber can safely contain? This is where the safety valve will sense the over pressure and release the excess steam. You will see and hear a loud hiss and steam exiting from the side where this valve is. * The safety valve is not adjustable. Pre-mature blow out (of steam) can be caused by too fine a grind on the coffee, Turkish grind is finer than espresso. This tiny grind will clog all the filter holes. Use the standard espresso grind which is 1 size up from Turkish grind. * The safety valve may blow if too high a heat is applied to the pot. Turn down the stove to a lower setting to give the hot water and steam time to flow through the coffee. If you observe the coffee as it oozes out of the center post. It should be a steady flow (like lava) with a gush of steam near the end of the brew when the top pot is full. * The safety valve can get clogged which needs to be cleaned and checked PRIOR to filling and using. * when in doubt. change out the safety valve. You could check with your vendor or MFR for replacements. Also check Amazon.com for the part. Aloha, ukeboy57 PS; There a numerous videos on how to clean and maintain these pots. (I do NOT recommend Descaling). Here is one that looks safe: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=stovetop+coffee+cleaning&&view=detail&mid=8AF60938A0B50A2D65528AF60938A0B50A2D6552&&FORM=VRDGAR

check under that plate with holes and make sure water is just under safety valve inside. make sure plate holes are open and the pipe that delivers the coffee

bruce thats a good question. well what ive done for years and still do and its safe is to fill up till just under the safety valve inside and that should give you alot of safe java!

What do you mean "moulds"?

Heat it up a LITTLE BIT. Perhaps run it under hot water.

Google "Bialetti parts".

Sure it can. http://www.bialetti.com/coffee/stovetop/moka-express/spare-parts-c-1_7_22_32.html or http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=bialetti+spare+parts&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=32661633397&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3217975301600862448&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_53u2x7ta30_b

Obviously, the filter is clogged up. Buy a replacement.

Don't boil the water. Take it off the heat source.

It's the gasket!!!!! Store the pot with the two parts screwed TIGHTLY together for about a week. Tighten it up as the new gasket compresses. Problem solved in two weeks or less. Also cook on medium to low heat. High flame seems to make the problem worse.

vinegar and water, the white crystals is just calcification build-up from the water.

I just had this same problem and after reading this blog I went downstairs, tightened the pot down more and it worked! I usually don't tighten it this much, but will continue to tighten it down hard until the gasket is broken in. Thank you sooooooo much!!!

Yep, load of suggestions. Moka are quite difficult to use if you are not used to them:

Try cleaning the filter. It may be clogged after brewing in the wrong way.To clean, remove rubber gasket, remove filter disk from upper part of the Moka, and clean it.
The gasket must be replaced if there had been overheating. In that case the gasket looks stiff, melted, and the moka may drip water from water container sides while brewing.
If gasket looks Ok, leave it.

Ensure that water level is BELOW the valve, if water is covering the valve, there will be no space for air chamber before reaching coffee, and you get only steam. If there is water getting inside the coffee basket before pouring coffee, then water level is too high.

Put coffee until you reach more or less the edge of container basket. DO NOT PRESS coffee, or you will get a strong bad-testing coffeee or only steam.

About the flame, use a small hob, with flame staying below the base of the water container. A technique is keeping flame lower while reaching boiling point, then putting it up when the moka starts brewing. I suggest just keeping a well heating flame on a small knob and ensuring that the flame is staying below the base of the moka.

Ensure that the coffee mix is not too fine-grinded, even if Italians use often electric coffee machines in moka, it may result more difficult to get a brew out of thin-grinded coffee.
Percolated machine coarser mixtures will give a milder brew, but they are easier to use. Mokas brew like Lavazza are the best.

If that still does not do the job, try doing a couple of brews with water only, then do a coffee brew following hints above.

Extra hint: to get the best brew use purest possible water. Use Arabica blend for a fuller taste.

Let me know if the moka is finally working, in that case please do not forget to accept the solution.

All the best.

Ginko.

You cannot wash aluminum items in a diswasher with phosphate based detergent. You'll corrode the aluminum. Best practice is to handwash any aluminum items. Phosphate over time will also etch your glasses, so I suggest always using a non-phosphate detergent - look for Seventh Generation or similar "Eco-friendly" detergents - it will save your glassware too.

The same thing happened with mine. Try replacing the screen cup, which can get dented and create gaps for steam to escape. The other trick when using a new gasket is to brush a little cooking oil on the screw threads, tighten it down pretty hard, and use a high flame. It's really hard to undo for a while, but after a half dozen times the gasket has expanded enough so that you don't have to do this.

Try a lower flame and screw the top to the bottom as tightly as possible.

Fill it as full as you can with fine ground coffee. I cut the resulting brew with an equal amount of boiling water. Called an "Americano" in Italy.

Flame is too high and the top is not screwed tightly enough to the bottom. Also make sure there is enough fine ground coffee in the funnel.

It IS the gasket!!!!! Store the pot with the two parts screwed TIGHTLY together for about a week. Tighten it up as the new gasket compresses. Problem solved in two weeks or less. Funnel had NOTHING to do with my problem. Also cook on medium to low heat. High flame seems to make the problem worse.