I am getting a flashing red light on the milk frother of my nespresso citiz & milk coffee machine. Nothing in the handbook. Any ideas why?
Problem is overheating at a single point in the bottom of the milk container. Try cleaning the milk residue after each time you use it and the flashing red light disappears. This is a design fault. Nespresso are happy to keep marketing the Citiz but there is no fix - so the Nespresso "mess free" coffee machine is a bunch of flannel - good coffee all the same!
we have had the same problem with milk overheating and flashing red light - and have found a good solution. Each time we make a coffee we add cold water to the container first, pour it all out - do not dry, leave surface wet. Then add your milk and heat. We haven't had any problems with flashing lights or overheating since. This was discovered by accident when I was in a rush! The water must lubricate the bottom of the container and prevents the burning problem. Nice hot coffee everytime now!
Thank you, I will try that as I am having the same exact issue with my milk frother/warmer.
Go ish4870 ahh got my machine back cold water worked like a treat thank you
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The phone support did not want to say much and only offered one comment - overheating. Unfortunately this only tells you the symptom of the problem(s) and not the cause. The more complete description would be "overheating of the container base before the milk reaches the set temperature". I experimented with a few other frothers of the same make and firmly believe I have found the cause. It is an imperfect design accentuated by slight variation from sample to sample. The speed of spin, the density and amount of milk all combine to determine whether the unit overheats. Against instinct, reducing the amount of milk may actually promote overheating. The frother needs the right amount of milk and at the right speed to completely cover the bottom of the container long enough during spinning to avoid overheating. Too little milk meant too much of the bare metal is exposed during spinning by the vortex created and this would almost certainly result in overheating. The way to live with the problem is to experiment with different amount of milk until you get the right one. Once found, it has little tolerance for deviation from it. If you change to a different type of milk, the right amount may be different. If the right amount cannot be found, it would mean having to try another one. I needed 3 before I found one that I could eliminate the flashing red light with the right amount of milk.
Since this posting, I have done further experimentation. I was only successful in preventing the flashing red light from coming on some of the time. It is best that the frother can be made to complete a full cycle without the cycle getting aborted prematurely by the flashing red light. If the cycle stops without having the flashing red light coming on, it meant the milk is fully heated and the frothing action
Since the previous posting, I have done further experimentation. I was only successful in preventing the flashing red light from coming on some of the time. It is best that the frother can be made to complete a full cycle without the cycle getting aborted prematurely by the flashing red light. Otherwise it would mean the milk is not sufficiently heated and the frothing action did not run its full course. The best workaround is to run the milk through a second cycle if the first was prematurely aborted by the flashing red light. As explained in the previous posting, the flashing red light came on because the frother was too hot at certain localized spot. Upon abortion by the flashing red light, unplug the power, pick up the frother and gently rotate to “spread” the milk around to even up the temperature inside for 5 to 10 seconds. Activate the frothing cycle again. The second cycle should terminate without the flashing red light coming on and in shorter time because the milk was already largely heated during the prematurely aborted first cycle. Essentially this second cycle completes what the first cycle was not able to complete because of localized overheating.
I actually experimented with 4 frothers and all of them exhibited the same pre mature blinking red light problem. Interestingly I ended up with one that appeared to be the least problematic when I use it with my workaround.
The workaround is fill the frother with hot water and leave it for around 5 minutes. This is to give the heating element a break in terms of not having to work so hard to heat and froth milk out of the fridge. After the approximately 5 minutes of pre heating, you can start the frothing.
The problem can definitely be solved but I can't understand why it is not solved. I know of someone who has the same frother without the same problem. She bought hers before I had to experiment with 4 and then picking the least of all evils from among them.
you are a frothing madman, many thanks!
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I have the same problem. I clean the frother everytime I make a coffee. When you buy something it should work or you should get your money back. I am not going to use a certain amount of milk to certain level using only a certain kind of milk. this a faulty product and I will return, get my money back and buy a product that works. If everybody did the same thing nespresso would be forsed to not sell this faulty product. Iit makes beautiful coffee and I will miss it but it is wrong to sell something you know does not work properly.
I had the same problem today. "http://www.singleservecoffee.com/archives/007209.php" talks about filling the frother above the max line, so that the whisk does not suck in air and does not pop off. I tried it and works. Make sure you close the lid properly to avoid spillage.
I have had the same problem & found it would still heat & froth the milk some times you had to do it twice. Eventually the heating element in the frother died. Now the frother will still spin but wont froth as it needs the milk to be warm enough to get a good froth. with the heating element out of actio I found that I could heat the milk in the microwave, then puor it into the frother & it would froth. I have also found that only the fuller cream milk would froth.For me it looks like I need to buy another frother, unsure if I want to part with any more money to Nespresso as we have also had a problem with the electronics that pump the water through the coffee pod. It is working now but has been in twice for repair.I reckon you spent less on a cheaper machine & throw it when it plays up or go all out & buy a real machine in the thousands range. It seems all you get with this Citiz machine is a fancy name & high priced coffee.
I think it may be a friction problem. I believe the frother is not able to spin freely on the little knob. Someone posted to leave it wet (inside) before use, I think that helps. Just for fun I put a tiny bit of Canola oil on a Q-tip and applied it to the little knob at the bottom. Seemed to solve problem (for now).
I found this article after having a similar problem with cold, or only luke warm milk with our Nespresso. We have the Nespresso Citiz and Milk by Krups which often didn't heat milk, if it did, it was very little. Also had the flashing red light from time to time. When making fresh coffee, I often gave the aeroccino a quick rinse before, as well as after each use use with WARM to HOT water. Depending on how quick the boiler heated the water, it could have quickly reached ~60c. Now I finish the rinse with COLD water when making fresh coffee and since doing so the milk has been at a much more comfortable temperature. I only came up with the solution today so it might just be luck that the machine has been heating milk warmly, but the last few coffee's have been much more enjoyable. I don't know if you washed the aeroccino with WARM or HOT water before use but if you did, try a cold rinse and see how you go.
I've only had the milk frother for a week, rinsing it quickly after each use. All very disappointing, it feels that this frother is not of merchantable quality / not fit for purpose. I'll try a couple of the suggestions re hot water operation and over filling beyond the max. ....but poor design if this is what is required!
After reading everything here and getting a new one from the company I got the old one to work by moving the center spring on the center frother attachment around. What I found is that mine worked with the new center part sent to me. So I was able to isolate it and recreate the problem. I basically just took the spring off, cleaned it (although it was clean) and put it back on nice and straight. It now works and I have a spare!
I fixe the problem of blinking red light, open and Check the ?l?ment we need to refresh the contact on the board, and after all run without blinking red light
I have one in my main home and another in my vacation home. The latter is flashing red all the time. I treat them both exactly the same
I've just solved my flashing red light switching off problem. Don't forget the frother is magnetic ! I had a tiny bit of stainless steel scourer stuck to it that must have been floating free in the washing up bowl ! Sorted !!
None of the above \'solutions\' are solutions. The only one is getting a new one! Here\'s the proof - just try frothing plain water without a spinner in. My machine flashes red almost instantly. I\'m waiting for a special screwdriver and then I\'m going inside. It\'s alright I\'ve just order another one and mine is 2 days out of warranty. I suspect the thermostat is broke. I\'ve had it sitting out in bright sunshine for a few hours in case it\'s wet inside (It always fixes my electronic rat killer)(Just had another idea - I\'m going to put the whole thing in a moisture proof plastic bag, stick it in the freezer for an hour and then see if it will froth anything) I hate to hunk there is a broken gadget I can\'t fix!
I am having a similar problem. Thanks to the first solution I was able to get milk heated after 5 cycles but it won't froth!! I have fully cleaned it. I have no idea what to do!! Help!!
I had the same problem, caused (once again) by cooked on milk residue on the prong the whisker sits on. Needs thorough cleaning.
All these comments are wrong. It's rubbish manufacture and/or design. Take the spinner out of the machine make sure the inside is spotless and then put water in instead of milk. My machine still flashes red light almost immediately. I think it's a faulty thermostat. Just order a 3 point screwdriver to have a look inside and see if I can work out what's stuffed!
Yes you are right! The SIDES of the spindle/prong need to be cleaned. I thought I was meticulous in the cleaning of my machine, but getting the milk proteins off the sides of the spindle that the whisk sits on cured the problem. The motor overworks and cannot drive the magnet in the spindle if it has these milk proteins on it which you can't see.
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I have the problem that the whisker suddenly stops turning. It happened some months ago as well, but then suddenly it worked. When it works, it works beautifully. Any others with same problem and what do do? I am wondering whether to buy new whiskers or....
I had the same problem with the whisker and found it was due cooked on milk residue on the little prong it sits on. Solution is to make sure it is completely clean. Cooked on milk causes a lot of problems with these creamers, doesn't it?
One other solution that works 90% of the time is to pre warm the frother by filling it with hot water. Household hot water from the tap (usually 150 deg. F) is good enough. After around 5 minutes, replace the hot water with the milk you want to froth. With this workaround, I now rarely see the flashing red light coming on. Combining this with good cleaning after every use should make the red flashing even rarer.
Yes! Clean the SIDES of the spindle to get rid of 'invisible' milk protein build up.
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Thanks, I have tried different amounts of milk and it still happens and the whisk is still on the bump, it isn't popping off. It just decides to stop whisking and starts flashing red.
P light is flashing on segafedo sz 01 coffee machine, nothing else working
As soon as I put the frother on the base it turns on automatically and on blue and can't get it to change to red ..
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