https://agateau.com/tags/krups/feedPosts tagged krups2017-05-07T10:35:41+02:00Aurélien Gâteaupython-feedgenhttps://agateau.com/2017/fixing-my-coffee-machineFixing my coffee machine2017-05-07T10:35:41+02:00<p>I like fixing things. At work I fix bugs. At home I (try to) fix toys, appliances, doors, bikes, cars, fences... Whatever breaks. My latest fix was on one of the most critical appliances of the house: the coffee machine!</p>
<p>A capsule got stuck inside it, the piston would not open. "Should be an easy fix", I thought, "it's just a matter of taking it apart to reach the piston and unblock it". I am used to appliances being sometimes painful to take apart. I even bought a "Special PITA screws" screwdriver set:</p>
<p><img alt="Screwdriver set" src="https://agateau.com/2017/fixing-my-coffee-machine/screwdriver-set.jpeg"/></p>
<p>But I was not prepared for the screws of that coffee machine. Their head is a slightly elliptic stud with no hole at all. Krups really does not want you to take their precious machine apart!</p>
<p><img alt="Krups screw" src="https://agateau.com/2017/fixing-my-coffee-machine/krups-screw.jpeg"/></p>
<p>At first I thought I would gave up, but then I found <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDdAWKuCvhA">this video (French)</a> which explained how to beat them: the video author drilled a hole inside a thick screw, enlarged it slightly in one direction, and used that as a screwdriver. My first attempt produced a crude tool, with which I managed to unscrew one screw, but my tool got bent on the second one. My "tool screw" was not thick enough. For my second attempt I scavenged a brass hex strut and sawed a notch in it to produce this:</p>
<p><img alt="Custom screwdriver 1" src="https://agateau.com/2017/fixing-my-coffee-machine/krupsdriver-1.jpeg"/></p>
<p><img alt="Custom screwdriver 2" src="https://agateau.com/2017/fixing-my-coffee-machine/krupsdriver-2.jpeg"/></p>
<p>That worked much better, even if the very last screw required building another one, slightly thinner. I was finally able to remove all the screws, unblock the piston and remove the severely crushed capsule stuck in it. I then put it back together, replaced all those annoying screws with standard ones, and finally enjoyed a cup of coffee!</p>
<p>No thanks to Krups, they really made that more difficult than it should be. That kind of user-hostile product design just leads to producing more unjustified waste.</p>2017-05-07T10:35:41+02:00