GOOD MACHINE BAD DESIGN. Review on Morphy Richards Europa 4 Cup Espresso and Cappuccino Coffee Maker

My daughter gave me this machine as a present. I used it quite regularly for a year. After that the steam stopped coming from the frothing nozzle. It was found that thanks to hard water from the tap the salts had deposited in the boiler and the nozzle was badly blocked. The machine was in warranty so was replaced within 4-5 days. I have no complaints about the service. However, it is better to use soft water or RO water if you have a source in the house. After that I used it for about 2 years without much problem. Then I found that steam and condensate was leaking from the valve for adjusting brew strength. This got worse. Finally I decided to open the machine and have a look. It is reasonably well constructed and put together. The problem is in the seal and strainer where the handle with the coffee grounds is fixed. The fitting is with two screws. The part of the machine in which it is screwed was broken probably with the heat of the steam. This is a defective design as the whole plastic body would need to be replaced to repair it. Needs a better way to seal so plastic part under stress is not under high temperature. I have repaired the part with Araldite but am now going to seal the filter screen and washer to the machine with high temp adhesive. Hope it works. One other con of the machine is that the instruction manual is very poorly written. It took a long time to figure out how to properly use the frother.