Faulty valve blamed for dispenser explosion

Exploding coffee machine hurt 7 people

An exploding coffee machine that injured seven people in a supermarket blew up because of a faulty valve and late changes to its design, said the retailer.

Sainsbury’s switched off 158 Elektra coffee machines in stores across the country last week after the incident in its Farnborough branch.

The boiler in the coffee machine failed because of  over-pressurisation caused by a failure of the pressure relief valve to operate, Sainsbury’s said. Heat continued to be supplied to the unit, causing it to malfunction.

“The environmental health officer, technical representatives from the machine supplier, independent forensic engineers and our in-house engineering team have identified the cause of the problem,” said the supermarket.

“The supplier of the machines has confirmed that in 2009 a design amendment was made that could potentially allow this type of failure, and that the original design of equipment could not fail in the same way.”

The older design machines, in place across 126 stores, will be brought back into service. Thirty-two new design machines will remain out of service.

Machine maker Elektra said the explosion was a first for one of its products.

“We export machines all over the world and the products have been tested and have never been involved in an accident,” said a spokesman. 

“Elektra has produced high-quality Espresso coffee machines since 1947.”