I started on this jouney to research and eventually purchase a high quality, commercial quality espresso unit about 6 months ago. My machine lust went from Salvatore to the Brewtus, then LaSpaz and finally the Izzo. Out of the blue, I have an opportunity to buy a 1998 S26 from a local health club that is closing its small coffee bar. Considering the age, I offered them $500 ($3000 new), contingent on a close inspection of the unit. It has been inactive for about a year, but was used daily before that. Unfortunately, the owner of the club has no service records for the unit.

My question is, since I am still an espresso nut wannabe, what should I be looking for during the inspection? I'll check the obvious things; does it heat up, hot water tap, steam nozzle, etc. But if the unit could be showing signs of serious disrepair, what would be some not so obvious tells?

I thank you all for your knowledge and look forward to being able to "speak the language" soon. Also, if I am over paying, please dont hesitate to tell me!

$500, inspection and local pickup all sound good for a machine like that.

BUT, some things to consider:

If you're not handy, don't like getting your hands "dirty", or are opposed to spending some more money to make it operational, I would move on
It's huge.... make sure you have a space for it
I think it is a rotary pump machine requiring plumbing (or at least a Flojet)
It might be in disrepair or neglect

What I would check (assuming you'll even be in a position to test it):

Power on
Does boiler fill?
Does it heat?
Does it steam?
Does the hot water tap function?
Do the dosing controls seem to work?
Do you have all the portafilters and baskets?
Does it have any gauges? Do they work?
Pop out the filter basket and see how much crud is in the portafilter, extreme buildup would give you a clue that it was more or less neglected elsewhere.
Has it been stored at above freezing temps since taken out of service?
Do they have anything else to throw in with it (hose for connections, machine cleaner, blind basket, tamper, water filter, grinder? you might be surprised)

I bought a commercial machine from Menomonie, WI, and let me tell you it was seriously scaled. Bad. Enough so that I think I might want to pull the element. If you have similar hard water there and it was not softened or otherwise treated, you may have similar scale issues.

I would also browse a site like cafeparts.com to see what replacement parts would run you for that machine.... that might send you running away.

Also, consider this, while it may be fun to have a commercial machine, it may not be more forgiving, nimble, or in any way better than the other machines you have considered. You also will have a smaller support network to fall back on (no warranty, part or vendor support, less folks famiiliar with it in the home barista community, etc.).

Good luck.

Thanks Jeff...great advice. I have no problem getting my hands dirty, so tackling minor fix-ups shouldn't be a problem. I also have the space for in the kitchen. I did a kitchen remod last year and left myself 24" of clearance in the area where my current super-auto sits. Plumbing...no problem. It also comes with the single and double PF w/baskets, blind basket, ss steaming pitchers and an in-line softener/filter system.

Yes, I would love to get any of those four units I mentioned in my post. However, being a super-auto convert, I thought it best to start with a less expensive machine to learn technique. Also, it allowed me plenty of room in the budget for a Macap grinder For the price, I suppose I could by a new Silvia and have a warranty. But if this turns out to be a nice unit, it would certainly be more capable than a Silvia.

Even though the owner of the club has no service records, they should be able to do a little rummaging and tell you who last serviced the unit. A visit there MIGHT get you even more info and, perhaps, copies of service records.

One other point in addition to Jeff's excellent list - what voltage is the machine?

http://www.ranciliowestcoast.com/sseries.htm

Skol,

Eric S.

ajpace wrote:For the price, I suppose I could by a new Silvia and have a warranty. But if this turns out to be a nice unit, it would certainly be more capable than a Silvia.

Agreed. Sounds like you may have found a great deal and a fun project..... I just wanted to be certain you knew you weren't taking the easy path

There have been a few largish Rancilio (MD40/50) commercial grinders on CG Buy/Sell/Trade for cheap in the recent past (still available I think). While not stepless (IIRC), one might could be modded as such and may make for a nice pairing if you get this machine. Not to to talk you out of a shiny new one.

Well, I gave it the 'ole once over today. Everything worked, no leaks. The water coming out at first was quite cloudy, filled with old grounds, and possessed a putrid smell. After cycling it several times, it was far better. I assume it just needs some quality cleaning and maintenance.

The label ID tag shows 110v 60hz 1200w. I contacted Rancilio NA in Illinois and they said that this machine was most likely produced before 1999 becasue they had no record of the serial number I found (254702). However, I'm surprised that a 110v unit would have been produced for another market besides the US. Maybe a number or two has worn off the tag. Oh well, it won't make much difference. After playing around with it for 20 minutes, I'm sold You're right Jeff, this thing is big. But, what's that motto I've heard before, "go big or go home" ?

Here are some nice diagrams that might prove useful later for the Rancilio S26:

http://www.partsguru.com/RancilioEspressoMachines.html

Here's a linked pic.



Looks like the grouphead is just passively heated by the connection to the boiler. The HX is the hot dog like tube in the middle of the diagram.... water comes in from the top of the boiler, down that straw like tube in the HX. The top of the boiler must be cast and drilled such that when the HX reservoir is filled and pressurized, the water comes out the hole in the side of the top and into the grouphead.

I picked up a Rancilio L7, the predecessor to the S27, this past summer and paid $500 for it with a grinder and base. It was a rare deal, but I had my fair share of work ahead of me. It required a complete tear down with many of the parts, boiler included, needing a bath of muratic acid. However, now after 6 months of consistent use, I am very very pleased with it. I'm pulling excellent shots and have really learned the machine well. If you are interested you can see my journal of the tear-down and rebuild at Coffeegeek: http://coffeegeek.com/forums/espresso/machines/238940

My machine is very similar in design to yours, so the photos should be somewhat helpful if you do decide to undertake this task. Rancilio's reps were very helpful to me by getting me a photocopy of the original manual and the part numbers I needed so I could order them through EspressoPartsNW. Good luck!

Best,

Jeff

Thanks to all who have chimed in on this topic...your advice helped me to commit to purchasing this beast.

After two weeks of warm storage in the basement, I finally plumbed in the machine this past weekend. I turned it on and let it warm up for about 45-50 minutes. The unit was in need of some cleaning, so i cleaned the group head using the blank PF basket and some solution. The water seemed to look a lot cleaner after that. So, I flushed the unit, as well as the steam arm and the hot water spout. Then, I ran out of hot water. The pump kicked on and continuously ran, but all I got was an ounce or two of water. Very little pressure.

So, yesterday morning I turned the machine on and the pump ran for about 15 minutes... then shut off for 5 minutes...then continuously ran until I turned it off. Some water would get into the boiler, as there was at least enough to flush the group head. But after that, the pressure would fall so low that water trickled out. It would gain back some pressure over the next few minutes, but the same result would occur.

This machine was working just fine at the cafe before I bought it, but now its not working at home. I'm thinking that there may have been some air in the water lines after turning off the water to install the filter. Could this have damaged the pump enough to cause this problem? What else should I replace? Help?!?

Andy

Andy-

How do you have it plumbed? Size line, filters, regulators etc. Are you sure it is getting positive water pressure?

The system may have air trapped or otherwise insufficient water supply, and the pump is cavitating or cannot create any pressure to pull. The two rotary pumps I have experience with function just fine without positive pressure water supply, but some rotary pumps do require it. DO NOT allow the pump to run for any length of time without water or you might damage it... hopefully that is not the case already.

A couple things you might try....

Turn off the water supply to the machine. Disconnect a fitting somewhere on the outlet side of the pump, but ahead of any other valves or solenoids. Prepare some way to capture water. Turn the supply back on and see if you can get the water to pass through the pump. If so, hook things back up and try again.

Another option might be to try blowing the water into the pumphead (crazy but it has worked for me). My machine was struggling the first time I attempted to use it after shipment. With some water in the supply hose, I blew into the line and could feel and hear the water get pushed into the pumphead. I dropped the line into my supply bucket and it had enough water in the pumphead to continue pulling water.