Hey guys! First post on here, so hello to everyone!

I'll give you a little back story without trying to bore you too much here. Years ago I got a refurbished el cheapo walmart 60 dollar vibe pump 'espresso machine' if you would even call it that, and have used it for years but recently have been wanting to find a 'real' machine. So I for the last six months or so I have been doing a lot of reading on this site, and others and have been looking in the Rancilio Silvia price range. So.. I also like craigslist alot and just checking it every once in a while to see if anyone had anything local and used in good condition I came across a guy that had a Astoria machine that a buddy of his used in his restaurant that went out of business a few years ago, and as far as he knows it worked when removed but really doesn't know anything else about it other than that he wanted 200 bucks for it. So, being a pretty handy guy I took a shot at it and bought it, figured if it needed some work it would be a good deal. Ends up it looks like it was sitting out side for a while, there was leaves in it, and probably some kind of critters living in it for a while. What I know about the machine is its a Astoria SAE/N1/JUN 110 volt. Looks like it was built in 2006 and has the programmable water volume system on it.

So.. Due to the condition it was in there was really no 'quick and easy' cleanup over the last two weeks i stripped the entire thing to the frame and boiled everything but the electronics in citric acid, enameled the frame, and built it back up. Amazingly the only thing that was broken on it that couldn't be fixed and had to be replaced besides every seal/gasket on the machine was the pressure gauge. The pump, solenoids, and little brain box all work great. Been using it for the last few days to make some tasty espresso. Much nicer than my little 60 dollar one.

I have two questions about it though, first one I am pretty sure I know the answer already. When I hooked it up to the water line I as surprised that the pump gauge was reading water line pressure. I guess I just assumed that it would only read pressure when the pump was on. After going back and looking at the plumbing again it makes sense that it should read line pressure even when the unit is off. It is reading about 7 bar any time the water is hooked up to it and that is what our static water pressure here is. When actually pulling a shot i have the pump adjusted to raise pressure to 9 bar and the gauge does reflect this properly. So the question is, does that gauge behavior seem 'correct' for the way the machine should be working?

The second question is to see if anyone has any idea where I can find a part I'm missing for it. I'm looking for the rectangular bezel that goes around the control panel on the front that covers the four mounting screws. If you go to "http://www.espressoparts.com/AS_89" that is the control panel I'm talking about, I just can't find any place selling the bezel that covers the mounting screws on it, without buying the entire new control panel and I can't justify that just for the bezel. If anyone has any connections to espresso repair shops, that might have that little bezel piece sitting around that came from a old broken unit that would be awesome. I'm trying to get this back to as perfect condition as possible and that missing bezel drives me nuts every time I look at it. (I'm OCD.. i admit it)

Hopefully I didn't bore you all too much, If anyone is interested in some before and after pictures let me know. I'm at work right now, but tried to take pictures throughout the process as best as possible. So anyone that likes seeing Astoria machine guts may be interested.

Thanks!
Patrick

pictures pictures pictures

Ha, here ya go. I thought I had some of before i started on it, but i guess I don't. The side panels are still off right now, i wanted to leave them off for a few weeks so I can easily see leaks if any develop. I'll put finished pictures up after I'm satisfied there isn't anything else that needs to be done on the inside.

Sweet. Nice job.

Just finished the casing for it. I found out the water pressure showing on the gauge is normal. I still have no been able to find a source for the bezel for the electronic unit though..

Great Job on the refurb. General Espresso Company has any part you might need for this one. They will email you a parts diagram and price list if you call them. I have one exactly like it that I referbed. The copper on mine was pretty bad so I powder coated most of it black and replated the rest of it. The machine works and looks great. If you are brewing espresso at home this machine should last you a lifetime. The only complaint I have about the machine is that the steam tip and wand are very hard to make milk for latte art. I have been trying for about a month and still can't get good milk.
Let me know if you can't find General Espresso and I will email you the manual, parts diagram and price list.
Here is a picture of my machine.
Tom

I actually find mine pretty easy to get nice milk with. Its kind of hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like yours has a different steam tip on it though. When I got my machine it had this janky little plastic autofrother thingy on it, you stick this hose in a jug of milk, turn the steam on, and it draws milk up the hose and steams and froths it automatically and spits it out in your cup. So that was one of the first things that went right in the trash. The previous owner had log since lost the original steam want so I got this as a replacement for it (http://www.espressoparts.com/AS_15) and the tip that came on it works pretty well. Its a four hole design, and i find it works best to make sure the end is as vertical as possible, going straight down in the middle of your pitcher, and the four tips that spray down, and a little out will push the milk down the middle, it will hit the bottom and then evenly curl back around and up the sides of the pitcher instead of doing the more classical 'whirlpool' effect.

Ninja I had the same problem with water pressure. It was thanks to my Astoria Divina's gauge that I discovered it. Most homes have a water pressure regulator and mine was broken or seized. A plumber came out and replaced it and now it reads 2-3 bar water pressure at idle. Be careful that 7 bar can damage your machine. All Astoria's state on the plate the allowed idle pressure in psi. Its about 2 bar on mine. As for the bezel I have never seen it as a part so I doubt you will find it from GEC or a parts store. You will need to get lucky and wait for a broken keypad (not very hard since they break very often) and buy it just for the bezel. Feel free to visit my rebuild. Astoria Divina SAE rebuild and deep cleaning [COMPLETED]

Thanks! I will have to check in to the water pressure issue then.. My static pressure has always been around 95-105PSI (~7-8bar) ever since I have been at this house, and that's been about 10 years now. I actually just asked pretty much that exact question related to if its going to cause issues having the static pressure that high in another thread on this forum. When I did my rebuild I never saw any labels related to pressure, other than the one about not setting the pump higher than 9bar.

On my divina it's on the tag where the model and serial number are located. It says Max Operating Pressure 22 PSI. They also sell a pressure regulator for just one water outlet but it costs almost the same as the one for the entire house. Only difference is the install. I bought mine locally from a plumbers supply, but even Home Depot and Lowes sells them.