I've been reading about the Argenta AEP-2 renewal that Fixitupper (Cliff) is working on and will soon be embarking on a similar journey. I just picked up an SAE-3 through craigslist that was pulled out of a coffee shop (working) when they upgraded and sat in heated storage for a year or so. When I got it home, I did the quick fire up to check the basics and yup it fills, heats, gets to pressure, doesn't leak, water flows and the controls sort of work . . . not too bad for $500 (+50 for the pressure gauge so I could play right away).



What I have noticed so far is that the auto dosing doesn't work properly. The controls act like they can be programmed, but when operating in non-programming mode, the Gicar controller clicks and nothing happens. That click comes from the component just to the right of the program toggle switch (lower left corner). I am not sure what that is, but it sparks when the dosing buttons are pushed. I also noticed that the two groups that seem to work least with the dosing controls have flow meters that don't flash when water is flowing.



The boiler is a little scaled up, enough so that i'm planning on doing a citric acid bath as opposed to an in-place fill and flush.



At the very worst, I believe I can use the machine as a semi-auto since the cost of the controller and switches is more than I want to spend if they need to be replaced. All in all, the machine seems to be in OK shape. With any luck the dosing issue will be something simple like a jammed impeller in the flow meters.

Is that ever funny! I'll definitely keep an eye on your progress (after watching what you do, I'll probably be saying, "why didn't I do that?") What are your plans with a 3 group machine?

The controls act like they can be programmed, but when operating in non-programming mode, the Gicar controller clicks and nothing happens. That click comes from the component just to the right of the program toggle switch (lower left corner).

It is the pump relay you hear and see. The problem with the machine is in the flow meters. Scale inside prevents the impellers to rotate. When a machine is programmed with blocked flow meters, the button will be programmed to zero. That is what causes your problem. The moment you start the machine, it stops instandly.
Frank

Based on what I have seen on the machine and what I have read here, my plan is to do a soak/descale. Given the size of the machine and the areas in my house where I can work, I decided to soak in phases. Tonight I tackled the lower hydraulics of the machine which involved the flow meters etc.

My other goal in taking on the machine in phases was to keep things manageable when it came to taking apart and reassembling. The copper below all came off at once and was easy to keep track of while soaking, cleaning, and putting back in together. There wasn't too much build up, but when I took the flow meters apart, there were definitely some areas of scale inside the meter as well as inside the fittings. All in all, not too bad though.



Nice and shiny after a quick scrub. The impellers in the flow meters move freely and judging from the whir they made during my "air test" . . . I'm hoping that was the problem with the auto dosing.



My next step will be to disconnect things on the top side of the boiler and remove the boiler itself. It is a 4.5 gallon (17L) monster and I will have to soak half in a bucket, scrub, then flip to soak the second half. I thought I was going to get started while waiting for my 10lbs of citric acid to show up, but kudos to dudadiesel.com for shipping rapidly!

The project has progressed significantly. I made my way through the process of descaling the boiler, groups, upper hydraulics, etc. Some of the scale on various parts was difficult to get off and at times, I had to up the concentration of citric acid for small batches for specific soaks. My first step in descaling the boiler was to empty the junk that had built up and flaked off over the years of use.



Given the size of the boiler, I did half at a time, changing out the acid bath after each half. I ended up doing each half twice to try and get all the junk off.



This machine has a 17 liter boiler which equats roughly to 4.5 gallons. The good news was that the half way point fit just under the rim of a Home Depot bucket, perfect for the soaking.



The build up on the group heads was a pain to get off. Even after multiple soaks, it had to pick delicately at some of the bits, especially within the group head. One group was still blocked when I got everything back together, so I had to take it back off, determine the paths of flow and probe to see if I could clear the blockage. Everything went back together without too many issues.



I did a quick leak test letting the boiler fill with the autofill and tested to see if all groups had water flowing. The problem discovered earlier with the flow meters and the dosing still exists for group 1 (left side) but the other two flow meters blink away when the water is flowing. Since group 1 will see the least use, I'm not too worried about using it as a semi-auto for the time being.



As I type, the boiler is coming to pressure. I'll check for leaks again after it is pressured up . . . if there are none, I'll do another descale, in place, and then start pulling some shots. As amusing as it might be to have a 3 group machine at home, this one is intended for second coffee/biscuit shop I plan on opening, but for the time being, it will be the home machine . . . perfect for the days I don't go into work (shop #1) early and need some espresso.

Nice looking machine -- I bet it keeps your kitchen toasty when it is on.... You might want consider insulating the boiler if your A/C bill gets too high....

Did you get the 3rd flowmeter to function?

I got lucky and found a single-group Elektra I was able to restore and plumb in. I would not have had room for your machine.

Regards,

Philip

It is good to have friends who have boxes of parts . . . get to know your local roaster! As suspected, the third flow meter was shot. I did a temporary replacement with a spare that my friend had and bonanza . . . the troublesome group fell in line when it came to programming the touch pad.

The machine has been flushed a few times now and shots have been pulled from all three groups. I have a small list of parts to order:

-group gaskets for all groups
-shower screens
-new portafilters
-the correct flow meter (to match the plug)

I will also be putting together my water filtration system with a softener cartridge and a carbon filter. The last step of the process will be taking the "base" panels to the powder coater. Thankfully this machine isn't the sponge paint color scheme and the main panels are in good condition. The only one that will be changed from its original "winchester" grey is the face where the controls are. As typical, the steam has sweated off the coating by the tea water spout. I'm thinking something shocking like electric blue might do the trick . . .

Playing the waiting game is no fun when trying to finish up a project! I got the calls this week from the powder coater saying my parts and pieces were ready. Most of my parts order came in as well. I replaced the flow meter that wasn't working and now all three groups are working properly.



I am still waiting for a couple things to come in. You can see the center portafilter handle doesn't match the other two, that is soon to be remedied. I also want to replace the membrane on the touchpad on the leftmost group. It works, but . . .

Hi Sar5w! I just purchased an SAE-2 for installation in our new office building. I'm wondering if there is a PDF version of a manual somewhere. Also, is there a spec sheet I can give to my electrician and plumber to make sure that the installation is plug and play once construction is complete? Thanks!