Cimbali steam tip replacement?

by **Kristi** on Thu Jan 18, 2007 12:56 am

the tip on my old cimbali is pictured below. It looks about 10mm across but I will take it to the hardware store tomorrow to see if I can find a fit. It has a large hole part way down, and 2 side holes almost even with that. It cavitates fine but overheats my milk (I only use a small amount - enough for 1 latte).

Looking for a one or 2 hole tip. Ideas?

Thanks!

by HB on Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:06 am

A replacement steam arm?

HB wrote:If you look closely at the picture below, you'll notice I substituted Junior's stock four-hole steam wand with the one that is standard for the La Spaziale S1. This three-hole steam wand is slightly shorter and has sharper bends, thereby allowing more freedom of movement. Unlike the standard Cimbali wand, it can directly reach all the way to the back of the drip tray (the stock wand extends lower and can only go beyond the forward edge if rotated; on the other hand, the S1 arm doesn't quite reach the driptray, so plan to purge wand condensation into a pitcher rather than shooting for the driptray--or risk being sprayed). In addition to the added mobility, I think the smaller holes increase the velocity and make for better small-volume steaming.

From the Buyer's Guide to the Cimbali Junior

I preferred it to the stock steam tips.

by **Kristi** on Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:17 am

Here is a pic of the steam arm - without the big tip, it fits just fine on the drip tray...

by HB on Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:23 am

It apparently has changed over the years, that doesn't look the same as the model I evaluated. No matter, it was the tip I was suggesting would improve the frothing, not the bend of the steam arm. I believe Chris has sourced another tip for the S1 that is even easier. Ian (woodchuck) just bought the Vivaldi II, he would know for certain.

by **Kristi** on Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:27 am

Who sells it? How much?

by HB on Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:37 am

Chris' Coffee sells the steam arm and tips for the S1 / Vivaldi. Sorry, I don't having pricing information. The S1's steam tip is male and your stock Cimbali tip is female, hence why I mentioned the S1 steam arm fits your Cimbali. Sometimes Chris goes to the trouble of sourcing gender benders; you'll have to ask him if he did so for the S1.

I thought the S1 was already a good steamer, but Chris claims the new steam tip makes it even better. Ian lives nearby and he plans to invite the regular Friday Counter Culture group over soon. I'll check it out then.

by **Kristi** on Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:42 am

oops - I should have checked my parts bucket - found this - a 4 hole that I plugged into a 1 hole. fits fine. Apparently this is a standard tip thread size. I have no idea where this one came from. Some machine that I had must have come with a 4 hole and I replaced it.

by **Kristi** on Mon Jan 22, 2007 1:20 pm

Just replaced this with a stock 1st-line 2-hole gold tip. Fits fine. I think the 4-hole tip had originated from a Bric. Without having measured it I suspect it is "current normal" 10mm 1.0 pitch commercial.

For folks from Smithsonian looking in :lol:

: I think the reality here is that the thread on this 12 yr old Cimbali steam wand is roughly 9mm and some pitch other than 1.0 as I was unable to find a match at the hardware store. However, these 2 tips that I say work successfully (and which do work just fine) simply bind at about the time the wand bottoms in the tip and the teflon tape makes up for any mismatch. This is FAR less expensive than paying $100 for a new wand!


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