I have been cleaning up a 1996 Astoria Laurentis Junior that I've had stored in my basement for about 8 years. It seems to be in very good condition...I have replaced the anti-siphon valve and the double scale pressure gauge, although I now don't think it was malfunctioning. Water had set in the machine for so long that the rotary pump had all but seized up. I removed the fittings & gave it a hot citric acid bath & it is functioning very well now.

Realizing that there would be more calcium build up, I knew I also needed to descale the machine. With a bit of reading, I decided on using Durgol...but I really wish they had more comprehensive directions for using with a heat exchange machine. Being acid based, they emphasize the speed with which it works, so I did not allow it to sit in the machine very long after overfilling the boiler & bringing it up to temp. But I got the described greenish water & particulate matter, so I know it worked at least some. With the somewhat ambiguous directions I could locate (here & other web sites), I'm not certain that I got sufficient descale fluid through my heat exchanger. I'm actually not even certain that I completely understand the HE. I assume it mixes some boiler water with fresh to get the proper temperature for espresso extraction....please inform me if I'm wrong.

At any rate, after flushing my boiler with LOTS of water (by dispensing through the hot water valve), the taste/odor seems to be gone, but the water I dispense through the brew head still has a good deal of powder-like sediment floating on top. Do I need to continue flushing through the brew head & will this stop eventually? Does this indicate that I possibly did not descale/delime it sufficiently. How SHOULD I have done this properly?

Also, testing the water-temp at the brew head I get 130-135...perhaps this is a better indicator of my problem. I assume that I either still have some clogging, (although I could see very little of anything in the tubing) or there is some type of setting that will increase the proportion of boiler water with fresh. I realize that I sound pretty dumb, but I'm just now doing a bit of reading/research on this type of machine as I've been using a Capresso C1000 (super-automatic) for many years now. I also am more of a brewed coffee fan than I am espresso...at least the espresso I've had in recent years. I've had a couple of "perfect" extractions over the past 15+ years & it was bliss. I am now determined to try to perfect that extraction skill at home, but am just getting started.

Any help/advice/rebuking/etc. will be well received & much appreciated!

It will take some work, but the best thing for you to do is to completely disassemble the machine and soak the whole boiler in descaling solution.

When the scale is really bad, you will not be able to get it all out just by running water through the machine's input side.

Also make sure to thoroughly clean the grouphead to get any small pieces of scale out of there as well

Thank you, godlyone, for the advice. I have finally gotten around to tearing down my machine & am cleaning the parts right now. You were correct...probably of cupful of lime scale inside the boiler.

You mention thoroughly cleaning the grouphead, but are you talking about disassembling this piece?!!! I've removed the 3 hex bolts & cleaned flat surfaces & flushed with substantial hot water. Should I soak this in citric acid as well? Can you be more specific about your cleaning suggestion on the group?

When cleaning the HX, which I had removed from the boiler, I attempted to remove the gaskets (more like washers) which are on the inside of the boiler on the inflow & outflow tubes. One came off easily...the other cracked, came apart & is useless. Are these rubber (obviously dry-rotted), thick paper, Teflon (I don't believe so) or what & with what can they be replaced? Also, any idea where I can purchase these parts? It would seem that I could take the HX to a plumbing supply store & they could perhaps fit this washer, but what do I need that will be heat & corrosion resistant?

Any help from you experts will be much appreciated!

I'm just guessing, but I imagine your heat exchanger looks like this:



The gasket that fits that type of heat exchanger is a paper gasket like this one from Espressoparts.com
http://www.espressoparts.com/AS_114

Thanks for the reply...I took your advice & got the proper gaskets. I have my Laurentis reassembled & seems to be working well now. Tweaking my barista skills is my next project!

BTW, I apologize for taking so long to reply...someone deleted or moved my link to my question & as a new user of this type of board, it took me a while to figure out how to get back to my post.