Mayhem,

You are correct, it is a 98 with Bolt on group heads (to my knowledge, the last year they used the bolt on groups )

Care to explain a little more about the 3 stage brew switch and manual line pressure pre-infusion? I've read a little here and there with the pre-infusion, but I am trying not to complicate things at the moment, until have a rebuilt set up and everything is acting normal "as built" then I'll dive into the upgrades, sell my soul at the same time.

Euology101 wrote:Care to explain a little more about the 3 stage brew switch and manual line pressure pre-infusion? I've read a little here and there with the pre-infusion, but I am trying not to complicate things at the moment, until have a rebuilt set up and everything is acting normal "as built" then I'll dive into the upgrades, sell my soul at the same time.

Well, it'd work pretty much the same way a paddle would. The mechanical paddle group replaces the solenoid with a manual valve, which can be gradually opened to control flow during pre-infusion but won't really enable any further pressure-profiling (that feature is only available on the Strada with electronic paddle). The three-stage switch would open the solenoid in the middle position but not engage the pump until flipped all the way over to the last position. You won't get as fine grained control, but installation would be much simpler, at a much lower cost, and can easily be done to both groups while still keeping volumetric dosing available in parallel.

The catch of course is finding a switch that will work since the requirements are somewhat unusual; minimum two poles, minimum three positions in a suitable configuration, and rated for high voltage and decent amperage. After much searching I did find a suitable switch at $15 USD each, but the only distributor I've found who has this particular switch had a 5 piece minimum order so still hesitant to pull the trigger. But if you'd be interested in sharing an order that'd be nice...!

Magnus, have you thought about how to mount the switch? I might be interested as well but it would have to be a clean looking, functional installation.

mitch236 wrote:Magnus, have you thought about how to mount the switch? I might be interested as well but it would have to be a clean looking, functional installation.

My plan is to either have a custom bezel manufactured or buy one on eBay (the switch I'm looking to use is from the same series). New bolt holes would have to be drilled in the front panel but from my rough measurements the original switch hole would not need to be enlarged, your situation might differ as I've seen several different styles of original brew switches (my machine was fitted with the one that has a giant plastic bezel). I've even seen some Lineas which had brew switches from the same series as the planned replacement which would make installation a snap!

That would work perfectly!!

Let's put together a buying club and do it!!!

Hi Mayhem, I'm keen on one as well; depending on postage to New Zealand. Please could you give me a link to the particular switch so I can see if it will fit my Linea? I have the old-style big switches.

Alright so here are the more technical details. The switch is manufactured by Carling Technologies and part of their V-Series a.k.a. Contura. Dissecting the datasheet in search of a two pole OFF-ON-ON configuration it is obvious we desire circuits G or S. Looking at the available ratings we require one of the high voltage alternatives 4, 5, 8 or 9.

Using the distributor stock search engine for any parts whose number begins with V[GS][4589] we find VG5JS00B-AKBXX-XHY2 at Wes-Garde Components Group. Whenever I've checked for stock previously it used to say they had something like a hundred pieces of this part, but now it says they have just the one... so depending on whether this is accurate and if so whether they're planning to restock it might no longer be possible to acquire this part at this time. I'm going to fire off an email and ask them.

Hello,

did you think about a special pump like Fluid-O-Tech TMFR MAG DRIVE PUMP instead? Look there:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nalundgaard/3861719427/

Instead of a the quite expensive piero-cap you could think about the following mod: http://www.kaffee-netz.de/reparatur-und...post350438

Actually I'm thinking about buying a piero-cap although some modifications would be necessary: the screw from the new cap to the bottom of the old group (mine ist from '96) needs to be rebuilded.

You can watch my restoration (sorry, only in german) there:
http://www.kaffee-netz.de/reparatur-und...ation.html

cari saluti
blu

Hi Blu, I have tried the piero cap mod at Kaffee Netz. It works pretty well, but anybody contemplating it must be sure they get suitable silicone tubing to link the cap to the dispersion block. This is the trickiest part of the job - making the tube long enough to allow assembly, but not being too long to foul other parts of the system. I discovered after a few months of use that the silicone tube I had used had hardened and deformed, so I was getting serious flow restrictions. I looked at the original piero design again and decided to follow it more closely by making a new brass stem that presses onto a seal in the brass cap and leads the water directly from the 3 way valve to the dispersion block.

Mayem, the switch I have in my machine is 30mm wide by 35mm high, so it is not a match to the one you are contemplating. I will need to look for another one.