But how does one repair the fossilized oyster?
How did that get in there?

Thanks all for the helpful links. I recall spending time on Paul Pratt's site previously but I think I got sucked into the gold plating of the LM and missed the very helpful page on Flowmeters.

Parts arrived yesterday so the rebuild process has begun. Once the frame is back, it all should go fairly quickly.

I'm really not sure how the oyster got in there but it was a real pain to get out. I actually had to use a oyster shucker to chip away at it and even found a red plastic pearl embedded in the center. The autofill was definitely not operational since the probe was completely encased. I believe this was a failure point for this machine.



The water level assembly and autofill has now been restored but I'm not sure I fully understand how it works and could use some advice.

Cleaned up, new glass, gaskets & tub;


I think the way the autfill works is when the water level falls below the probe, it opens the circuit formed between the probe, water and ground wire on the bezel, signalling the fill solenoid to do its thing.



I have rebuilt mine according to the diagram but have had to remove most of the plastic covering (4951-118947) on the autfill probe that fell below the water line. The plastic is is still in place where the probe enters the sightglass, as is the teflon guide (4831-112602). However, this is NOT a good seal. It is easy to remove the probe entirely and I can forsee water escaping around where the probe enters the housing. Is this ok since the gap is always above the boiler's water level? Should I put a s/s ball in the top fitting to prevent water/steam entering from the boiler and possibly escaping around the probe? I'm not sure I fully understand how this works enough to be confident I got this right.

JC

You do not want to remove the probe shielding completely. Otherwise it will ground against the sight glass/frame. The probe will move around in the sight glass, that is normal. It will be snug but if you pull/push/twist it will move around. The compression fitting seals against the shield which seals against the probe. Since the shield is slick (tefflon?) it will move even once it is tightened and water tight.

Do not over tighten your fitting, you may pinch the shield and short against the frame. When you put everything back together, finger tighten the brass nuts, then give them a quarter turn with a wrench. When you pressure test the machine, if you have a leak, give the fitting another 1/4 turn. You do not want to over tighten those fittings, they will strip and you can get them to tight. Remember, when it all heats, the metal will expand and tighten up even more.

It will be snug but if you pull/push/twist it will move around. The compression fitting seals against the shield which seals against the probe.

This explains my concerns. If I turn the whole thing upside down the probe will slide out on its own (there is sufficient teflon shield remaining to keep it well guarded from shorting out). What i didn't realize is that its a compression fitting and at the moment it is barely finger tight. I'll give it a 1/4 turn with a wrench and call it a day.

What about adding a s/s ball in the top return fitting? I have seen exploded views from different Faema models that use the same sight glass / autofill and have seen some with an 11mm ball and some without.

JC

It should not fall out, but once tight it will wiggle a little.

Hi, not sure what part availability for these is like over there, but when i re-furbed mine i ended up with various good spare parts left over.(I had a spare donor machine)Let me know if you need any parts for that water valve, i also have some panels, and pipes including that one thats been soldered.Obviously i'm on the other side of the world so its more of a last resort offer, but let me know if you get stuck.

Wow that's amazing kitt, thanks very much... PM sent.

The frame and misc bits are back from blasting & powdercoat and look brand new. I sent out the old grey Sirai p-stat cover as well although I may replace the whole thing instead of going with the rebuild kit.





I had difficulty removing the element from the boiler. 2 of the 3 zinc bolts were completely corroded and no amount of citric acid/diet coke/penetrating oil/candle wax/propane torch/easy-outs/swearing/brute force had any effect so I cut them with the dremel to get the element out.

Now i'm going to have to either drill out the holes on both the Boiler and the element or rig up a small permanent clamp to seal the element back on. Any ideas?

New boiler. You could also take it to a welding shop and see if they can drill out the old studs and braze in new ones but that is about all I can think of. Broken heater mounting bolts can be the death bell for a machine. You cannot just 'glue' a heating element in. Keep in mind, aside being very hot, it is also under pressure and likely to blow out and leak if not properly tightened.

You would have been better off cutting through the nut on the top and bottom and using a chisel/wedge to get them to pop inhalf and fall off the stud. If you flatspot a thread you can alwayse run a tap up it to clean the thread back out but a cut off/broken bolt is bad. I suppose as a last ditch thing, you could weld a bolt onto the broken bolt using the same thread pitch and size threaded rod. Then you could run a tap down the bolt to re-cut the threads at the weld joint.

I just re read your post. Did the boiler have the nut in it and the heating element go on with a bolt? Every machine I have worked on had a stud welded onto the boiler. A threaded nut on the boiler would be a leak hazard. But if that is the case you can just drill out the bolts and re-tap the hole.