This is my first restoration project of any espresso machine.
This is the condition of the machine when I brought it (it was missing a driptray).
This is what the machine looked like once I removed the panels.

After I removed the panels I found a lot of waste floating around inside and gunked up against the frame. As well as ground coffee and whole beans, there was also rat droppings. The smell that the panels hid was not so pleasant. The frame had patches of rust and the power box under the driptray was very rusted. I also noticed that the pump was loose on the bottom of the frame, which didnt seem right.

You see from this photo that the machine is also missing the front cosmetic panel and that some knobs are missing.

I was fortunate enough to be able to get another driptray off a (local) member through these forums (thanks Mike), so it was a good start. I brought 2kg of citric acid and at 4 tablespoons per litre all the copper and brass got a soaking. The internals of the pipes looked ok, but the boiler had significant scale buildup. I soaked and scrubbed for a couple of days but my best results came when I completely dried the boiler out, which caused the scale to flake off quite easily in chunks. I did this a couple of times and the boiler was spotless on the inside.

Looks good Bryce, its always amazing what you find inside machines.I just hope it got in there AFTER it stopped making coffee! From memory the rubber pump mounting bracket just bolts to the frame bottom.I see there's another one of these popped up on trademe in your neck of the woods (not working $1 reserve) Could be handy for parts?

In case you havent come across it, heres a small google group that I started for owners of Faema Compacts: http://groups.google.com/group/faema-compact-user-group.

I've restored two of these, and theyre great machines. If you have any questions, I'll try to answer.

Two more pictures showing how dirty the inside of the machine was


The boiler and element all cleaned up.


The water fill sight glass before cleaning:


and after:


and reassembled:

Although all cleaned up the plastic white background is perished and discoloured and the plastic cover is no longer as clear as it once was with a yellow appearance. Still functional but cosmetically it doesnt look good at all. Some minor parts that ill try to replace.

The group head was in pretty good condition after pulling it apart with very little needed to be cleaned.



The o-ring on the group head jet was the only o-ring that needed replacing. All the rest were in good nick.

The head seal was pulled out with the preferred method of putting a screw into it and using pliers (thanks Jimmoncaffiene @ http://www.homeroasters.org/php/forum/v ... #post_2463 for that tip and guide in general).

The frame is ready to be powder coated. I also pulled all the electrics out of its box (i still cant get over the design feature of placing the electrics directly under the driptray) due to the rust it had and i wanted to get it powder coated as well.

When soaking everything in citric acid these two identical parts were left in the bottom that fell out of somewhere.


Im guessing that they came out of either side of the water inlet which is the brass piece pictured here that connects to the braided hose on one end and mains (not connected) on the other. But this is a guess at best.

Hi Bryce; nice work so far. I have restored an automatic version and found it to be a great machine. I have some other photos and threads here related to the rebuild if you search my posts.

Bryce wrote:When soaking everything in citric acid these two identical parts were left in the bottom that fell out of somewhere.

These look to be flow restrictors and I believe they come from the thermosyphon pipes behind the group.

Also you may want to open up the solenoid core on both the group and the main water distribution valve. There is a small spring valve in there that will need to move freely when the solenoid is charged.

I also ended up removing the water softener all together. I soften externally, and I found this housing impossible to seal and catridges impossible to recharge. The extra space in the case is nice to have for easy access or future upgrade (rotary pump perhaps?)

JC

jarviscochrane wrote: These look to be flow restrictors and I believe they come from the thermosyphon pipes behind the group.

Also you may want to open up the solenoid core on both the group and the main water distribution valve. There is a small spring valve in there that will need to move freely when the solenoid is charged.

I also ended up removing the water softener all together. I soften externally, and I found this housing impossible to seal and catridges impossible to recharge. The extra space in the case is nice to have for easy access or future upgrade (rotary pump perhaps?)

JC

+1

The flow restrictors go in the ends of the thermosyphon pipes where they connect to the group head. I also removed the softeners on both of my machines. I agree that theyre not worth using.

Thanks for the responses. Those flow reducers fit like a glove into the group head. I agree about the water filter and will be removing it.