Based on the excellent advice from some folks on this forum—Sherman and RAS, in particular—I picked up a '91 Pasquini Livietta (complete with the lovely stanzas of poetry). Last week I gave it a good cleaning, descaled both hydraulic circuits, and debugged some minor things, like the vacuum breaker. The goal was simply to verify that the machine holds, heats and pumps water. (It does.) The case is a bit dinged and scratched, but it's a lovely machine under the hood.

After I verified that this was in fact a 54 mm group, I got a tamper ordered. (As RAS has noted, a 55 mm tamper is a perfect fit.) My tamper and knock box arrived from Olympia, WA yesterday. So I've had all of 24 hours to pull test shots and make a couple rounds of cappuccini:



While I'm a long way from pulling god shots with 1/2" of crema or making latte art, I have a mid-century KyM grinder roughly dialed in and am in the ballpark for extraction time. Looking forward to getting better with practice.

One of the things I'd like to do next is verify the boiler pressure. Seems like a good thing to do every 20 years, whether it needs it or not. ;^)

(That's a joke—I realize it should be done more often. It just probably wasn't a high priority for the previous owner. Apparently this machine was recovered from an abandoned storage unit.)

Quick poll for the Maximatic/Livietta owners out there:

1. What setup are y'all using for the boiler pressure test? And what's the approximate price point?
2. Also, can the same gauge be used—presumably with a different hardware configuration—to test pump pressure at the portafilter?

The flow volume on my machine seems "about right"—both with and without a puck—but I'd like to verify the pressure if I can.

One more shout out: Orphan Espresso has been an extraordinary resource. People here know this already, but it's really amazing at how much Doug and Barb rock. First of all, they have the gaskets and seals needed to overhaul these machine, as well as compatible parts (filter baskets, handles, etc.) They even contacted me when I ordered a part that they thought might have been a mistake. (It was.) Right now, I'm really just stockpiling gaskets, in case anything leaks, and hoping I can put off a complete overhaul until my schedule is more accommodating. However, I've already made extensive use of the OE videos online, and am sure I will be doing so many more times in the future.

the_trystero wrote:Very nice. I need to get my Livietta going again. The power switch totally fell apart on me the other day.

I see that OE has newer, round switches but mine are square like David's and Sherman's. Does anyone know if I can get square switches somewhere? If not, I'll just get two round ones from OE.

perhaps an electrical/electronics supply. Check locally. you're bound to have a shop or two.

Eastsideloco wrote:1. What setup are y'all using for the boiler pressure test? And what's the approximate price point?
2. Also, can the same gauge be used—presumably with a different hardware configuration—to test pump pressure at the portafilter?

The flow volume on my machine seems "about right"—both with and without a puck—but I'd like to verify the pressure if I can.

1. I use the steam wand gauge from OE that is twenty somethin' dollars. I run the lowest possible boiler pressure on my machine cycling between .7-.9 bar. This requires at least a 2.5 ounce flush (I start every new coffee at 3 ounces and adjust from there. This is usually pretty close for me). I kept adjusting lower because the temperature rebound was just too aggressive, especially detrimental during extraction. The rebound is still a bit aggressive but the pstat doesn't go lower and I am quite happy with the temperature profile I'm getting. Though I know nothing about the actual profile, the shots taste great. If you don't get a gauge or borrow shermans, I'd just set the pstat to the lowest setting and work your way up by taste and steam performance.

2. The gauge from oe isn't compatible with pump pressure. I built a portafilter gauge from parts I got at my local plumbing supply store. I just brought the portafilter in, told them what I wanted to do, and 10 minutes and about $25 later I was out the door. All in all, I realized the pump pressure was a few bar too high, installed a fluid-o-tech opv for $13 and the thing is much more forgiving with much smoother shots.

Thanks, Jonny.

The machine does seem to benefit from long cooling flushes, and it does not lack steaming power.

Since I have Fluke meters for work, I ordered a thermocouple adapter for my digital multi-meter. That should arrive today, so I can run some tests over the weekend. I really just want to see what the water temperature is in the filter basket under different scenarios. (And I have a sacrificial basket that I can modify.) My suspicion is that I will be dialing back the pstat based on those results.

Classic noob question: Which direction turns the pressure/temperature down? Rotating it toward the boiler or away from the boiler?

Next week, I'll be able to measure the range that the boiler pressure is cycling through using Sherman's pressure gauge. (Thanks, Sherman.) After I verify that everything is dialed in where it needs to be, I'll only have my rusty technique to blame.

Appreciate everyone's input, David

towards the boiler is higher, away is lower. Good luck! Also, a tip to check on the temp profile is to pull a shot and immediately remove the pf and turn the pump back on. If the water is sputtering like it does during the initial flushing, the temp jumped up during the shot to boiling. If it is calm, then you could be on the money or too low and a thermometer/thermocouple will then tell you what that end temp is like. Also, if you didn't know already (I'm sure you do but just in case), these machines, since they have such a quick rebound, require that you pull the shot right after flushing. Waiting more than 30 seconds, the hx will already be up past boiling again.

EDIT: I also have the same Ikea rack above my espresso station for my cups, funnels, french press, pour over, etc.! Nice!