hello all, I'm new here. I have started to read a lot of how-to's forum topics and I must say, this is one of the best espresso-related web pages I have found.
I quite new into the world of espresso making, but I think started to like this kind of "magic"

But to my problem. I've got a present from my sister - used FF-X3, which didn't make good espresso for her. I tried it and noticed that many of hot water is going through portafilter and gasket. I removed old o-ring and got new one, from official service of FF machines. New o-ring was about 1mm thicker than the used one.

After that I started with many shots, and I can say that leakage is not so noticeable as before, but it is still there. I decided tighten the portafilter holder at maximum (not good feeling to tamp new gasket so tight ) . Sometimes it looks like water is flowing directly without resistance through the portafilter. But I tamped it fairly. I'm going to check how pressure I'm using during tamping.
Strange thing is why it still leaks through o-ring? I hope you have more experience and video I've put on youtube will tell you more...
Any advice is appreciated.

First of all, you should read over Mark's Francis! Francis! X3 Detailed Review.

That said, judging from the speed of the pour, it looks like the coffee grind setting is way too coarse, the coffee is really, really stale, or both. Fresh coffee, good grinder = eventual success. Stale coffee, mediocre grinder = ceaseless frustration. Also, although I've never used a Francis! Francis!, the water coming out looks like it was above boiling. Some small espresso machines idle above brew temperature and they need a short flush beforehand to purge over-temperature water; I haven't read Mark's writeup, but presumably this would be covered.

enakki
welcome
It looks like you have 2 problems
First the new gasket you installed does not seem to be seated in place properly
This gasket forms the only seal between the portafilter and the bottom of the boiler
Check to make certain that there is no debris, old coffee grinds or other waste behind the gasket
It should be flat against the bottom of the boiler
Next make sure you are tightening the portafilter in place fully
If you have the machine manual you will see the parts layout and how that gasket should fit
Your second problem is the grind and or quality of coffee as mentioned by HB
Good luck
You should be able to make a good cup of coffee once you work out these 2 problems

thanks for your replies, I can confirm, that quality of coffee is really poor at the moment (pregroung illy) compared to what I'd like to have. I'd like to buy Gaggia MDF next month (not enough money for something better).
I will try to remove the gasket and check the bottom of boiler. That was one of my thoughts why it's still leaking but it's not so easy to remove gasket and avoid damaging it. Hope I'll make it

let u know when I'll get some progress..

enakki
The portafilter holder is held on by 4 nuts attached to the end of the screws that hold the boiler together
You need to remove the 4 nuts then remove the portafilter holder then remove the gasket
Clean everything then install the gasket and reinstall the holder with the 4 nuts
make sure not to loosen the screws that hold the boiler together
If you do not remove the holder you have a good chance of tearing or deforming the gasket when you try and remove or replace it
good luck

hello, finally I solved issue with leaking! I'm so happy I don't have to go to service and I had a chance to know my machine better.
But it took more effort, as I had to remove whole boiler. The portafilter holder can be removed frm inside only
here are some photos:
I had to disconnect some tubes and all the cabling. thanks to modern technology I made few pictures and used my notebook with displayed images during reconnecting the cables.







I think, main problem wasn't the old coffee under the gasket. It seems, that boiler wasn't seated properly. I noticed before, that the portafilter holder is not somehow in absolute horizontal position. After the cleanup and reassembly, portafilter fitted much more better and firmly into holder. And also tightening doesn't require so extreme position (it is not possible to tighten PF into position visible on my video anymore). You can see on this last photo the max tighten position, which is corresponding with images on coffeegeek's review or some youtube videos. I looks like someone tried to fix something and didn't assemle the machine properly.


thank you for inspiration with looking for the issue... I hope when I'll get my Gaggia grinder I start to enjoy better shots
leaking is the past!

Similar leaking problem with FF X3.

My FF X3 starts leaking during the warming up.
I presume that a seal is defective between the boiler and the portafilter holder.
Has anybody had the same problem?
If so how can it be fixed and where can i buy the parts.

Thanks in advance !