I got a heavy duty portafilter that has a dual spout attachment. I purchased a single spout to replace the double. I had thought all I needed to do was unscrew the double from the bottom. However, I cannot get the double to come off. I used a vise to hold the spout and I can get the portafilter to turn a full circle but it does not appear to be unscrewing. Are there portafilters where the dual spouts are snap on? Thanks.

Maybe it's stripped? Spouts have Loctite on the threads and can be a bear to remove. Heat may help. Below are other threads that may help:

Removing Portafilter Spout
Unscrewing the portafilter spout?
Removing a portafilter spout for cleaning?

Ah! These are listed in the RELATED TOPICS below this thread. That's convenient.

Not long ago I found myself asking why is it so hard to remove the double spout on my portafilter?

I have a really nice single spout that is collecting dust and I want to add it to the bottom of my Quick Mill Silvano's portafilter. The handle that comes with the machine has a double spout mounted on it from the factory. I use small shot glasses from Bodum which I think would work better with the single spout.

Seems like the answer to this one would be simple - just take off the double spout and install the single spout and call it a day. There is the rub though. The double spout appears to my untrained eye to be welded on at the very least. Super glue might be added to the threads or mixed in with the greenish Loctite looking stuff.

I could not get it to budge cold but after an hour of heating attached to the group I started making some progress. I tried using a small vice but the vice would not hold suction on the bottom. After much disgust with the table vice I shoved a Philips head screwdriver through the holes on either side of the spout and torqued that chrome plated brass till it started to loosen from the portafilter.

After finally loosening it enough to remove it I decided against installing the single spout for now. I like the way the stream of espresso flows down the single hole in the bottom of the portafilter enough that I will leave it this way for now. Now that the portafilter is free I can install the single whenever I get tired of my slightly naked portafilter.

The only ones I have seen that will not unscrew are cast as part of the portafilter. The manufacturer puts lock tight on the threads to hold them. If you have been using the portafilter for a while, there will also be baked on coffee in the threads. I have unscrewed quite a few of them and it usually takes a bit of heat (or a lot of heat from a torch) and a vice. Then just keep unscrewing.

I've removed a fair number of portafilter spouts. They often seem to come with thread locker, but placing the (protected) spout in a vice and yanking the portafilter handle down always does the trick.

Thanks for the quick responses. However I'd just like to confirm something with those who have removed their spouts. Did you have to turn the old spout more than one full circle before it started to show that there were threads? My spout clearly looks like it is simply rotating around. It doesn't get any easier to turn and there is no sign of threads. Thanks in advance.

A photo of your portafilter would be helpful. If it's a Rancilio portafilter, then yes, it absolutely has a threaded spout. For that matter, now that I think about it, I've never seen a portafilter without a threaded spout.

They are relatively universal threaded. It is a moderately fine thread and will take a dozen or so rotations to remove it. As Dan points out, a photo may be quite helpful. Is it a stock portafilter? What brand is it?

There is no name on the portafilter. I bought it from Borders ($5) when they shutdown in my area. The diameter fit my Silvia but I had to grind the engagements a bit to get it to seat properly. The screen that was with it had Rancilio written on it. It is quite a bit heavier (535g) than the portafilter that came with my silvia (414g). The double spout is just a bit too big for one of my tumblers so I wanted to switch it to a single. The single I purchased is about the same diameter but the thread spacing is not that fine that a full rotation wouldn't start to show something. In this picture you can see that I have swung the spout 180 around and there is very little gap showing. Its clearly not welded but it doesn't seem to be screwed on either. Thanks for all the help.

Odd. That is a removable portafilter spout. I have never had one strip when unscrewing but after a couple turns you should see it unscrewing. They are brass threaded so if you crank it the wrong way you could strip it.