The original vibe pump in my Valentina Levetta just died after several years. I know I could just throw in a new pump and be done with it but I'm wondering if I should make a small project of it and put in a rotary.

I was thinking about using the small Fluid-O-Tech CA054, my only question is whether it will fit. I guess all I'd really need is a check valve so it won't lose prime, and I know all about not running them dry.

Is this all I need, pump, valve, some new hoses, and hook up the pump intake to a hole in the bottom of my tank?

Thanks for any input.

Rotary pumps require motors that tend to be significantly larger than the pump itself. Have you considered that?

Ya I remembered that issue after I posted, I don't think any motors are small enough.

Pump/motor can be remote mounted, indeed many are. May require a relay to handle the load.
KDM

duke-one is correct, you could use an external motor and pump and run your water line in the bottom of your machine. I think they require a startup capacitor as well but if you buy a standard external pump/motor it should come with one. good luck!

An external mount would be cool if I could do it under the counter. I think I'll just replace the vibe pump for now though. If I do any big projects it's going to be a whole machine restoration on something old but cool. Thanks

Everman wrote:I know I could just throw in a new pump and be done with it but I'm wondering if I should make a small project of it and put in a rotary.

A rotary pump is quiet, but it pressurizes much more quickly, so you'll lose a small degree of progressive preinfusion; Pressure profiles, preinfusion and the forgiveness factor elaborates on this point. The difference is probably negligible for an E61 with an expansion chamber (Levetta), but may be noticeable for an E61 with solenoid (Valentina).


La Valentina (left) and the Levetta (right)

A rotary pump + motor would be a very tight fit in your espresso machine's casing. I agree with duke-one that the fitting of an externally mounted pump would be less complicated. If your main motivation is quiet operation, you could "outboard" the vibratory pump. That's what I did and it was whisper quiet:

Thanks for all the info. I've decided to just replace the vibe pump. I'll save my money for the perfect restoration project that comes along, some kind of great 2 group machine that needs a lot of work.

HB wrote:A rotary pump is quiet, but it pressurizes much more quickly, so you'll lose a small degree of progressive preinfusion; Pressure profiles, preinfusion and the forgiveness factor elaborates on this point. The difference is probably negligible for an E61 with an expansion chamber (Levetta), but may be noticeable for an E61 with solenoid (Valentina).

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La Valentina (left) and the Levetta (right)

A rotary pump + motor would be a very tight fit in your espresso machine's casing. I agree with duke-one that the fitting of an externally mounted pump would be less complicated. If your main motivation is quiet operation, you could "outboard" the vibratory pump. That's what I did and it was whisper quiet:

<image>

Dan,

Nice set up!

Another option, mine is under the house on a shelf.
It is a 220 pump with a water softener cartridge and shut off. I then have another shut off behind my machine.