Well, I just spent the last 4 hours tearing the whole machine apart, and documenting parts as I went along. I still have to say that either
A: this machine was hardly used
or
B: somebody already tore this machine down in the past.
Considering the skank I cleaned out of the boiler, the element was not corroded in the least.
My question for now is what to make with a the dispersion screen because there is no screw typically found there- see pic. I have no idea there. I expected to find a screw I could back out to clean the head.

Next step is to clean up the frame and find some citric acid for the boiler. Oh what joys.....

The dispersion screen is held in by the gasket, and unless the gaskets are fairly recent and soft, getting them out will either destroy them, or destroy the dispersion screens. With my machine, it wasn't a choice that I had to take any time on, as both were trash. Still looking for replacements for the latter.
Once you've yanked out the old gaskets, the dispersion screen removal will be self-evident.

Oh, and the best place I've found for citric acid is right around the corner from me, but they do mail order. Scroll down below all the salts and you'll get to the citric acid. Around two bucks a pound, depending on how much you want to get at a throw.

You might be able to pry out the screen and gasket with a couple of spoons, as mentioned here:

http://coffeetime.wikidot.com/shower-sc ... oup-gasket

HTH,
George

Thanks, that makes sense now.
Hey I sent an Email to Crossroads last nite (coffeestuff.com) at 930 and a response shot back at 530 this morning and they say they have parts for Pubs. So I'll give them a try in the future.
I used some commercial descaler (i researched it first) from the shop today and the inside of the boiler is 80% fresh copper now. There's still the cooked on sediment nearest the element that I'll work on later this week. But I'm still scratching my head as to whether this machine was well-taken care of or just lightly used, everything is so comparatively clean...
I also scrubbed the frame and replaced the only O-ring I saw-on the inlet valve. There's a plunger valve in there with two smaller rings that I'll get to tomorrow, even though they still feel quite supple. I'm just not going to worry about the electrics until I have a pumpset and the machine is reassembled. Tomorrow I may try to do some paint prepping and see what I can do with the brass panels as far as refinishing etc.

Hey Psyd have you seen that 2 group Pavoni that's on EB@#? It's in Bisbee, almost your back yard....

Hasta,
Tom

The Crossroads site doesn't give any indication that they have parts for the group that you and I have. And no, I haven't seen the two-group in Bisbee, 'cause someone didn't post a URL! ; >
I'm off to search for it now...
Nope, never saw anything...

Hmm, no URL...ooops. It didn't sell either at $600. Oh well.
I called Crossroads and it sounded like they have quite a few parts for the Pubs, so I'm hopeful for now. The gasket still seems to be soft so I won't worry about that for now. Located a used pumpset today clear across Phoenix and will get that tomorrow. Got most of the lines reconnected, maybe another hour or so of work there. Cross your fingers for no leaks...Dropped the gaudy brass-dipped side panels off to the powdercoater yesterday. 6 working days for that, so next week. Guess all I need to procure is a water filter and that's it. I'll put pics up later.

#222

Ok, I got a pumpset and filter yesterday and did a cursory boiler fill today, in the garage of course. And lets say the floor is alot cleaner....
But besides that...
I was surfing the site today and I realized that my flowmeter connection is botched, duh why didn't I recognize that earlier?!
My question now is will it theoretically work given the current "wiring setup?"

The second picture is the bottom connection in the brain box, the green and red wires going to the gicar

Here's a shot of the whole brain box.
I don't have the cover for it, does anyone have one or know where to get one?

Update: partial success. Got all but a few very minor leaks under complete control. Juiced up the machine with full boiler and hit 1.2 bar in about 25 minutes.

Problems: the autofill is stuck open. Will dismantle solenoid in the next few days. Had to unplug the wire to stop the buzzing. Need to connect the pump electrical to the brain. Still not sure which connections they are but have pretty good idea.

Once i get the fill valve repaired, then it's time to check the auto brew functions.
Any comments are still welcome...


#222

Hi tom,

I've got a single group Pub (s/n 20984) that I bought on eBay less than a year ago. Like yours it was an external pump machine and I struggled for some time to try and get the parts to install the pump internally. After much frustration, I settled on using an external pump and have been enjoying excellent espresso ever since.

I think your machine is a generation older than mine, but if I can be of help please contact me.

Bryan