Ok I have replaced all the seals and had to sort out some minor leaks and I am proud to say the M15 is working 100%. I fired it up this weekend and pulled some shots. I had to use the the gas connection since I don't have 3phase 380V at my house. So I actually ran the machine without using any electricity.

I have taken a video of the M15 in action, its not the greatest quality video, but here is a short description of what's happening:
When you insert the portafilter, it automatically engage the brew cycle. First the pistons move upwards exposing the hot water(from the heat exchanger) inlet hole, water starts to flow from this hole with a pressure of 1.8 bar (pre-infusion cycle). When the piston reaches the right hight it triggers the change of direction of the water flow. You hear a loud click when this happens. The pistons will now push downwards creating pressure of 9bar (11bar with no flow). The pistons will rest at the bottom until you insert the portafilter again.

The shots I pulled was not the greatest, I suspect it is because the pre infusion cycle was set to long. I will play around with it this week.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z432EGC008

renier, congratulations! that looks so cool. And what a labour of love to scrounge up all the bits and pieces you needed.

I hope you can find room in your cafe for the beastie!

Thanks Paul

So far it has been a great experience, and thanks for sending me all that info and steering into the right direction.
Obviously I still have a lot to do on the machine. Now I have to start polishing and painting, but this part I really enjoy. I will keep posting the progress.

I would love to use it in our shop and we are planning on opening another shop soon. I am very curious to see if one can get good shots from the machine, so far the shots I pulled were not that great. A bit under extracted and watery. So hopefully I will get the hang of it when playing with it this week. If it can produce good shots I will definitely give it a new life.

Hello Renier,

Great machine it is indeed, are you using it in your cafe yet?

I ve got a 1 group, just brought it back alive again, it was in a terrible state

O wow, what a beauty! It looks like you did a great job with it. please upload more photos.
I met a guy in a shop in Amsterdam in September 2009 that also had a Faema E61. Any chance of you owning a shop there?
How are the shots on your m15. I struggle a bit to pull good shots and I suspect the Teflon seal in my grouphead might be damaged thus causing a bit of pressure loss.

I promised myself that I am going to finish the M15 this year. And we have made provision for it in our new shop. So lets see.

Hello Renier,
thanks, It has been on the workbench for a while but finally it is working

And the guy in amsterdam wasn't me, I haven't got a shop and I haven't got a e 61 -still on the wish list-

I m studying on a design school, but it won't be long before I find my place in the coffee business

My machine is now technically in a good working condition, replaced all the seals

But witch seals do you mean in the grouphead?

It is difficult to know how much pressure the hydraulic group is producing, but I had some pretty good shots with a good crema, And I found out you really should have a pressure of about 1 bar in the boiler, otherwise the coffee-water won't reach 92 degrees.

but I really like the machine, beautiful system, only not so water efficient, but It doesn't matter


Here are some more photos, I should make some photos in working condition, I will do my best next week

Grts Wouter

Hi Wouter

Thanks for the photos. They are really awesome. You have done a great job and have inspired me to start working on my machine again.
The part I revered to is the one-way valve between the heat exchanger and the head. The ball bearings have some rust spots and I suspected they damaged the tefelon seals that it rests on. It think it leaks a little water back into the heat exchanger when pulling a shot. I have measured the pressure and it fluctuate from shot to shot. I will upload a drawing of the seal soon.

Vriendelike groete
Renier

Here is the drawing with the seal

hello guys,

I became the proud owner of the same
machines as wouter, everything works, except of course the head that is leaking: (.
I contacted the local cimbali technician who told me that I can only TRY?? to repair the head, and that no parts:)
Fortunately, in Italy I found some manufacturers of spare parts .....
pictures coming soon .....

regards

misa wrote:hello guys,

I became the proud owner of the same
machines as wouter, everything works, except of course the head that is leaking: (.
I contacted the local cimbali technician who told me that I can only TRY?? to repair the head, and that no parts:)
Fortunately, in Italy I found some manufacturers of spare parts .....
pictures coming soon .....

regards

I also became an owner of an M15 Lever 2 group... Contacted Italy and they said... No longer in production, no documents and no parts.

Thus if you have any luck with your local guy or can pass on the contact re parts, I would be very interested in getting any info I can on this unit. I can do some things, but some parts are just "Must Haves".

Was like this https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/W...directlink

Now https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/u...directlink