Greetings everyone, I am a long-time lurker that has finally decided to come out of hiding. I really enjoy reading about the different projects that are posted here and would like to share my project as well.

I have managed to find a 1 group Linea AV that needs to be rebuilt. I think it is 11 years old.






You can see that there is some minor rust on the framing.


The group looks pretty nasty. Check out the water level via the sight glass .


The metal around the hot water valve got bent during shipping.
Right now I am going to completely disassemble this machine. I am excited to get started and nervous to see if there is any damage. Here are the steps that I am planning to take.

1. Complete disassembly.
2. Degreasing then descaling of all internal parts.
3. Ordering of all replacement parts.
4. Polishing of all steel panels and frame.
5. Reassembly
6. Complete rewiring.

All comments and helpful hints are welcome.

Ok, the disassembly continues....

You can see the wiring on the flowmeter is showing through.


I'm slowly getting there...


Drain box


It's very important to use the right tools. Here you can see the sightglass in my vicegrip (bench) which is about to be opened using a custom-made tool (piece of wood with 2 allen wrenches sticking out of it. Don't laugh it worked!


Inside of the sight glass. Looks like Aveeno moisturizing hand lotion. Not that I moisturize my hands or anything.


I really, really don't want to mess with these rusty bayonet bolts. I sprayed them with some WD-40 and they came off without a problem. Whew!

Congratulations on finding a single-group Linea!

I'm not really any sort of espresso technician, but I have a few links for you that might be of interest.

First up, if I were in your shoes, the first thing that I would do is to get very familiar with Paul Pratt's excellent Espresso Restorations webpage, presuming that you're not already aware of it that is. Paul frequents these boards and I'm sure that he will chime in to help you out. He has a great pictorial essay on refurbishing a 1992 EE single group Linea and a slightly less comprehensive essay on a 2001 single group AV Linea, as well as a tonne of other relevant and interesting reading material.

If you are in the US of A, espressoparts seems to be the big parts supplier, although I'm sure that there are alternate sources and I have no idea how everyone's prices work out. What is nice about that site is that as well as having a LM parts page, they have off-the-shelf PID kits and rebuild kits. Presumably there's a premium placed on the "make it easy" factor, but they might be worthwhile looking into.

Finally, I'm sure that you have read that the flowmeter in the AV machine means that you have to flush a fair bit of water through the group to heat up all of the tubing. You might like to fit the new group cap to it, which has an integrated flowmeter and solenoid that eliminates this problem. I don't think that you can fit the new group cap is only made to fit the new welded groups, but you might want to talk to Terry at espressoparts - I think that he has worked out how to do it.

Good luck,

Luca

That is the old bolt on group. If you unbolt it you have to get a special sealant from LM and follow a specific procedure when reattaching it and static pressure test it. Second hand knowledge, I have never rebuilt a LM.

cannonfodder wrote:That is the old bolt on group. If you unbolt it you have to get a special sealant from LM and follow a specific procedure when reattaching it and static pressure test it. Second hand knowledge, I have never rebuilt a LM.

Paul Pratt and Barry Jarrett are good guys to talk to about this project.

Thanks for all the tips guys. I have read through Paul's different projects (thanks for providing it Paul!) and will use what advice he has posted.

Terry was helpful in answering an email pertaining to the old style group / gasket / sealant. If he has figured out a way to do the group cap kit on the old style group I would definitely be interested, but any modifications will have to be at a later time. I am still amazed that I managed to talk my wife into letting me buy this, I will hold off on the extra goodies for now...

Update: I have managed to take apart 99% of the machine. The three parts I had/have the hardest time with are the following:

1. Banjo tube was locked to the banjo bolt. Any attempt at turning the bolt threatened the integrity of the tube. I managed to get it off finally by securing the tube at the base with a locking pliers to keep it from turning.

2. The group head diffuser was pretty tight. I managed to remove it using an adjustable pin spanner.

3. Heating element in the brew boiler. Still stuck.

So right now the heating element is all that I have to remove. I will try heating the base with a torch, then using a wrench on it. I may have to get a chain oil filter wrench such as the one Paul has on his website http://www.espresso-restorations.com/Toptips.html.

Lurkerjohnny wrote:3. Heating element in the brew boiler. Still stuck.

I believe TerryZ recently posted to try tightening the element first and then loosen it. IIRC, it worked for the other poster (different machine).

Ahh, here it is...

terryz wrote:If the element will not loosen up, try tightening first and then loosen.

EDIT - I just clicked through to Paul's element removal tip... they must get really stuck. I need to keep an eye out for a pair of those vise-grips. I have had limited success (in similar applications) with the rubber strap-style wrenches, the metal chain would be much better.

Also wanted to add that I have seen seemingly very good prices on parts via Espresso Liquidators.

What a great machine, looks like there was a bit of steam leakage inside the machine. The heating element is a doddle compared with the diffusor and the sight glass, the latter 2 are really tough. Just keep trying all the tricks like heat, tighten it up them untighten etc....

The 11 year old date seems right, they used that spring wire boiler strap on the steam boiler pop thermostat for a short period of time about 10-11 years ago.

I'd be tempted to seek out a new all steel boiler, but luckily for you you have the old old style which is far more reliable than the welded stud system that would have been introduced shortly after your machine was made. Your boiler isn't easy to rebuild (if you happen to remove the group) but the integrity of the steel should be good.

Paul

Thanks for the tips Jeff and Eric. I managed to get the element off! Talk about a load off my chest. It took a vice grip, torch and a 1 7/16 deep socket on a 3/4 drive breaker bar. Sorry, no pictures as I am at work and didn't bring my camera.

Your boiler isn't easy to rebuild (if you happen to remove the group) but the integrity of the steel should be good.

Paul

I am dreading that step of the process. I have removed the group and the retaining bracket in the boiler. I was debating about leaving the group on the boiler, but decided not to sell my project short. I figure that 11 year old gasket has got to be near the end of its lifespan, not to mention after I soak it in citric acid.

Time for step two!

1. Complete disassembly. DONE!
2. Degreasing then descaling of all internal parts.

A few more pictures:

The brew group didn't look too bad on the inside.


The element from the steam boiler. One of the bolts on the end snapped off half-way. Hopefully it is still long enough to use. Not sure if it is removable from the ceramic base.


Can anyone tell me if I need this program cable to be plugged into my keypad in order for dosing/programming to work? It has disconnected from the lock.

The switch is for programming only, it's just a jumper. Most probably the wire is all crispy so you can change that as well. The element is probably toast and the prongs are a weak spot, it also looks a bit deformed. The brew boiler looks good.

ok. Thanks again.

If you descale the boiler around the heating element fitting (inside) FIRST, and than try to unscrew the heating element much less force is needed.
To break up scale buildup at the inside of the boiler you need an awful lot of extra force, which can be avoided. Every bit of less force needed is better for the lifespan of your boiler/fittings.

Best regards
Paul Elmar

If you descale the boiler around the heating element fitting (inside) FIRST, and than try to unscrew the heating element much less force is needed.

Thanks Paul. I had thought of that but didn't get a chance to try it yet. Thankfully, I won't have to. BTW: Great job on the rebuild project you did!

If you're feeling squeemish about remounting the group to the boiler, box it all up and send it my way. I've got the goo and a hydrostatic tester. The group needs to be goo'd, mounted, torqued, heated to operating temp for awhile, cooled, torqued, and then pressure tested @ 15 bar.

Or you could just wing it.

Thanks for the offer Barry, I really appreciate it. However, I want to give it a try myself.

Right now, the hardest thing for me is finding the time to work on this project. Just being able to "escape" and work on the project for an hour or two is a joy.

Currently, I am soaking the various parts in citric acid. I am using a cooler to retain the heat as much as possible. I am using 25g citric acid to 1 Liter water ratio. I used a ph tester and confirmed that this ratio has an acidic level of 1 (with 7 being neutral I think?).

It's been a while since I updated this thread, so here goes:


Here's the frame completely disassembled. I am going to repaint the base and try and sand off the rust from the stainless steel.


Some of the brass and copper pieces before cleaning.


Some of the pieces after cleaning. Nice and shiny!



The brew boiler descaled and polished.


Success! At least so far... I managed to get all the bolts onto the boiler/group. I just need to borrow a torque wrench from a pal to tighten them.


I have two questions:

1.Can anyone tell me how many o-rings go in the check valve? 1 or 2? Mine were so crudded that I can't tell.
2. Where can I get those o-rings from?

Next, I have to complete the descaling of the steam boiler. It is taking a very long time. The crud in there looks like cement! Plus, my steam boiler does not open on the side, so it is hard to scrub away at it. I am worried that the threading on the boiler will give way before the scale comes off.

It should be one O-ring.

LM only sells the hole check-valve. You could try and find out which size of o-ring would fit. This should not be so hard.

And besides, don't forget to take off the stainless front part of the base of the frame from the painted part.... But I guess only your picture is a little old.

Good stuff, like Paul says any o-ring an approximate size will work.

However there is 1 thing I have noticed and you will not like it. The green viton gasket you have used between the group and boiler is for the boiler after yours, i.e. the one with the welded studs. You need the one with 8 holes and it does not have slots in it and only comes in the hard compressed paper. Your boiler will leak. However the good news is because you used the green viton taking it off again won't be too messy. Removing a paper gasket when the sealant has stuck is messy. I did a 2 group boiler this week and the last bolt chewed the brass nut so it all had to come off again.

If you need help with spares let me know.

Paul