Hello everyone. I've been lurking and reading the board for some time and finally got took the plunge and bought a used Vivaldi S1V1.

I received it today and opened it up and found it is in some rough shape. It certainly sounds like the previous owner took care of the machine so I'm guessing lot of the damage happened in the shipping..

I quickly took the machine apart to see how things looked inside and it actually looks pretty good. One issue that stood out is that one of the terminal on top of the boiler is completely corroded and the wire itself burnt. What would cause this? Any suggestions on where I could find a cap similar to this locally? I hate to have to wait for such a small part form the distributor of these machines.

The connector probably got damp and over time corroded, increasing resistance. Replace the entire wire and check the other terminal. Check all connectors for corrosion.

You can get replacement wire and connectors at a decent automotive custom shop,. Canadian Tire is not a decent automotive shop. Use wire rated for at least 105°C. If you fabricate the wire, use a proper crimper.
This not this

Recommend installing a cap over the vacuum break and safety valves so a spray runs down the boiler side. The cap MUST NOT interfere with the valve operation.

available at the hardware store

Those old style rubber boots hold in a lot of heat & were replaced on later versions with clear heat shrink tubing open at both ends. I've only seen that kind of damage with the boots, never had that issue with my S1V2 with open covers in 2 years of daily use.

Thanks so much for the input! I was worried the corrosion was a sign of what the element looked like in the boiler.

Do you know where I can find pictures of the heat shrinked covers described on the newer Vivaldis?