Don't know about the motor. Seeing how tight things are in there, a non cooled motor may get too hot. As far as descaleing the water jacket, just use a funnel and pour some solution in. You may want to cap the fittings with a cork or other device so you can soak it on one side, then rotate to get the other. Then empty and flush.

Pumps are relatively generic, you need the appropriate flow rate and pressure but brand is not important. Having said that, I have not replaced a pump, mine was good, so someone more knowledgeable may want to chime in.

Are you sure the motor cannot be serviced? A decent electric shop would have bearings/brushes and could re-wrap it. For 350 bucks you'd think it could be re-furbd. Alternatively, perhaps the pump is used in more mundane machines and available through a third party retailer. Just some thoughts.

Just re-read your post; what does the motor's sticker say on it? Zecchini?


cheers,
dan r.

Dan Rotigel wrote:Are you sure the motor cannot be serviced? A decent electric shop would have bearings/brushes and could re-wrap it. For 350 bucks you'd think it could be re-furbd. Alternatively, perhaps the pump is used in more mundane machines and available through a third party retailer. Just some thoughts.

Just re-read your post; what does the motor's sticker say on it? Zecchini?


cheers,
dan r.

Dan, the motor is a Zecchini. The guy who sold this machine to me has agreed to reimburse me for a new motor and pump. I think that even if the motor and pump are operational right now, I will get the new ones. This will prevent the "it just stopped working" two weeks into use problem. I am going to switch to a non-water cooled motor so some internal replumbing will be required but it will be more simple to work on and maintain.

More fun!

Thanks for the feedback.

C.

Friday evening update:

Finally, the machine is operational. Nothing was ever really wrong it other than a couple of very well hidden wires were disconnected which prevented the pump motor from running.

Everything is put back together and I have been doing some baseline testing. I noticed a small leak on the screw end of the stainless steel pipe that supplies water to the heat exchanger. There is a valve between the supply and this pipe that has a stub leading into the drain. I believe maybe it is either backflow prevention or some kind of pressure relief?

To the point. Something is awry with the connection between the stainless pipe and the valve. It is a compression pipe fitting like all the other stainless pipes on these machines. This pipe is going to be difficult to track down and more importantly, it will delay my gratification at least another week. What I am wondering is if perhaps this stainless steel pipe could be temporarily replaced with some kind of plumbing pipe? Maybe a flexible braided pipe? Can anyone see any kind of hazard with this?

The pipe in question can be seen below. It is protruding from the lower left side of the boiler and then doubling back underneathe the boiler:



Thanks for any help with this,

Chris

That little stub is probably an OPV (over pressure valve). Rotary pumps have a built in pressure release but if for some reason it malfunctions or you have the pressure ramped up way too high, a little valve opens to vent the excess pump pressure.

As you describe it, that line is on the pressurized side of the pump. I doubt a flex line could contain the pressure. It would probably burst around the flex joint. You could order the bullet ends from am espresso parts dealer and solder them onto some copper and bend your own tube.

Glad the machine is coming together for you. There is nothing more satisfying than rebuilding/reconditioning a machine with you own two hands.

Thanks for the support!

You are correct. It is the pressurized side of the pump. I pulled the pipe off and inspected. There is a hairline crack just on the inside of that nipple. It is covered by the bolt when the pipe is attached which is why it appears to be leaking out of the bolt. I wonder if some plumbing solder or maybe some JB Weld would be a viable alternative (even if just temporary?).

Some braided flexible hoses can hold the pressure, although I don't know if they all can. The outlet side of the vibe pump on my Faema 1-group is to a braided hose.

Also, JB Weld (or JB Water Weld) will work.

CMA ended up having the part (fortunately since the design has changed thereby eliminating this pipe). It came in last night and the journey began.

Some initial observations:

- Rotary pumps are quite
- This machine has an endless supply of steam. It never goes away. And it sprays milk farther than any other machine I have used.
- The hot water arm is too big. I am going to replace it with one of those short arms.
- Plumbed in machines are a no-brainer. If you are on the fence.... leap.
- Adjusting pressure and temp are very simple... and make for interesting analysis
- The shower screen is much deeper than on the Silvia

More comments to follow.

Next steps: Aesthetics.

Upcoming steps: PID, pre-infusion delay.


C.

PaulTheRoaster wrote:Some braided flexible hoses can hold the pressure, although I don't know if they all can. The outlet side of the vibe pump on my Faema 1-group is to a braided hose.

Also, JB Weld (or JB Water Weld) will work.

I was actually thinking about the stiff flex hose. The rubber hose with the stainless braid will hold the pressure. My two group uses the SS braided hose for the pump input and output to the copper lines. I misunderstood which type of pipe you were referring to.

Glad to see you found the OEM pipe and got it working. I must agree with you initial statements, a rotary pump along with inbound and outbound plumbing is wonderful. I will never go back to a drip tray and pourover, or anything smaller than a 3L boiler.

Congratulations on the accomplishment. It is a wonderful feeling isn't it.

A few weeks have gone by since bringing the machine home. I have been contemplating what I could do to improve the aesthetics of this machine. I think the answer is: nearly anything. I saw some pictures of Paul Pratt's P1 machine with the (polycarbonate?) panels and thought about putting together an either translucent or even transparent paneling system in conjunction with the existing stainless panels. The plastic-ish type materials would be interesting because they could be easily cut and then glued together to fabricate shapes at home. Metalwork would have to be done at a shop. I am definitely going to replace the legs. I can actually get the machine down to kitchen counter top height with these mods. The plastic panels will make it easier to build a box for the PID and temp controls.

I am also working out what electronic mods. Ken's PIDing his HX makes sense to me. I will have a custom thermocouple made either by Omega or by myself to fit into the only port available - the pressurestat tube (once removed). I also want to add a thermocouple in the group water path via a large bored bolt on top of my group just about the giculeur. I am thinking of making that one myself. I want to hook the group t/c up to a single purpose temp monitor that just displays the temperature. It seem difficult to find something like this. The housing for the PID and the temp monitor needs to be aesthetically pleasing and mounting them in the same box will make it attractive as well as make it easier to hook up a datalogger through some interface later on.

A couple of questions:

1. Is there any downside to making your own thermocouples?
2. I have read a gazillion posts related to the topic but can only conclude that there must be some longevity benefits from having one manufactured?
3. Does anyone know of some kind of flat LCD or LED thermocouple thermometer that could be used in this case?
4. Would a T type t/c be the best bet? Is there a downside to a T type?

Thanks,

Chris