Mixed 2 Group Espresso Machine?

by **sar5w** on Sun Sep 12, 2010 3:17 pm

Crazy question . . . I have a 2 group Astoria Argenta AEP sitting in the garage that was given to me as a parts machine. I am thinking about rebuilding it this winter. Is it possible to replace one group with a lever and maintain the second as a solenoid group?

by **another_jim** on Sun Sep 12, 2010 5:49 pm

In theory, yes; in the early days, there were machines with mixed groups of various sorts. But I think it might take a lot of custom work. You would have to connect the HX for the lever directly to the water inlet, bypassing the pump. And the lever group couldn't just be mounted to the case but would need a more rigid frame so you could pull it without causing damage.

by **cannonfodder** on Sun Sep 12, 2010 5:57 pm

anything is possible. It would be complicated but you could. Aside all the work of retrofitting a lever group to the frame, the machine would need to be plumbed in so you have pressure to feed the lever group. You would need a solenoid with a manual switch so you could close off the water flow to the lever group when using the pump driven group. It would probably be less expensive and much less work to just get a small lever machine to go with a small pump machine.

by **mhoy** on Mon Sep 13, 2010 1:19 am

Don't let it freeze with water in it while you are thinking of what to do if it's an unheated area.
A rupture tank/HX line could spoil your plans.

Mark


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