I hope I'm not banned from the list because of buying one of the below, but it was only $20 and I couldn't resist. I can't seem to find a source of parts (shower screen, gaskets etc.).


My two-year old took a look and said, "Is that machine very sick?". I'd like to get it working again and then dispose of it somehow, the sooner the better. Either sell it or trade it for a mini gaggia... if I could luck out. I've really never seen such an ugly machine, though I guess since I like my Peppina, it's in the eyes of the beholder. It is like looking at a bad hangover in three dimensions.

Any pointers to a source of parts, and if anyone will admit to having one apart, I'd appreciate it. The manual says not to descale it, which is odd. I've also read that it uses three thermoblocks. What does that mean? That is operates like an instant hot water heater? That might actually be good.

dan

This is a very strange machine. The shower screen is a piece of perfed stainless permanently laminated with channels inside to a plastic backing making it impossible to ever really clean. The innards, though surprised me. They seem to be well made and pretty nice.



I'm either going to dump it or see if I can rework the group so it is cleanable and maintainable. The manual says not to descale it, which is also strange. Says nothing about cleaning. Says nothing about backflushing. It almost seems like the people who buy it are intended to use it for a few months and lose interest and buy another toy. And yet the quality of the interior build is undeniably quite nice.

Any suggestions? Should I try to make it a usable, sustainable machine or pitch it?

dan

Hello:

Check this one out, many more links in G**gle ...
http://www.coffeemachine.com.au/diva-es ... p-132.html
Maybe they can tell you where to get parts.

It does not seem to be cheap.
In any case, just for the Ulka and the thermostats, it's worth more than the $20.00 you paid for it.

Cheers,

CIV

DJR wrote:This is a very strange machine. The shower screen is a piece of perfed stainless permanently laminated with channels inside to a plastic backing making it impossible to ever really clean. The innards, though surprised me. They seem to be well made and pretty nice.

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I'm either going to dump it or see if I can rework the group so it is cleanable and maintainable. The manual says not to descale it, which is also strange. Says nothing about cleaning. Says nothing about backflushing. It almost seems like the people who buy it are intended to use it for a few months and lose interest and buy another toy. And yet the quality of the interior build is undeniably quite nice.

Any suggestions? Should I try to make it a usable, sustainable machine or pitch it?

dan

Regardless of the designer exterior, that's a standard Imat/Nemox/Lelit boiler interior, and if it's got the 57mm group and portafilter to match parts aren't going to be much problem. The pipe from the top of the boiler to the solenoid valve is the giveaway.

Think of it as a Lelit PL041 and you shouldn't have too many problems in fixing it up. You can descale and backflush to your heart's content. There are repair instructions on my website.

Alan

Get it working well and post a video. At the very least it may make a good travel machine.

Thanks Alan, your post got me going in the right direction. Your website is incredibly helpful as well. http://www.coffeeco.com.au. My earlier mention of a non-standard shower screen seems to be an error. It uses a normal shower screen backed by a plastic holder and the two were bonded together by coffee crud. Oddly, the plastic holder is stamped with "Bugatti", (see right side of image, below). Seems strange they would have modified an injection mold for a part that 99.99% of its customers will never see.



The problem with the machine is that it gets warm, but not hot. So one of the thermostats needs changing, probably the low one?

Anyhow, I will get it working and offer some documentation along the way. It's pretty amusing to open the hood of a Bugatti and find a Volkswagen engine inside. On the bright side, it makes it easy to repair and get parts. On the negative side, I don't think I can say with a lot of conviction to my mechanic friend, "I'm working on my Bugatti today."

Thanks again.

DJR wrote:It's pretty amusing to open the hood of a Bugatti and find a Volkswagen engine inside

Makes perfect sense!

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_owns_the_ ... il_company

Wow! I saw one of these things in Macy's in downtown San Francisco last Christmas. Always wanted to know what they look like inside.

Looks like the plastic holder restricts the diameter of the water flow. A simple and cheap way of improving the taste of pod coffee. I would take the plastic piece out for ground coffee.

BTW thanks for the pictures. I always suspected the Bugatti Diva used a lelit-type boiler but I could never believe the price of a new Diva.

The problem with the machine is that it gets warm, but not hot.

New element time. If you can't pump up the temperature on either brew or steam, it's a sign that the element is on the way out. It's NOT a thermostat problem. Element change kit consists of the element itself, 2 o-rings for the posts and a new boiler o-ring.

The plastic gizmo is for pods, which are rapidly changing the whole Italian coffee scene, both domestic and commercial. There should be a proper brass water distributor in the base of the group, in which case you can throw the plastic bit away.

Alan