Hi all,

Somewhat new to the board.

I been an espresso fan for a long time. For years I was using an exceptional and monstrous 2 group Laranzato -- very happy with it. Recently I decided to try out manual espresso-making and just picked up Olympia Cremina on eBay. It's 1986 production. The guy who sold it advertized it as broken/not heating up, so sold as parts for a great price. I was preparing to place order for bad parts (heating element), but as it came, I tested it throughout -- works great, boiler as new... Sweet little thing.

Unfortunately, it came with portafilter, but with no basket... I need both single and double shot, but on the internet I was unable to find it (discontinued). All I found was stuff at Orphan for ~$80 each (!!). Are there cheaper alternatives (say, for $20-$25?). There's one advertized on Orphan site among Cremina parts, but it says it's for Elektra. Anything compatible out there?

Thanks much.

Here are the pictures of my new baby:



And my old one...



The round thing on the right is an antique boiler manometer I had that I connected to the right steam wand to read out boiler pressure in a more extravagant way... Works, too. And never fails to entertain the company

Vlad

Vlad,

Order a 18 gram Elektra basket from OrphanEspresso (~$20). It's a tad bit bigger than the stock Olympia but fits just fine. In fact, it's the only basket I use with mine.

Might as well get a few items while you are at it.
- Get one of their tampers. They are made to fit perfectly (49.4mm).
- Dow 111 to lube seals
- small ring pliers to undo clips for servicing the lever and pins in addition to the piston seals.
- (optional) Pin lube for lubing the pins of the lever. You can use Dow 111 here as well, though their pin lube is far thinner and will result in a smoother action.

Thanks a lot for the pointers.

That 18 gram basket, that's a single shot, right? Anything for double shots?

Also, do I need to stock up on any seals/gaskets? The machine works fine as is, action is smooth, etc. I know piston gaskets replacement is recommended every 3 years... But how necessary?

Thanks.

No that's double shot. You can get single shot Elektra basket as well. 1st-line is selling both as well.

Congratulations on your new baby. A wonderful machine. The 18g basket will work best with the Cremina so don't waste your time with the single.

Love the manometer - I think you should attach it to the top of the Cremina .

vlad0002 wrote:The round thing on the right is an antique boiler manometer I had that I connected to the right steam wand to read out boiler pressure in a more extravagant way... Works, too. And never fails to entertain the company
Vlad

Dang, I was thinking about doing just that with my lever machine, steampunking it out big time.
I have plans.