I recently bought a used Livia 90. I'm having trouble getting it to make a good shot. I recognize that there are a lot of factors, but I think the problem is brew pressure. If I make the grind coarse enough to pull a 2oz shot in 30 seconds or so, the shot is watery, has no crema, and tastes weak and awful. If I make the grind a bit finer, the extraction times increases substantially and I get water dripping from the (OPV?) valve into the drip tray.

Anyone know (a) if this might be my problem and (b) if so how to adjust the brew pressure?

Hi - Not sure about your machine but I need to 'choke' my Livia to get good shots. I used a fine grind, hit the brew switch then it takes a while for the coffee to start to flow and shot takes longer than 25 secs but result is terrific. I wouldn't worry about water going into the drip tray.

SamIAm wrote:I recently bought a used Livia 90. I'm having trouble getting it to make a good shot. I recognize that there are a lot of factors, but I think the problem is brew pressure. If I make the grind coarse enough to pull a 2oz shot in 30 seconds or so, the shot is watery, has no crema, and tastes weak and awful. If I make the grind a bit finer, the extraction times increases substantially and I get water dripping from the (OPV?) valve into the drip tray.

Anyone know (a) if this might be my problem and (b) if so how to adjust the brew pressure?

I also have a Livia, and just had a similar issue. The fitting over the tray comes from the three way valve that lets off the group pressure at the end of the shot. If water is leaking from that valve during the shot then there is a problem with you 3-way valve and any leakage will reduce the brew pressure. You should be able to put the blind portafilter in, turn on the pump until it is at max pressure and not have water coming out of the 3-way.

It is relatively easy to remove and clean the 3-way or a new one can be purchased directly from Pasquinni.
Jason at Chis' Coffee was very helpful troubleshooting my issue.

Beyond that it could be that the vibe-pump is shot. I had to replace mine first one after about 7 years, but definitely check the 3-way valve first.

Thanks for the suggestions. I ended up talking to Mike in the service dept at Pasquini. He was very helpful. He suggested that the spring in the OPV might be tired after 10 years and was causing the drip into the drip tray (note that my 3 way valve appears to be working fine). To adjust the OPV, I needed to take it apart and remove a spacer that had been installed at some point and prevented me from being able to adjust the pressure. I put the valve back together without the spacer and tightened the spring until the drip into the drip tray stopped (while pulling a shot or using the blind basket). This increased the pressure at the brew head (and forced me to change the brew head gasket, which leaked under the now higher pressure).

Now my drip has stopped and I'm getting better pressure at the brew head. I only pulled a couple of shots this morning, but things seem to be working better now.