This extraordinary coffee machine just sold on e-bay. It is 4 feet tall and weighs 150 lbs.




On Reneka's site a brief description of the company's history is given. http://www.reneka.com/expresso-brand.phtml

This thing was introduced in 1932. Steam produced the pressure, and the two big pots on the bottom swiveled inwards on hinges, to be filled alternately (I assume) from the big (filter?) basket, which locks in under the pressure group.

In this picture from Renka's downloadable pdf, you can see two in the middle of the slick early-modern showroom.



I thought of buying it for an ornament, but chickened out.

regards,

Stephen Duff

Not a percolator; a steam toy.

I wasn't going to say anything but we all know that I coulden' stop myself if I tried( I didn't )
But do you think that the designer was trying to compensate for something !

I mean this brings new meaning to the term Go Big or Go Home !

Not the newest thing in portability is it ,it would take at least 2 men and a boy just to shift it ,I guess everyone is going to your house for coffee, just you a 200 of your closest caffeine junkies


TCF

It's my new steam toy now! Will attempt a rebuild. It seemed a shame to have someone buy it as a wall ornament. Should be an interesting winter project. Will try to keep as original as possible, rebuild switches etc. if need be. Anyone ever see one in action? Ed.....PS All will be invited for coffee when finished!

Good for you Ed.

It might be worth contacting Reneka to see if they have a technical drawing, users manual and other information. When I was looking at this before the auction ended, I wondered if a hose or gauge is missing on the top right of the central gizmo. I tried to zoom in on the photo of the shop but it is too pixilated to see.

When you have received it, could you take some photos of the inside of the main pressure cooker? I was trying to figure out how this worked: on Reneka's website they refer to it as a percolator, and it made me wonder what goes on inside there, whether in fact the coffee percolates somehow.

Good luck. Look forward to hearing how the restoration goes and if you can get it working again.

Reneka also made this beauty:



sd

Yes, have sent email to Reneka. Have a friend who speaks french if needed too. Will pickup midweek. Will put blow by blow posts on my blog site listed below. "Anything handmade can be handrebuilt." No digimess in this one. Ed

farmroast wrote:It's my new steam toy now! Will attempt a rebuild. It seemed a shame to have someone buy it as a wall ornament. Should be an interesting winter project. Will try to keep as original as possible, rebuild switches etc. if need be. Anyone ever see one in action? Ed.....PS All will be invited for coffee when finished!

Congrats.

Actually, it might not be a steam toy, but a line pressure toy (?)

A lot of the wall mounted machines used an instant hot for feed water (in my Grandparent's place kitchen, a wall mounted WMF was fed by a gas fired instant hot). I think the mains pressure was used to provide the brew pressure; although, being five at the time, I wasn't too clued in.

hello
reneka was orfevre at the beginning of the siecle (as WMF) in north east of France has Strasbourg. the tradition in this part of France is the espresso coffee with a density superior with the filter coffee and a light cream for the percolatore term in Latin wants to say filtration and the invention goes up with the 16° century after the Turkish coffee which was mixed to him has hot water the first models of these reneka mural goes up has 1935 and was manufactured for restaurants. the group is out of balance full of water it is in bottom has the end of the drainage duct in the door filters it goes up and cuts at the same time heating with a bulb has mercury which is in the case in top notice the small metal stem behind the group
good continuation

channo wrote:hello
reneka was orfevre at the beginning of the siecle (as WMF) in north east of France has Strasbourg. the tradition in this part of France is the espresso coffee with a density superior with the filter coffee and a light cream for the percolatore term in Latin wants to say filtration and the invention goes up with the 16° century after the Turkish coffee which was mixed to him has hot water the first models of these reneka mural goes up has 1935 and was manufactured for restaurants. the group is out of balance full of water it is in bottom has the end of the drainage duct in the door filters it goes up and cuts at the same time heating with a bulb has mercury which is in the case in top notice the small metal stem behind the group
good continuation

channo Wow! A reneka mural on your wall! I will have some questions soon. Would it be ok if I PM some to you? Or if others are interested on this site I could ask them on this thread. Would it be easier for you to respond in french? Has anyone on the site had any experience with web, translation tools? I have used this a couple times http://babelfish.altavista.com/ channo, thanks for your reply! Ed

In a moment of ridiculous humor, (I have many of those moments), I posted this photo during a review of cart designs.........although now, after seeing your photo of why Europe may have suffered an untimely metal shortage during the WWII years, I figure I may actually have posted a photo of someone's mid century espresso cart!?

Now you've got me wondering what happened to all those coffee makers in all the chow halls during the Viet Nam conflict? I never gave it any thought......but now believe that each coffee brewer and serving unit probably had enough stainless steel to build 3 DeLoreans!
Best, Al in SoCal