History - new to me on Dec 26, 06. The grinder that came with it was dated 1995. No date on this. I don't think it was ever used very much. Wanted to check HX and assure it was okay. It was pretty clean as things go!

This is an S/1 manual fill, vibe pump, tank. time-to refil-the-tank light works very well - light comes on but machine keeps working.

I used CLR - CleanCaf didn't seem to do much of anything.

I re-used the 2 big o-rings (I believed the picture and only ordered 1 from CafeParts)(the flat HX gaskets were not needed here) as they were in perfect condition. I used 2 new o-rings for the 3-way solenoid where it mounts to the head.

Infinite credit goes to Owen Egan for blazing the trail! Cimbuini

before


before


before


before


after


after (the tool in the foreground is a sawed off 2.5mm allen wrench used to remove the 3-way solenoid bolts.)


after. As clean as I could get it... Maybe I wasn't patient enough...


after. You ARE admiring that nifty double needle gauge, right? A quick wipe with CLR on the brass and copper brightened it up instantly.

Even though there didn't look to be much scale buildup on this, the HX does noticeably work differently now - that is, when I do my first "big flush", I don't get a several second "nothing" after the steam (no water, no steam) in the middle of that flush - I now get steam which progresses directly to water. So it is definitely behaving better.

I have some Dezcal packets (10 for $11 shipped, ebay) on the way and will descale the boiler itself again. There is not much scale there, but, like the HX, it is VERY stubborn and the CleanCaf seems to have little effect. With this (manual fill) unit it is very easy to descale just the boiler simply by removing the cap/plug on the top, syphoning out the boiler water, adding hot descale solution to the top, letting it sit, and then syphoning it out again and then flushing a time or 2 via the same method. This saves wear and tear on the pump, and since I never use the hot water I don't have to be OCD about rinsing the boiler! I think you can do the same thing on the current models simply by removing the plug that has the fill sensor probe in it.

I still need a good bulk source for strong descale stuff since it will take 5 packets (at 1 packet/16oz) to do this 2.5 liter boiler. ? !

Kristi-

Thanks for the pics.... for the sake of the thread, you may want to just upload the photos here.

My Cimbali boiler has a drain plug, like the one labeled (d) in the pic below. However, it is VERY slow to drain, it has a small orifice in the side of the center piece of the plug. Turn it out and water will flow out slowly through the drain, turn it in and the orifice is blocked.



Simply unscrewing the vacuum breaker, fill, heat, cool, siphon, and flushing (with appropriate cautions) is probably a good idea to speed things up, and defeat the boiler's autofill.

I have only descaled my boiler in situ (and with a citric acid blend) so far. I hope to get things apart for an inspection soon. I have my needed gaskets and things together... I just have a VERY pesky screw holding the front stainless housing on.

Kristi wrote:I still need a good bulk source for strong descale stuff since it will take 5 packets (at 1 packet/16oz) to do this 2.5 liter boiler. ? !

Citric acid powder, or "acid blend" (food grade citric, tartaric and malic acid powder) is ~$5-10 per lb at winemaking and homebrew stores. Mix this at 1 - 1.5 tablespoons per liter of water.

jesawdy wrote:Kristi-

Thanks for the pics.... for the sake of the thread, you may want to just upload the photos here.

done...

My Cimbali boiler has a drain plug, like the one labeled (d) in the pic below. However, it is VERY slow to drain, it has a small orifice in the side of the center piece of the plug. Turn it out and water will flow out slowly through the drain, turn it in and the orifice is blocked.

image: http://www.home-barista.com/junior-buyers-guide_files/boiler-right.jpg

Bummer that it's so slow. I could put a drain in the boiler fill tube, but it's so fast to syphon out of the top.....

Simply unscrewing the vacuum breaker, fill, heat, cool, siphon, and flushing (with appropriate cautions) is probably a good idea to speed things up, and defeat the boiler's autofill.

I have only descaled my boiler in situ (and with a citric acid blend) so far. I hope to get things apart for an inspection soon. I have my needed gaskets and things together... I just have a VERY pesky screw holding the front stainless housing on.

get a bigger hammer...

jesawdy wrote:Citric acid powder, or "acid blend" (food grade citric, tartaric and malic acid powder) is ~$5-10 per lb at winemaking and homebrew stores. Mix this at 1 - 1.5 tablespoons per liter of water.

Thanks!

This is a nice thread!

I am planning to descale my cimbali junior at some point soon. Could any one describe how to disconnect the autofill to let the boiler overfill?

Thanks.