Puzzled by 54mm Olympia Maximatic basket

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BuckleyT
Posts: 201
Joined: 10 years ago

#1: Post by BuckleyT »

An used 2011 Oly Maximatic came my way a little while ago and I am just now getting around to learning its ropes. This basket looks like a doubles basket:


BUT 12 gm. fills it flush and even to the rim before tamping, and after tamping the 12 gm. dose will not allow the PF to engage and the dose impacts upon the screen:

Nine point five gm. allows the PF to lock but even this dose, after swelling, contacts the screen:

The shower looks a little low in the group but the securing screw is tight:


The only conclusion that I can reach is that I have a single basket only, but I am left with the question, is there room for a double in the PF?
I also have a bottomless PF, so there would be room for a deeper basket, but not in the spouted PF.
:?: BT

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drgary
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#2: Post by drgary »

That looks like a double basket, but the shower screen looks suspiciously low when compared to the alignment of the slot where the portafilter locks in.
Gary
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boar_d_laze
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#3: Post by boar_d_laze replying to drgary »

20 years since I had my Livietta, but (IIRC) +1.

Rich
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SJM
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#4: Post by SJM »

Excuse the crap quality of the picture, but here is what that area looks like on my Maximatic.

SJM
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#5: Post by SJM »

A slightly better crap picture

SJM
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#6: Post by SJM »

Come to think of it mine is 49 mm, not 54.

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drgary
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#7: Post by drgary »

Still, a shower screen should not extend below the race where the portafilter locks in. A few turns of a phillips screwdriver may solve this issue.
Gary
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BuckleyT (original poster)
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#8: Post by BuckleyT (original poster) »

The shower screw will not advance and take the screen higher. It is time to go the other way: to loosen it and see what is going on above the screen. The mystery lies in what I did not tell: when I first got the machine, I pulled several (good) 14 gm. shots from it before I packed it up and moved across the country. Today I am wondering if I used a different, bigger basket, but I am left with the impression that this is the biggest basket the stock PF can take. I lost track of my accessories because the moving company lost the carton with the La Pavoni in it and I cant discount the possibility that some spare baskets were riding with it. But, again, this basket should take 14 gm. and the shower head does look low. Again I say, time to look above.

Thank you for confirming that this is the doubles basket.
B

BuckleyT (original poster)
Posts: 201
Joined: 10 years ago

#9: Post by BuckleyT (original poster) »

Consistent with the build of this machine, it is no surprise that the showerhead unit is a heavy block of brass firmly mated against the grouphead with no slop to allow higher placement.
I guess it is time to call Cerini.
B



cnworld
Posts: 63
Joined: 9 years ago

#10: Post by cnworld »

I have a 2014 Maximatic and it's the same as yours with the basket requiring a lot of head room to fit into the group. I can fit 14g in the double basket, but not much more. It just seems to be the way the new group head is designed. OE used to sell a 54mm triple basket that worked with a bottomless portafilter on the Maximatic. It's possible to put almost 18g in it. I'm not sure if you can still get it though.

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