Well if anyone has seen my previous posts you know I took off the OPV and soaked it in citric acid. It didn't even look bad but since I had it off I figured I might as well soak it. I put it all back together and not only is it leaking where it connects to the elbow, it goes upwards of 12-14 bar with a blind basket. I did mark it so I knew exactly where to set it back to so don't know what happened there.

I tightened the housing to the elbow little by little as I didn't want to over tighten it but it seems it's bottomed out now and still leaking. I noticed no type of teflon tape or anything so I didn't put anything on the threads.

Would appreciate any insight

Oh yeah, FWIW I did NOT replace any seals. The o-ring looked fine (no leak there) as did the seat, although the seat did have the spring impression in it. I currently have an order pending with Chris and told them to add the seat to the order so I can replace it.

This is the first time I've done any type of tinkering (besides adjusting OPV) but you may have all guessed that already!

Thanks,
Ron

The little rubber piece could properly be called the valve face. The impression in that face is caused by the valve seat which is a machined surface internal to the large brass body.



Remove the OPV, clean the male threads (where the leak is occuring) with a toothbrush under running water and dry thoroughly. Apply two wraps of teflon tape to those male threads, keeping the top two threads bare. Reinstall and you should be good to go. Adjust the OPV with hardware store tubing attached to the OPV and the normal OPV connection to the tee plugged. This part makes adjustment easier.

All this turning of the adjusting screw is why I recommended in your previous post to get the lubricant, new o-ring, and valve insert from Chris' Coffee. Of course, I also neglected to talk about thread sealant there also

How do I remove noisy OPV from Quickmill Anita? wrote:Order a replacement valve (the small rubber & brass), an additional spare rubber insert, o-ring, & food grade lubricant from Chris' Coffee. Always apply a counter-hold to the valve connections - that little 1/8" tee CAN BE fragile.

The squeal can result from scale buildup and/or a dramatic change in shape of the rubber valve face from contact with the seat. These valves have very little movement (~0.10") and water spray patterns initiate vibrations.

erics, thanks!

Just got home, been gone all day.

I've always said that I'm mechanically inclined. I just found out that doesn't cover all types of equipment out there. If something is wrong with your auto, I can fix it. If something is wrong with your espresso machine....well...

I'll simply state that I put the OPV together WRONG. I reversed that little seat piece. Which now that I see the picture makes total sense. When I was putting the spring back in(after I put the seat in backwards)I sat there wondering thinking it's weird that the spring just 'sits' against the seat with nothing to keep it aligned. DoH!

I'll have to wait until tommorrow to fix my blunder but as long as I didn't mess anything up I should be good to go.

Can't thank you enough eric. I did by the way order that sealant with my first order with CC. I added the seat as they haven't shipped my order yet. I can get an o-ring at the local hardware.

Again, many thanks eric. I will post back after everything is running smoooooooooth.

Ron

Good running espresso machines benefit the entire community.

Everything is running smoooooooth! No more squealing from the OPV and no more leaking.

Thanks Eric,
Ron