Hey Gang,
I am going to try to up-load a photo, albeit not a good one, of a machine that I am picking up by the end of the month. Do any of you recognize the production year? Do any of you have one and have experience with service? The current owner was told by the original owner, that the Roto-flow pump needs to be changed. There are other issues I am sure, but this is assumed to be first issue.

Thanks a million
Feel free to cc any replies to hcohen@justneon.com

Howie

Surely there must be a name plate affixed to this machine somewhere that has the model number, serial number and other essential information stamped or printed on it. Perhaps the current owner could take a good photo of this tag. That might help provide you with accurate information.

The current owner is not that cooperative with this info that I request. He essentially said he "gave it to me already". Its not a problem, I just wanted to get little ahead of the curve on the repair.
Thanks

Ouch. A response like that would send my antennae up some, but have to assume you know who you are dealing with.

The current Classe 10 units seem to have a lot in common with the unit you are looking at, with only a few external differences. Many of these lines evolve slowly, and it not unreasonable that they share many, if not most features and components. I'd get my hands on a manual / repair guide if these are available for the current Classe 10 model closest to yours, and some older ones if they have them. Have you tried contacting Rancilio directly? They might be helpful. What would really help, and you are stuck here, are the model and serial numbers, because I'm sure Rancilio would be able to tell you exactly when it was made.

The fact that the "Roto-flo pump needs to be changed" might translate to "the machine, as is, doesn't work, and therefore cannot be tested."

I'd check with Rancilio (web and email) to see what you can get via that route. Good luck, in any case.

Yes, the antenna are up. I am not paying a whole lot for the machine so its worth the chance to repair a machine of this type. I also have been offered a very large (and heavy) La Cimbali M29. What can you tell me about these machines? If you has a choice, which one would be more desirable? The La Cimbali is dead in the water too as the Rancilio. Anyhow, trying to get my feet wet in the repair of these beasts. I have a feeling that I may be talking about a boat anchor instead of a espresso machine.

I say start somewhere- so start by plugging it in to see if it will even heat up, and if it does then see what the pump does. Make sure obviously that there's water in there. Rancilios are great machines, we miss our big Z11. Your machine can't be too old-maybe 10 yrs or less.
The other suggestion I have is to find a decent repair person through a local coffeehouse and ask if he/she can help you diagnose any issues. As long as the electronics are still good, fixing any mechanical gremlins can't be too difficult or costly. A teardown is always a good thing for these machines when they leave commercial use because, well...not too many coffeehouses take great care of their equipment.
Keep posting questions along the way if you need to. There's lots of knowledge in here.

Have fun
Tom

Thanks for the tip. So let me throw this one out there... What are dead machines actually worth?
I know worth is how much someone is willing to pay but... What would be reasonable for non-working machines?
Have I asked a question with no answer? Perhaps.. I know parts can be costly minus my time digging into the machine. So where can I find good diagnosis books on machines? Is there such a thing available? Is it a figure it out
as you go deal?

H

You've got some really useful suggestions and insights already.

If you go to the Rancilio site, as suggested, and go to the download page for commercial espresso machines, you will find lots of information that could be of use to you. Some stuff for machines built between 2002 to current, and even more stuff for machines from 2007 to current. Get it all. Compare parts numbers for the older machines to the newer machines - many parts for older machines are the same or compatible with the new ones. You'll need complete schematics for the machines, including the hydraulic and electric circuits.

See: http://www.rancilio.it/rancilio/downloa ... language=3

Basically, it will be a 'do it yourself' project. And, as you said, it will be 'a figure it out as you go' project. You won't know 'till you get there. If you are good at tinkering with mechanical things, have done some plumbing, and are familiar with tracing basic electrical/electronic circuits, you should have fun.

Many quality restorations of espresso machines are documented on this site - you would learn a lot by taking a few days or weeks reading through them from start to finish. That will answer a lot of your questions. Many have already gone down the path you may be taking, and documented their progress, often over many months, so others could benefit from their experiences.

Good luck.

Marty

Howieneon wrote:Thanks for the tip. So let me throw this one out there... What are dead machines actually worth?
I know worth is how much someone is willing to pay but... What would be reasonable for non-working machines?
Have I asked a question with no answer? Perhaps.. I know parts can be costly minus my time digging into the machine.

Howie:

I think there is a reasonable answer. What's one of these machines worth, used and completely working? Most commercial machines like this aren't worth nearly what they cost new, unless you're dealing with something high end and current or very collectible, (i.e., La Marzocco Linea, Faema Lambro).

Look at the machine being offered and comparable ones. What will it cost you in terms of low purchase price, parts, restoration services (plating, powder coating), parts shipment, tools and supplies (citric acid and such) to bring it back to life? Do you want to include your time in that calculation or are you thinking of buying it as a learning project no matter what time it takes? Having a repair person diagnose what it takes will help here.

You can also learn a lot by reading other restoration projects here and elsewhere on the Internet. For instance if you have stuck bolts, my project unfortunately caused me to "write the book" on that with lots of help from my friends. It starts so innocently with trying to remove the first stuck bolt...