I know that Eric will not say 100% if is not so they possibly changed the design . . .

Eric is, , at times, wrong. However, then that M14 nut is really just the top part of a thermowell which extends into the boiler. Removing the thermowell may facilitate removal of the probe however, treat that small ~ 0.9 mm copper tube with care.

Frenchman wrote:Seems like worth a try. Use the strap wrench to hold the boiler and a 10" adjustable wrench for the HE nut...
Thanks for the idea. I hope the HF ones don't stink as much as reviewers say they do!

they stink to high heaven lol. maybe squeezing the handles together will do the trick. on mine ive gotten everything apart but a bit clumsily because its hard to hold onto the stupid things.

stefano65 wrote:<image>
all zaffiro I've seen in the past had just the probe pushed in
BUT
I know that Eric will not say 100% if is not so they possibly changed the design
and although is only one nut is holding the probe in place
only one way to know remove it

My Zaffiro is one of the first ones. I bought it from Chris Coffee on 7/1/2004. Maybe that can help determine the type of probe? stefano and erics?

That nut is seriously seized too, and I can't get enough leverage to get it to move. I want a cubic boiler next time, the cylindrical ones are a pain.

I'm going to WD40 around the nut though that probably won't help much if it's seized enough that WD40 can't get to the threads... Can I put WD40 inside the nut hole if it turns out the probe should slide out (after checking from you experts on what should have come in 2004)? I called Will at Home Espresso Repair and he doesn't remember everything he's done to the machine over the year, but I don't recall him ever saying he had to change the thermostat so I am assuming the probe is the original one.

Could that nut have reversed threads? I can make it move minutely in the counter clockwise direction (looking from the top of the boiler) but it stops shortly. I want to make sure the threads are not reversed as I keep pounding on it (well, not literally... I found a proper 13 mm box end wrench rather than the adjustable one I had and it is making a big difference---the box end wrench was slipping and I didn't want to round that nut).

Turn the "nut" in the direction indicated (counter clockwise) to remove.



Please be cautious as regards that small tubing. Stefano was correct as regards the probe - it should simply come out. The type of wrench you should be using is what is called a tube wrench or a flare nut wrench.

Thanks. I'll get such a wrench. It seems that the small movements were just the open end wrench slipping and smearing the edges. I don't want to round that copper nut. That'd be bad. If the probe should just slide out, is there anything I could spray through the nut that would unseize it without risking having bad stuff end in the boiler itself?

Nothing will end up in the boiler. That is what one calls a thermowell that is screwed into the boiler and the bottom of it is closed. You might try spraying a little penetrating oil into the opening.