Elektra T1 - #771 built in 2000 is now mine - Page 6

[mhoy]

Oh cr*p, some problems are occurring. When the system finally starts to steam, the vacuum breaker seems to spit a bit and takes what I think is a while to actually close. (I didn't time it).

The real issue though is once this occurs the system attempts to build up some steam and you kind a hear a leaking noise.

The steam wand (which is new) and the water wand which I re-built both leak under pressure....<ARGHHH>. It's now too dark out to continue. I've unplugged it....while I await advice I'll have a cold beer.

=-=-
Mark

[shadowfax]

The lag for the vacuum breaker may have to do with the fact that it's a 6L boiler heating up without all the elements connected. Mine pops up reasonably fast, but I don't know that I would worry if it took a little more time. My pressure cooker's stupid vacuum breaker really takes awhile to pop up, especially compared to Vetrano.

That really stinks about your wands! The machine looks really fantastic, though.

[mhoy]

Yippppeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The steam wand and water wand work. As I was unscrewing the steam wand out of the chassis, I looked at the threads and I had tightned the nuts on the wand. But the wand is a delicate adjustable system and you only need to slightly engage the end caps, then you use the nut to lock it in place.





Now it's a warmer day today than last night and the vacuum valve seems to adjust much quicker than when it's cool out, makes total sense. Lets put on some of the panels to get a look at some of the polishing (there still is some more polishing to do, but I wanted to see what this looked like).




Now l let it build up some pressure and adjusted the p-stat to 1.1, took way more turns than I expected. Luckily I could dump the pressure easily with the wand while I dialed it in.

Remember this is running on 2/3 power.



Happy, happy, joy, joy....
=-=-
Mark

[shadowfax]

As long as the boiler is up to full pressure, running on 2/3 power will not likely effect your "instantaneous" steaming power. 2/3 power just means it will be slower to recover once the pressure drops below threshold, which I would expect is at least several seconds.

Looks amazing! It's really great what some work does for a machine. It's almost better than buying it new, isn't it? I mean, you have a lot more ownership of a machine you've "restored." I think you will have a stronger attachment to the machine when you finish.

[mhoy]

I just steamed some milk with it for the first time. Oh my lord can this thing steam milk. Learning curve is coming up again, but wow. I can't get over how fast this thing goes.
=-=-
Mark

[cannonfodder]

Yup, it is a rocket steamer. With the reduced power your recovery will be slower and extended steaming will result in a drop of boiler pressure. At full power, I have never gone below a half bar of pressure even when steaming a gallon of water to flash boil.

[cannonfodder]

Now to adjust the pressure stat. What are you guys running your systems at???

Oh, and what do the two red lights on the right and left of the group head indicate?
=-=-
Mark

Brew pump is active (right) and auto fill is running (left) if I remember correctly. I am not at home and I don't pay any attention to the lights any longer.

Boiler pressure, 1 bar at top of cycle, brew pressure, it is just over 9 bar on the gauge, around 128psi at the brew group on the Scace if I remember correctly. I will have to check it again when I get home from travel.

[mhoy]

Thanks Dave, all is well with my system wiring. I didn't take notes of which lights came on before I took it apart. Luckily the wiring harnesses are neatly trimmed to length so I was pretty sure I got them right.

Another question for my fellow Elektra owners. Does the pump touch any of the frame other than the mounting brackets on your machine? On mine, one side of the pump slightly touches the metal frame that holds up the Pstat, solenoid, etc.

Ideally I'd like to get a 1/16" clearance or so.

1. Perhaps I could shim the motor mount to slightly offset the motor to one side.
2. I may have to bend the frame as the mount is a bent tab of metal that looks hard to adjust.

Other ideas welcome.

Mark

[cannonfodder]

I just had my machine apart yesterday, my pump had seized. I had to take it off to get it to break free. As I recall, the pump did not touch any other lines. It is rubber mounted at the front and back and held down with U straps. If you have a line touching the pump it would probably vibrate and make noise and possibly wear through the copper line over time. I would shuffle the pump and line around to get it to clear.

[mhoy]

None of the lines are touching the pump and all the electrical is neatly zip tied out of the way. The frame itself is touching. Here is a terrible picture (late at night with a flash with the camera in macro....).



You can't really tell it's touching from the picture, but it is. The post closest to the camera (about the middle of the picture) just brushes the motor. The post on the left side clears the motor by 1/16" or so.

Mark

[shadowfax]

Is the pump motor mounted on the side (the one opposite the part in the photo) or bottom? Seems like you would want to shift the pump to get it out of the way, or, heck, if it's a permanent installation (and at that weight, it has to be!), personally I would outboard it. You would just have to get longer, properly rated tubing and wires, and then you would have a nearly totally silent espresso machine. This is pretty common for machines. I believe that most La Marzoccos (other than the GS3, for example) have external pumps for a quieter installation in-house.

Barring that, I think you are right that you need to move it so it doesn't touch. Is there no more play in the mounts? My rotary pump is significantly smaller than yours, and it's very well-isolated, sitting on 1/2" thick rubber mounts to attach it to the frame. The way it vibrates the frame (albeit quietly) even on those mountings, I can imagine that a larger pump rattling against the frame will make a good bit of noise. But you've had it on already, right? What does it sound like?

[mhoy]

It was a bit noisy, but it was on a wire frame picnic table, so who really knows. Quieter than my Anita while pulling a shot though. (Yeah, I have to work on the OPV on the Anita). I'll see what I can do about adjusting the mounts, but they are large rubber bearings inside a metal ring so I'm not exactly sure how much they will move around.

I'll cycle power a couple more time to ensure all the coupling have seated. I'll be double checking I have no leaks, then I think I'll insulate the boiler with the melamine foam blanket. Seems cost effective, no particles, and a good insulator.

Unfortunately, I'm a ways from getting a nice place inside for my Elektra. A kitchen remodel needs to occur first and working on Elektra is way more fun.

Mark

[shadowfax]

Unfortunately, I'm a ways from getting a nice place inside for my Elektra. A kitchen remodel needs to occur first and working on Elektra is way more fun.

I never thought I would say this, but, as fun as restoring an Elektra must be, not getting killed by your wife has it beat.

[SylvainMtl]

Quick question,
your machine doesn't have a safety pstat near the heating element end of the boiler like the machine restored by stefano (http://www.espressocare.com/Rebuild.html). Has the pstat been simply removed from the design or you have it located somewhere else?

I'm asking because I just did a similar thing as you did this morning. I just bought an A3 from an internet Ad (I'll start a thread on mine soon I think). The machine I bought is dated 1997 and has the pstat but it is disconnected.

Oh.. and congratulations on the restoration nice work!

[mhoy]

The p-stat (which everyone recommended I replace is nicely shown on page 1 by Dave as "I- Boiler pressure release valve". The connection near the boiler goes to the fill solenoid. Take plenty of pictures, I have more if there is a particular item you need a larger/better look at.

BE very careful with your copper washers, you may end up needing to re-use them. I have a web site that has a link to the size you'll need, but shipping was way more than the washer and since mine is working, I'm not touching it.

The teflon gasket has also worked out well.

The one item that seems to be on the newer parts diagrams is a over temperature safety of some kind.
Page 4, Item 5, Element safety switch - monophase #02789035

Polishing stainless steel is a thankless job. I envy Dave Stephens, the polish on the straight razors is amazing (and the items themselves)....

Mark

[cannonfodder]

You could always use my secret weapon. A high speed car buffer, a dozen buffer bonnets, some heavy cutting compound, white rouge and metal polish like MAAS or Flitz. Use the car buffer as a giant buffing wheel, just keep it moving or your will overheat the steel and burn it. I did that on my Faema two group rebuild.

[SylvainMtl]

The p-stat (which everyone recommended I replace is nicely shown on page 1 by Dave as "I- Boiler pressure release valve". The connection near the boiler goes to the fill solenoid. Take plenty of pictures, I have more if there is a particular item you need a larger/better look at.

My mistake I mean t-stat, not p-stat. Mine's been disconnected , here's a picture

[mhoy]

Sylvain: I didn't have such a connection in my machine, here is a picture from when I was disassembling it. Your comment probably explains why I have a big red wire nut just before the heater....



Mark

[SylvainMtl]

Sylvain: I didn't have such a connection in my machine, here is a picture from when I was disassembling it. Your comment probably explains why I have a big red wire nut just before the heater....
Mark

Yes it does!
it can't be that expensive to replace.

[mhoy]

... A high speed car buffer, a dozen buffer bonnets, some heavy cutting compound, white rouge and metal polish like MAAS or Flitz.

Dave: How high of speed is your car buffer? I've been stalling out the bench grinder so I figured a hand held unit wouldn't work as well.

Sylvain: I checked out the PDF of the new units some more, they done seem to have a t-stat any more, they now use the Element safety switch that I refered to a couple of posts ago.

I'd like to install some kind of temperature safety switch, now the question is which one is "better". Stefano's has the Elektra SKU: 02789035 which may be the same as the T1/A3 models.

Elektra owners: Could you quickly check if you have a t-stat or a element switch (and tell us the year of your Elektra).
=-=-
Mark