Elektra T1 - #771 built in 2000 is now mine - Page 2

[cannonfodder]

Shower screens are inexpensive, I would just replace it. Assuming you are referring to the screen and not the brass dispersing block. I would do the steam and water tap seals as well. They just unscrew.

[mhoy]

I've no dedicated space in which to work on it, so I do a tiny bit each night and then put it back together. The shower screen is mostly clean at this point, I used a couple of toothpicks to pick out the tar and kept cleaning it. I'll probably just replace it anyway, but I want to see how clean I could get it. The brass dispersion block (that the shower screen attaches to, the middle item of the filthy group head picture) has a dozen holes (or so) has a couple of them blocked solid. All the seals I can easily get to will be replaced, I'll make a master lists at some point and just order them all at the same time.

I'm also missing some kind of small key that is on the lower left hand corner of the machine. I presume this is used for locking in a program to the dispenser buttons.

Mark

[cannonfodder]

Not sure about the key, but is probably a lock to keep employees from changing the keypad programming. I have the A3, the semi-auto version, lift lever and lower lever. The dispersion block will need the holes cleaned out. That is the Achilles Heel of the machine. It works wonderfully but when it gets dirty it starts to squirt water with some force. It will drill into the puck. I use a sewing needle to clean out the holes in my machine along with a long soak in JoeGlo to clean it up. It will need removed and cleaned every couple of months.

[stefano65]

The key is needed to access the programming
I have a lot of them in stock
how ever few years ago Elektra started to have keys with different codes so to be sure you get the right one
I wouldn't mind checking with Italy for you if you provide me with the serial number of your unit
espressocare@msn.com

[mhoy]

Stefano: Thanks for the offer, it would be nice getting the right key. My serial #771 was built in 2000. (Could you ask them if the Elektra stencil for the front stainless plate is available too?) I will indeed be ordering a bunch of stuff from you in the near future. I'm still trying to decide how much of a rebuild I want to get myself into... all the stuff so far is dead simple. Getting the 3 way out looks a bit harder, interestingly enough the older model doesn't have a shiny stainless steel cover over the 3 way (or if it did, it's long gone missing). It's unlikely that I'll dismantling the boiler to polish everything, the frame shows no signs of rust anywhere.



Before I go too nuts on the rebuilt, I need to plan out my kitchen remodel so that my wife doesn't shoot me. Since I don't have a water source (or power for that matter) to the machine, I won't be doing a descaling yet since I'd want to flush a ton of water when I'm done. I guess if I removed the power to the boiler I could pretty much power it up from any plug. I'm an Electrical Engineer turned to the Software side of things so at least I shouldn't electrocute myself.

Mark

[stefano65]

I will check with them tomorrow
please send me an email so i will have in the folder
by the way if I may suggest you should take the time now that the machine is "just sitting" to do a complete work
the last think you want is a machine in those condition sitting in your kitchen
with A WATER LINE and ELECTRICITY on all the time
here are some pics of a machine similar to yours ( manual versus electronic)
http://www.espressocare.com/Rebuild.html

[mhoy]

Stephano: You have a point, I have a working machine (my Anita) so I'm not in a huge hurry to get the Elektra running. Taking the time to do it right would be the correct thing to do. My machine is in some ways better than the one you show in your rebuild (no water leaks). I must say though, the pictures of the results of your rebuild is beautiful.

I've got two kids and a wife, so I can't spend all my money on rebuilding the Elektra.

Mark

[cannonfodder]

The information tag was moved to under the drip tray atop the level box cover in later models.


You would be surprised how happy kids are eating just macaroni and cheese or hotdogs for a few weeks. Food is overrated, drink good coffee.

[mhoy]

You can tell that at least the restaurant cleaned the outside on the Elektra given how faded the lettering is on my information plate. Moving the information tag to under the drip tray gives for a nicer cleaner overall look. If I drilled out the rivets, I could also move the information plate, then I could put either 4 stainless rivets in, or 4 small stainless bolts. I would also make polishing the front stainless steel a whole lot easier as it would be a simple sheet and I wouldn't have to worry about rubbing off even more of the faded lettering.

Mark

[mhoy]

Stefano: Thanks for getting back to me yesterday which key to purchase.
OK, I'm going to dismantle everything that could scale up and clean it properly.

Before I plunge into this, does the Elektra need a positive pressure on the water, or can it draw from a tank. I'm thinking it might be good to see what else works/doesn't work before I pull it apart?

Anyone have a list of all the gaskets, seals, rubber parts I might need to order? I might as well order some parts now (since there is the HB Birthday sale for Elektra parts at Espresso Care).

The vacuum breaker also seems to have a hardened piece of rubber in it that likely should be replaced. As does the boiler pressure release valve.

Other things that need replacement:
chrome feet (or the new black plastic ones?)

[cannonfodder]

Rotary pumps will feed from a static tank and the boiler fills under pump pressure not static line pressure so you should be able to stick a hose in a jug of water and power it up. Your brew pressure will be off. Rotary pumps are input pressure sensitive. But if you are just filling the boiler and heating it to look for leaks, it should not matter. You can even run some backflushes through it to. Don't forget a bucket for the drain, or you will have a wet floor.

[mhoy]

Placed my Elektra outside on a picnic table, put a plastic tube into a water reservoir full of softened water.
Plugged it into an extension cord that led into the kitchen's GFI plug.
Put a container under the drip area.
Turned it on.


Click, argh, no pump sound....., a couple of seconds pass, a bliss full quiet pump kicks in!!

HAPPY, HAPPY, JOY, JOY.

Tried out the buttons and voila, water, came out the group head. (I've cleaned it since the last picture). Each of the buttons will need to be reprogrammed as they all default to 5 seconds.



How about hot water? Well, the vacuum breaker wasn't seating by itself so I lifted it up and it stayed in place. Waited a bit and the tank pressure gauge went up and I drew out a some warm water.

Steam, didn't want to let it get up to full temperature, I have to put this back inside in a bit. Yeah, a tiny bit of air came out the steam tip.

Everything appears functional (if a bit scaled).

Mark

[cannonfodder]

You are well on your way to espresso nirvana my friend.

[mhoy]

Just looked inside my Sirai pressure stat. One of the contacts was removed at some point in the past, the other two terminals seem to be OK but there is a fair bit of arching on the contacts. How does one clean up the points? Or do they just do what they do until they get replaced?

Hmmm, Coffee-Geeks has one up for sale lets see if it's the right one.

Thanks,
Mark

Edit: Corrected spelling on Sirai.

[shadowfax]

I haven't looked at a Sirai stat since I sold my La Valentina 2 years ago. I should have put one on Vetrano, but there was a miscommunication when I ordered over the phone.

Anyway, I think that you can pull the contacts away from each other while the machine is off, and just sand them a bit, if they are dirty. I did this on mine after about a year--only one of the contacts was dirty. I just cut a narrow strip of coarse sand paper and scraped off the buildup. It was like cleaning off an electric car track.

Is dirty what you mean when you say arched? Arched, as in, a carbon bridge? If that's the case I am sure you can just clean them off. Unless you are having issues with your stat, I wouldn't buy a replacement. I would think it should have ample life in it after a cleaning.

[mhoy]

Yeah, it seems to be a carbon build up from when the heater gets switched in. I guess 15 amps for a mechanical relay causes some arching. I just kind of wondering why the other terminal (not shown) was smoked and removed. Perhaps one of the heating elements shorted out or something. In any case, someone fixed it so I guess they had some maintenance of the machine in the past. I wonder why they didn't use a zero crossing SCR like in my Anita? I guess if it works, don't mess with the design.

[cannonfodder]

I THINK my pressurestat just has the two terminals as well but it has been a while since I took the cover off. Those points look a little worn but still serviceable. Get yourself some 1000 grit sandpaper and give them a light rub to make them nice and shiny. If you happen to have an automotive distributor points file around, you can use it as well.

[mhoy]

I've got a couple of ideas that I thought I'd throw out. As long am I'm taking the machine apart to clean it up, why not do a couple of simple changes along the way.

1. Insulate boiler
So I've read the Buyers Guide To the Elektra (that's why I now have one).
It suggests insulating the boiler which I think is a great idea.
See http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/...chines/78392#78392

2. Change pressure stat to one will a smaller dead band.
Why not drive a nice zero crossing SCR mounted low in the chassis from a Mater pstat (smallest dead band)?
This came about after reading Paul Pratt's review of the three main p-stats.
http://www.espresso-restorations.com/p-stats.html

3. Use an SCR to drive the boiler.
Well, a zero crossing SCR is used in my QM Anita and it does a fine job. Get one rated at say 50A and I'm set.
http://www.digikey.com/scripts/Dk...l?name=646-1011-ND

While I'm at it, I have another question for all you Elektra owners that have insulated their machines:

4. What would you think of running at 2/3 of the boiler power?

I don't plan on every hosting a party where I pump out 30 drinks in a row, heck 4 is the most I've ever done.

The reason I'm asking is that the boiler appears to have 3 heating elements running in parallel. If I insulated the boiler I may not need 2000 watts of heat, 1330 (or so) is probably plenty and now the machine can be run at 15A instead of need a dedicated 20A circuit.

5. Additional changes, put a steam/drip catcher on the vacuum breaker just in case it gets stuck open.

6. Soft mount the pump.
Erics in suggests that a soft mount for the pump instead of hard copper connector will help deaden the transfer of sound.
rotary-pump-hx-espresso-machines-their-sounds-t6869.html


Mark

[mhoy]

I've order spare parts, gaskets and a key to my system (all from Stefano with the HB birthday discount). Hopefully I got it all right.

I also purchased a new Sirai from on Ebay since no one commented on the suggestion to change to one with a tighter dead band.

I plan on taking plenty of pictures along the way so that I have a photograph of how to get it all back together again. I'll wait for these to come in before I take things apart. I'd like to keep the disassembly-reassembly close together so I don't forget too much in between. I'd hate to end up with extra parts or have to send it out to be put back together for me.

Any other suggestions/ideas?

Mark

[shadowfax]

I would comment on the Sirai thing by saying it's probably not worthwhile to switch to a tighter deadband. I would think that it would just increase the number of times per day that the boiler cycles, shortening the life of the heating element (I am thinking of how long light bulbs last when your kid spends a few hours turning them on and off...), and all that for what? Elektra has that huge boiler. I think she will be plenty temperature stable with the stock Sirai stat.