"Holy Moses!" Pleased and happy new Cremina 67 owner...

[TUS172]

Well I will soon be changing my avatar for posts here at Home-Barista. I took a great big gamble and bought a Cremina 67 on EBay. The serial # of the machine was advertised as 671032. The only picture of it was from about 8 feet away of the chrome front so you could not really see any detail and it was missing the tray for the cup, the lever and Portafilter... I thought to myself, "What the heck are you getting yourself into!"

Anyway the person had a good rating on EBay and they were supposedly the original owners. The lady said in the ad, "I only took it out on special occasions." I thought that sounded like the proverbial used car dealer saying, "And a little old lady only drove it to church on Sundays!" She said in the ad that she just must have misplaced those extra parts somewhere... Hmmm. But with that kind of serial # and 100% money back guarantee I took the shot (a very expensive one).

I was out of town on business when I got the call from my son that a box that I had told him of had come this afternoon. I got home at 8:00 PM and didn't know if I dared tackle the "beast" tonite. Well the short story is that I did (of course). Cosmetically there is not a scratch on it and the chrome is perfect. The rubber feet on the bottom of the unit still have the seam in the middle from when they were taken out of the mould. Wow nice so far! I then took out some trusty qtips and wetted them with vinegar and swabbed up and around the inside of the grouphead gasket for the portafilter... nothing but clean. The shower screen shines like chrome. But what about the inside of the boiler? There is absolutely no scaling and the heating element looks like brand new! Hey even better.

So how could I possibly road test this girl with out a portafilter or lever... Well it just so happens that a La Pavoni Europiccola portafilter does fit tightly even though the ears are design to be turned the other way and I have A leva double baskets. The portafilter handle threaded rod for the old Europiccola fits the lever handle of the Cremina... "Alright!" After a couple of rinses I loaded the old girl up and with a wince and a cringe flipped the switch. Hey, no blown breakers, the lights didn't dim in the kitchen and within a few minutes I hear it! Its heating up. To my amazement after fully heating her for over 20 minutes and running a batch of 50/50 vinegar and water through her absolutely no leaks! Then another batch with water... Wow she is a fantastic steamer... I can't believe it...

So I finally decided after she had cooled down to take a look at the outside of the boiler by pulling the bottom panel off below the boiler and shining a flashlight up there to see any signs of leakage or damage to the fittings or electrical hardware... The only thing I found were cobwebs and an asbestos covered boiler of course!

This machine could not have been fired up 30 times...

I will probably turn my own stainless rod for a lever and since I don't have a portafilter I will order one with the plastic or bakelite handles because the ones for the cap and steamer are in untouched condition. I had already ordered a gasket kit expecting the worst and I am sure that I will use it.

Well you get my drift very clearly by now... I am absolutely overjoyed. This time I took the shot and won!

What about the first shot... I haven't even tried yet... this night has been soooo good I couldn't bear to lose it... so tomorrow morning will be the first... Hmmm... will I be able to sleep? Well its 2:00 AM and I got to work tomorrow I had better do a couple of doubles in the morning!

[chopinhauer]

Congratulations! Sounds like you got one of the good old ones; indeed, by the serial number one of the original cremina 67s (made in 67)

Tell me, how do you know the inside of the boiler has no scale and that the heating element looks brand new? It doesn't seem like you got into the boiler from the bottom, so can shining a torch down that small hole in the top of the boiler reveal all this? I ask because I'd like to check out the inside of my boiler and the heating element, to see what sort of condition they are in.

Enjoy the cremina ride. It's a great machine, though whether it as good as all the hype, I'll let you be the judge of that.

[TUS172]

Chaupihauer asked:

Tell me, how do you know the inside of the boiler has no scale and that the heating element looks brand new? It doesn't seem like you got into the boiler from the bottom, so can shining a torch down that small hole in the top of the boiler reveal all this? I ask because I'd like to check out the inside of my boiler and the heating element, to see what sort of condition they are in.

I used a fiberscope or borescope... it is a fiber optic device that has an 18" - 36" lead to the scope and light that easily fit into the hole and I was able to thoroughly inspect the "chamber". I am not absolutely sure but I think these scope go from about $200.00 - $4000.00 I think any industrial supply would have them. If you don't want to buy one you could ask a local gunsmith, they usually have one for bore inspection. I got this one from work and had been planning on its use; it worked like a charm.

I got up so late this morning I did not have time for anything but milk and toast... I hate those mornings.

I look forward to taking my time and judging for myself what this machine is all about. But by the feel of it (the weight, compact size, components and assembly) I like it so far.

[espressme]

Hello Bob,
Congratulations! Welcome to the Cremina lovers' corner of the kitchen!
sincerely
richard / espressme

[GreatDane]

Bob,
Welcome to the Cremina family I bought mine off of Ebay too. Mine was advertised as a low use machine and it was. I am still planning on doing a rebuild with new gaskets this summer. I am totally spoiled. I can't believe what they want for a new one these days.

Les

[TUS172]

Thanks Guys,
Well I had a chance this morning to give it a few whirls. The only thing I don't enjoy is that I am using a La Pavoni portafilter that fits very tight and an additional handle from another La Pavoni portafilter for the lever... Not the best of situations for trying out a machine. The handle is so short I have a hard time judging the pull. But whatever I got a really pretty decent pull on the third try. I really like the stability of the machine and the tight but fluid tolerances of the piston shaft and piston...Wow! I can't wait until I get this thing put together the right way...
Bob C