Got ahold of this machine and decided to see if it could pull a good shot. Having disassembled and added an Auber PID unit, I got to know the internals a bit: quite a large (400ml+?) aluminum boiler, with cold water pumped into a jacket surrounding the main boiler and an external heating element out...

OK, so found some original instructions in Italian for this Microcimbali and pumped them through google translate. Here's what came out: Microcimbali Instructions • Unscrew the cap (1) and introduce the water in the boiler, observing the level in the sight glass of the glass. • A full boiler you can...

Once the green light goes out, does it come back on, then off again, or does it stay off? If it stays off, the pressurestat is defective. It may measure continuity in isolation, but under normal working conditions it might be sticking once pressurized. If the green light comes back on after a pull o...

Hi Andrew, I got mine here: {link} Jim

I've had my microcimbali for a while now and it works quite well. I even PID'd it (check out "PID'ing a Microcimbali (!)"). But it does have it's quirks, so here are some tips I've found to be helpful: 1. Always drain the water after each use. I usually try draining it when there's still pressure so...

Don't know anything about your machine, but I have a microcimbali, so understand these machines a bit. When you pull down the lever, it should raise the piston above the cylinder to let water in. When you pull down the lever when the water's hot, it's normal for the water pressure to fill the cylind...

I've done a little work on PIDing a popcorn popper. First, read "Modding a generic popper on the cheap" to help understand popcorn popper circuitry and its limitations. Once you have separate fan/heating circuits, you just need to connect the heating element circuit to the SSR output and insert the ...

Nice job restoring! I have an original version like yours and sneezing can be an issue. Relieving the pressure by pulling down on the lever a bit while removing the portafilter helps. If it sneezes even after a few minutes of sitting there, the seals may not be doing their job. If you put it in stea...

New meets old... I've been pretty happy with how the microcimbali regulates the temperature, even with the two (1000 and 300 watt) switches and no thermostat. So why PID such a retro machine that seems to already have pretty good temp control? 'Cause it's kinda cool? 'Cause I got the PID unit cheap?...

It has a glass top and it looks pretty well sealed around the edges. It's double walled on the sides, so a piece of insulation could be tucked in there. I'll try that first. Wow! 500-550? I didn't realize the air temp had to be that high. If that's the case, then insulation would be a must.