Help with a Conti Comocafe portafilter

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MichaelinMontreal
Posts: 25
Joined: 14 years ago

#1: Post by MichaelinMontreal »

I recently acquired (thanks, Paul the Roaster!) a mark 2 Conti Comocafe (the second model with the elevated lever, rather than the first model with the lever attached to the base). Paul had done a beautiful job rebuilding it, and I have been playing around with temp and dosing and tamp, and although not quite there, I have gotten some decent shots, especially from SO lighter, 3rd wave roasts.

Paul got it without a grate or portafilter, and he knocked together a workable portafilter from (as he puts it) a steam toy. I spent a morning with my neighbour, Bob the master plumber, in his metal workshop and made a workable (if inelegant) grate, and finished cutting off the bottom of the steam-toy portafilter (it truly is a frankenfilter!). Alas, it is so deep that you really cannot see the flow -- I may have to try to work out something with a small mirror.

REQUEST: If anyone has a proper Conti Comocafe portafilter, who could photograph and measure it (especially the outside diameter, width and length of the teeth, distance from top of tooth to lip of portafilter), I would greatly appreciate it. I am trying to see if I can knock one together. It is larger in (outside and inside) diameter than a pavoni or an olympia portafilter -- it appears to be about the size of Presso portafilter, but it has three 'teeth' rather than two.

(If anyone has a proper Conti Comocafe portafilter lying around feeling unused and unloved, get in touch with me! I promise to give it a good home.)

Also: A big thanks to H-Ber Zeb for sending me a e-copy of the Comocafe instruction manual! If anyone wants a copy of it - it is in the original French, I can provide an English translation as well - let me know. Merci mille fois!

Thanks!

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Whale
Posts: 762
Joined: 15 years ago

#2: Post by Whale »

Hey Michael.
I have a Comocafe and I am willing to help you.
You can PM me the dimensions that you need and I will measure it.
LMWDP #330

Be thankful for the small mercies in life.

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zeb
Posts: 311
Joined: 13 years ago

#3: Post by zeb »

Hi all
Michael, just saw it today because you gave me the idea, this is a picture with both, Cimbali Microcimbali and Comocafe second model portafilters. As you can see they are quite similar, Cimbali is 59,5 OD and Comocafe 60. As Cimbali is brass you could "easily" weld some parts of brass to make adapted teeth. I believe Cimbali can provide new portafilter no ? Or Doug ?

BTW this is what I'd try to do ;)

This model your machine ?








The two portafilters, up conti and down cimbali.