What is an Eunico lever?

[mhoy]

Found this on Ebay, lost the bid (perhaps a good thing) on item 330241682633 a "VINTAGE EUNICO BRASS COPPER ITALIAN ESPRESSO MACHINE".



I didn't find any references to this on the forum so I was curious on what it may have been. Or if one you picked it up.
==-=
mark
EDIT: Added missing picture.

[Dink0617]

It is an Enrico Italian style I believe, there is one available on my local craigslist. I passed because of the difficulty in obtaining parts. Checked the auction, missing portafilter, that is not good, it uses a huge portafilter so I don't think the seller was correct in stating it can be easily obtained. The one on craigs is a spring lever this one appears to be a manual or else the spring is shot or missing? They may have made a manual one though.

[hbuchtel]

A Eunicho lever is one with the piston removed but with the lever untouched. It can't make espresso but it still looks good.

Henry

[orphanespresso]

Henry, GOOD explanation!

No, the portafilter is NOT available anywhere (to my knowledge) - it is HUGE - big enough to fry a chicken in! We have scoured the forums, and have yet to find anyone who says they've pulled a decent shot of espresso out of one these things. We spec'd out the group seals for a guy, impossible to get the original type u-cup seals (and believe it, we've even checked all of our marine & hydraulic sources!) We have one, sitting & gathering dust, because we may have figured out an alternative seal system, using o-rings instead of the original u-cups. We'll see whether it works, but with the size of that portafilter, we might go broke paying for the coffee to test it! Maybe half a pound of Folgers??? For testing purposes only, of course! Truly, we look forward to seeing if we can make a good cup of espresso with it.

Espressme shows one on his equipment list....RICHARD - does it work??? Please, take a break from lawn mowing & making Nekkid portafilters long enough to enlighten us on the Enrico of Italy Italian Style Espresso Machine?

[prof_stack]

My wife found one at the local Goodwill store last December. Missing basket as well. But I did find one and did do the prefunctory cleaning. The portafilter IS huge but made of really cheap metal that looks like it may never look or be clean again.

After a bunch of flushes and test batches and some cleaning (Barkeeper's Friend was recommended) I put it on the shelf where it sits as a fine museum piece. Here it is before the cleaning:


Two fella's emailed and asked me where to find the portafilter / basket and I told them where, but I didn't hear back from them, so they must not have gotten the message. Here's how the size (~70mm) compares to a Gaggia Factory basket (51mm).


Here's a closeup of the potmetal after a good cleaning:


From what I understand the company tried to introduce this lower cost machine to the market. It has several suction cups on the bottom which really work to keep it in place when the spring lever is pulled down. The pressure gauge does work and it does steam okay. It does make espresso but I didn't spend enough time on it to see if it was worth being a daily driver.

But the company (or at least this design) apparently didn't last too long.

[sweaner]

I have seen several of these on eBay recently....or maybe the same one several times.

I have always watched the auctions, but never bid because they went higher than I was interested in. They do look pretty good though.

[mhoy]

I wonder why the first photo (from the ebay listing) has a hole in the metal for the lever while the other photos don't. Hacked by someone, or perhaps a different model from Eunico? In any case, an interesting piece of espresso lever history.

Mark

[espressme]

Hi Folks,
Yah NEWD/Nekkid has a whole new meaning this summer!
Anywho.. The machine has a 68mm basket. ~1 liter boiler , it takes ~45+grams of grind and spews ...coffee. I think it was designed as a machine for home service where it could make Americanos or two cups of something. Brew into a carafe, use the wand to heat water in cups, dump in the brew. Then it could scald a milk product for kiddy cocoa. It will make some crema but. The lever is too short to even consider an espresso grind.
I figure the basket is ~5 inches² x a couple hundred psi =.. you get the idea!
Nice decoration even if it does work.
A long thread here
And longer here

:P For testing purposes only, of course! Truly, we look forward to seeing if we can make a good cup of espresso with it.
Espressme shows one on his equipment list....RICHARD - does it work??? Please, take a break from lawn mowing & making Nekkid portafilters long enough to enlighten us on the Enrico of Italy Italian Style Espresso Machine?

[prof_stack]

I found a photo from last December:


Not a very inspiring looking pour, and I didn't sample it as the innards were not fully minty clean at that point. Just trying to see if there was sufficient pressure to push the hot water through.

I think I found a 70mm glass or jar that served okay as a tamper.

[jamoke]

What is an Eunico lever?

I believe "Eunico" is the seller's interpretation of "Enrico." (My Sama was listed as a Samo.)

As for the difference between the lever positioning, Prof Stack's machine is a spring lever, the ebay model is an all-manual lever with the lever hinged inside the case (probably to the boiler).

I never owned one myself, but, like Mark, was the "losing" bidder once or twice. From what I've read about them, we both may be better off for having lost.

[mhoy]

Somehow with Anita, I don't miss Eunico/Enrico. Once I get Elektra T1 in place, well...

Mark

[mhoy]

One has come up on Craigslist in San Francisco.
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/hsh/747297477.html

Mark