Got an electric shock from the caravel during the last pull. I touched the case with both hands while tightening the portafilter and got shocked. Anyone else experience this?

If your machine was wired correctly the earth leakage in your distribution board should have tripped. Make sure that your machine is earthed correctly.

There could be a number of causes for this. Your heating element could be damaged or there could be water or damage on a terminal causing it to short circuit through the body of the machine. Damaged insulation on an internal cable could also be the reason.

If you are unsure, get an electrician to help you.

caravel wrote:Thanks. Lowering the lever a little at the top helped to solve that leak.

However, I still have low pressure on the pull and little crema. What can I do to fix this problem?

Replace the small o-ring inside the piston. If that o-ring is damaged it could cause a leak through the centre of the piston causing the lower pressure.

Damn !
Wish I did not give away my Caravel that I bought at a yard sale for $15. !
I bought it about 20 years ago. It had never been used, 110v, orange with all the accessories included.

I tried it a few times and thought it was a toy.
At the time there was so little info on it.

For grins, pictured is the back of my Caravel 1.0

^
^^^
Looks like a very nice example. Have you dialed it in yet ?

caravel wrote:Thanks. Lowering the lever a little at the top helped to solve that leak.

However, I still have low pressure on the pull and little crema. What can I do to fix this problem?

Have you tried grinding finer ? That will give you more resistance. At the top of the lever pull I push down slightly then up and down until I feel resistance. Take your time on the push down and once at bottom go up and down slightly and repeat in order to clear grinds of water. This is what is mentioned in the original instructions.

redbone wrote: Take your time on the push down and once at bottom go up and down slightly and repeat in order to clear grinds of water. This is what is mentioned in the original instructions.

I would assume you mean AFTER you've removed the cup from the completed pull?

Redbone, answering your question up a few posts, I'm doing OK as far as the mechanics, but even with boiling water from the Strega, and pre-grinding, warming the PF and machine with with 3-4 flushes, the shots are pretty cool...
Apparently the metal encompassing the machine absorbs so much heat quickly, that the water cools faster than one would expect.

I receive the adapter tomorrow, and will at least be able to run it 120 a bit, using preheated electric kettle water to heat things up. I'm getting a new turkey baster so when refreshing the kettle water, I can simply extract the 2-3 centimeters of water at the bottom, without having to tip the Caravel over and risk getting water on the inside/element.

That kettle top release metal lock is just so cool. Dr Salati was the man.

Rob. Try using a higher temp setting via the thermostat. I found the temp raised after the burner shot off so wait a minute post shut off. I found that helped with the Caravel and switched my espresso cup to a double wall glass type. Still working out the kinks on the Vam.

Sorry if I confused you. It's not as yet plugged in. Adapter comes tomorrow.