I have painfully decided to sell my pristine Bezzera Milano lever in order to pay for a 2 group propane lever that I have been hunting for months.







Moderator note:

Do not cross post a plug for your sales thread here.

B&M nice job on the restoration. Haven't gone through this entire thread but have you been able to pull a shot yet and if so how did it compare to some of the other levers you've owned?

Not yet, I only have one part left to buy and instal (a pressurestat) and rewrire. I'm so slow but school is a priority right now

B&M if you are ever in Jersey stop by and you can pull some shots on the same unit.

Were the elektra seals a pain to put on? Wondering if any other seals (maybe something at the hardware store) out there would be easier to put on. Did you contact Doug at OE about replacement seals as well. Just curious. Glad that the elektra seals fit though.

Also just wanted to post that the Richard Penney PF works perfectly with the Bezzera Family Lever (Milano).

I am outnumbered.

Just wanted to add while the RP Bottomless PF fits it does not turn all the way like the original PF

I just got a Bezzera Family today, and this thread helped me to decide whether or not to buy it, so thank you all! After reading through all of these posts, I realized that many of you have already figured out any of the problems I may encounter, and that is an incredible resource.

The machine is in pretty good shape and seems to work, though spent the last several years in the corner of a garage unused, so is a little grubby and needs some TLC. The sight glass was replaced with a brass tube at some point, and I may want to replace that at some point. The boiler pressure gets really high - 2.5 or so, and I'm used to a more modest Pavoni that stops at around 1. It doesn't have the gorgeous curving steam/water wands that a lot of the machines pictured on this thread do, but the shorter ones that seem to be standard on Sama Lussos.

I'm looking forward to cleaning it up and starting to use it!

That machine seems dangerously scaled if it's going to 2.5 bar, especially the pressurestat. There should be an overpressure valve releasing excess pressure before it gets that high. Or the manometer is totally off. And replacing a sightglass with a brass tube is very negligent. You will need a sightglass right away or risk running it dry. From your description it seems necessary to go through the machine entirely before starting it up again.

YES! Be careful with that overpressure. Don't fire it up again until you have checked the overpressure valve. Even then, start off by keeping a close eye on it and being prepared to turn off the machine and open the steam valve if it goes past 1.5 bar or so.

These machines are simple to restore and maintain in most cases, so hopefully you'll be pulling shots in no time.
Pc