Is there a tutorial or factory manual for taking apart my old Europiccola for cleaning? I found mine aty a thrioft store (the espresso gods were smiling upon me) and I don't want to mess it up. Thanks!

RayJohns wrote:Sometimes I put the machine back without even using a drop of olive oil. Lubrication doesn't really seem required on the La Pavoni.

+.9

Christopher Cara sent me a little food grade grease when I bought a set of seals from him a few years back, and it worked just fine. But the news is not always so great: when it ran out, I bought a tube of what I assumed would be the same goop, but while the lever action was super easy at first, over a few weeks it got so gummy that I had to clean out the cylinder and start over. Using less didn't work appreciably better, and using more worked even worse. So I've gone back to a "clean" strategy too.

Of course, until I replaced the plastic piston in one of my LPs with brass, I had to disassemble the group so often to re-tighten the piston on the shaft that it would have hardly mattered anyway - no time for the grease to gum up the works between tightenings.

Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go whip up a set of self-lubricating bronze bushings before lunch.

Anvan wrote:Of course, until I replaced the plastic piston in one of my LPs with brass, I had to disassemble the group so often to re-tighten the piston on the shaft that it would have hardly mattered anyway - no time for the grease to gum up the works between tightenings.

Hmm, just replaced my plastic for brass too... I was hoping the loosening would be a thing of the past. I wonder if some Loqtite would solve the problem. I'd use blue so it's less permanent.