I'm a new Ponte Vecchio Export owner, and one thing I immediately noticed was that the boiler housing was not at all straight: it was turned quite noticeably counter-clockwise (viewed from above), relative to the base. The group head and steam valve and steam pipe were also not lined up with the housing very well. In fact, the steam valve handle was so off-center relative to its hole in the housing that it rubbed severely against the housing. I have photos; if anyone is interested enough, I can email or post some.

When I opened the machine up to investigate, I discovered that the problem was that the bottom of the boiler was not assembled correctly, with the result that the 2 long mounting studs are slightly crooked relative to the the rest of the boiler, which in turn means that the group head and steam valve/pipe are crooked relative to the mounting studs.

To get the group head and steam valve/pipe to line up properly with the rest of the machine I therefor had to mount the boiler at a slight angle (i.e., rotated a little bit clockwise, viewed from above) relative to the base of the machine, *and* it had to be moved slightly to the left. The 2 holes in the base (through which the 2 boiler mounting studs go) are large enough to allow a fair amount of rotation, but I still had to open one of them with a rat-tail file so that the boiler could move a bit to the left. The 2 holes in the bottom of the boiler housing (the piece that also includes the back of the housing) both had to be re-shaped with a file to allow the boiler to rotate relative to the housing. This all took a fair amount of trial-and-error (file, clean, partially assemble, assess degree of crookedness, disassemble, file some more, etc.), and it's not simple, because everything shifts slightly when the parts are all tightly fastened together. (Reminds me of adjusting the valve clearances on my late-80's BMW motorcycle engine.)

After a few rounds of this, I managed to get things to fit together much more nicely, and now I'm happy with how it looks. But it sure took more work than one would expect, given that it's a brand new machine costing several hundred dollars!!!!

OK, here's where I need to acknowledge that I could have returned the machine as defective, but chose not to. I made that choice partly because I really, really wanted the red model, and it actually seems that this might be the last one available in the US for a little while. I also knew I'd enjoy opening up my new baby to see how it's put together. Lastly, I knew I could fix the thing, and this seemed better than shipping such a heavy object hundreds and hundreds of miles, no matter at whose expense.

That's my PVE story; anybody else have a similar experience??

-Sean

I noted in my initial impressions a few years ago that the PV was probably not built to the same specs as the Cremina. Mine does not look perfectly aligned, but its not noticable. Sounds like yours was assembled on a Monday or a Friday, and should not have passed quality control. But all's well that ends well, and the basic components are so bomb-proof that it should give years of trouble free service. The only thing I've needed to do to mine in almost three years is replace the piston seals, and that only because I let i dry out for three months during shipping. The original group head gasket is still tight as could be desired, and all other gaskets are still intact.

Thanks, Peacecup -- I sort of thought that this was your impression, which I trust. I guess it's good (assuming a decent proportion of PVE users have seen this thread, that is!) that there's not exactly a flood of horror stories coming out in response to my little story.

I was intrigued by what Doug (Orphan Espresso) said on my other PVE thread new-lever-owner-pv-export-t8182.html to the effect that Joe at Good Coffee Co. says the quality was better with the earlier makers of this model (SAMA best, them DAMPA, then PV). Have you, oh, Export Guru, heard or seen anything that confirms this? And, if so, how are the PV versions of lesser quality? (Not that I'm worried -- I'm just a curious tinkerer.)

-Sean

My answer to Sean_in_Seattle is a very affirmative and sorry YES. In an earlier posts I have noted the many problems and fixes required of my machine. The biggest problem and subsequent repair was to stop coffee grounds from pumping back into the boiler. This required replacement of the grouphead which seems to have fixed it. But it also required machining to allow the porta filter to fit into it. Now this new group head is off vertical, requiring elongation of the mounting holes. Fortunately this problem is more cosmetic than functional so I will fix this when I have more time.

I was hoping the quality issues that I have experienced were atypical. However, considering my discussions with Joe of The Good Coffee Company, and the number of problems that other Ponte Vecchio Export and Lusso owners are also experiencing it appears the opposite.

Earlier I had intended to purchase a Lusso for making many espressos at once. But the accruing data indicates there is too high a probability of purchasing a poor quality and possibly malfunctioning machine so now I will not. At least not until their is some very tangible evidence that Ponte Vecchio has improved its manufacturing quality, and its quality control.

I regret that my earlier posts were not enough to make new owners wary of these quality issues, and In retrospect it appears I should have detailed my more recent experiences with the group head earlier. I apologize for this. The only consolation is that we all seem to have been able to rework our machines to a point that they apparently function as they were intended - an endorsement of their good design.

If users have questions, wish to discuss fixes, or just want to share experiences I will be very glad to help.

Sincerely
Geoffrey

I noted in another thread that Joe pre-inspects and fixes all new units before he ships them. It might be good to ask your vendor to take similar precautions before shipping. As most of the issues seem capable of resolution that might keep an otherwise good machine from losing favor.

The SAMA, precursor to the PVE, that I just recently acquired came without instructions. Can anyone send me a copy of them (I'll pay) since it's my first machine ever? Although Joe at GC came me lots of good advice, I figured that there might be some good points overlooked in our conversation that are essential to the maintenance and daily operation of the unit.

Joe recommends filling the machine 2/3 - 3/4 full. Any comments even though I'll follow this recommendation?

Re: removal of the dispersion screen, is the procedure the same as for the PVLby using a 90 degree paint hook, just work it up between the screen and gasket and pull downward once hooked around the side lip?

There's a wealth of information on this board about using the PV in the Smackdown, Peacecup's posts and others. That would be where I would start.

I was hoping the quality issues that I have experienced were atypical. However, considering my discussions with Joe of The Good Coffee Company, and the number of problems that other Ponte Vecchio Export and Lusso owners are also experiencing it appears the opposite.

Up unitl this thread I had not seen any major QC issues with the PV machines. There must be at least 20 PV users on HB by now - I think this would be a good time to start a "PV roll call" thread, so we can all give a short summary of the QC issues (not the coffee quality issues). Time is short for me right now, but I'll try to get to it, or someone else can start it. It might involve PM's to some of the "oldtimers" who seldom post these days.

As hperry notes, I wouldn't want to tarnish the reputation of the company unless its warranted. I personally would be very disappointed if I got a less-than perfect machine when bought new, so I do feel that a discussion of the topic is important. And, being an advocate of the PV, I'd really hate to be responsible for someone buying a lemon (I do always try to qualifiy myself as being of limited experience).

Of course, if one reads about the QC issues with some of the much more expensive pump machines, I don't think its a big surprise that the PV's come off the line with imperfections. I don't like it, but it seems to be a fact of life. Remember, the Swiss-made machine with a very similar basic design costs at least three times as much.

And, as to Joe's comment that a boiler once exploded, it scares the hell out of me and makes me want to go to open-boiler only. But, of course, Joe still sells them...

Well, lets continue the conversation as we can...

PC

I'll now begin a new thread entitled PVE/SAMA questions and issues.