Some espresso machine questions:
1) What is the reigning opinion about a descaler - citric acid vs. Durgol Swiss Espresso cleaner?
2) Can Durgol be reused?
3) Also, is it safe (and recommended) to back flush the Olympia Cremina?
4) If so, do I need a blind basket or can I just fabricate something (like aluminum foil in the basket?

Thanks,
Peter

Peter,

Big difference between cleaning and descaling. I use citric acid to descale, which is completely safe. In a worse case scenario, any remnants of the citric acid will produce a sour taste in your coffee, so rinse the boiler a few times before pulling your first shot.

For cleaning, I pull off the shower screen and soak it in cleaner along with the portafilter and basket for about 30 minutes, which is usually plenty of time unless it's been a LONG time in-between cleaning.

You cannot backflush a Cremina as the water with detergent has no place to go other than back into the boiler (BAD! You'll need to wash out your boiler quite a bit to get rid of the detergent) or out through the grouphead/portafilter.

Hope this helps.

I can't speak to Durgol, but citric works just fine. The Cremina is mechanically simple enough to disassemble that descaling is a straightforward task, as long as you remember two VERY important things:

1) Hotter water = faster descaling. I use a concentration of roughly 17g/L. Pour into an almost-empty boiler, screw in the cap, then fire up the machine. Wait 30 minutes, then turn it off, pour out the solution and rinse well. Remove & disassemble the grouphead and piston and soak the parts as well.

2) If you decide to disassemble the boiler, do NOT immerse the entire heating element. The electrical contacts are not watertight. Soak only the heating coil and keep the contacts dry!

Oh, and I'll second everything that uscfroadie posted about backflushing. Definite +1 there.

Whatever you do ...DON'T put the chrome parts in a bucket of citric acid as it will remove the chrome!!! Joe Glo or other coffee oil cleaners is fine but any descaler will rob the chrome and this is a very sad moment for any DIY descaling experience. Torch....the world loves the British for terms like torch and lift and such the like.

Thanks for all your replies. I will try the citric acid next time I descale. Do I understand correctly that you don't run the citric through the machine, but you simply pour it out?
I recently completely serviced my Olympia Cremina 67 Lever machine, with the help of all the posts here as well as Doug's Youtube videos (I especially like it when Barbara chimes in).
Shortly after servicing it, I noticed a slight scratching when I lifted the lever. I finally took it apart again and discovered a small bit of a retaining clip that had somehow gotten in the cylinder. Glad to have that resolved.
I have a few other questions/comments (excuse me for not creating new posts):
1) To hold the PF in place when knocking out the grinds, I put a strip of masking tape on the outside edge of the basket (I prefer not to burn my thumb by holding it in place). The tape, of course, gets soaked and nasty. Any other ideas, besides getting an Elektra PF?
2) Would a Reg Barber 49.5 mm tamper be a perfect fit? I'd rather not send my PF in for a custom fit. Also, any opinions on concave vs. convex vs. flat bottoms?
3) Recently bought a Nespresso machine for when I don't have time to fire up the OC. It makes a facsimile of espresso/cappuccino. I've decided to return it and stick with good drip coffee when I can't use the Olympia.
Thanks to all my espresso gurus!

Peter,

There's a thread covering How to keep Cremina basket in when dumping puck that may give you some ideas and I even shot a silly video demonstrating my "Yak Whack" technique where I use the tip of my finger to hold my La Peppina basket in place.

I have an Elektra double basket that I bought for my LP Europpicola, that conveniently fits perfectly in my Cremina's portafilter. Puck-dumping is so much easier than with the LP that I hardly think about it anymore. Of course, my "knockbox" is my kitchen compost bin, so I bang the portafilter lightly on the metal side. Will an Elektra portafilter fit the Cremina?

I am linking to a method I have used for a few years:
Backflush for a Lever??
Read it and see if it is for you.
Respectfully
~Richard

orphanespresso wrote:Whatever you do ...DON'T put the chrome parts in a bucket of citric acid as it will remove the chrome!!!

Thanks for the clarification. My intention in the original post was to disassemble the piston and soak it in citric solution, not to soak the entire grouphead (including chrome!). Whew, bullet dodged!

FWIW, thanks to this thread for reminding me to descale my Cremina. As I was pouring solution into the boiler (and the machine was moved to the front of the sink), SO comes in, surveys the detritus, and exclaims, "Oh no, are you doing science again?"

I didn't have a good response to that one