that's my group alright- originally the top plate was stuck- so I had to remove the pin and roller on the lever- which releases the spring. Having cleaned the piston and replaced the seals- now I just undo the two hex head screws on the top- and the entire spring/piston/top plate and lever all slides out as a single unit. I don't think I will ever need to release the spring again.

yes- when I wrote that the assembly was sticking. I tried to remove it but it jammed very tight. This was seemingly due to the old seals, the need of a clean, and a too perfect a match on the top plate and group body. I cleaned everything, replaced the seals, and took a small amount of material off the top plate- now the whole unit slides out smoothly. When my new seals arrived from OE- I was able to install them in under 5 minutes with my allen key and nothing more.


Having seen this design- I can not understand why other manufacturers have not adopted it.

sorrentinacoffee wrote: Having seen this design- I can not understand why other manufacturers have not adopted it.

Yeah I love it on the Elektra and wish it was the same on the Cremina I've bought to keep it company.

Wow- That Bezzera is almost identical to my Sama- same steam and water valves, same cabinet, etc.

But those frothing and water arms- that's what I need. On the sama they point down like the PV (but already come out lower, below the steam/water taps)- and you can only fit tiny jugs underneath- which is not so great given the steam power involved. Also the frothing tube sits right behind the group handle making it even tighter in there. The way Bezzera solved that with those twisting out-and up tubes is brilliant. I need me some of them.

Also the Bezzera group looks impressive- with the heavier top and roller mechanism. Is Bezzera still around? Does that group turn up on any modern machine?

As for describing the thermosyhon on the Sama group- I am not sure what you need to know? I am not sure what a 'water feed gallery' is? The two pipes go in the back of the group- but in the piston cylinder there is only one water inlet. It looks as if water can circulate between the seals on the piston, until the piston is raised filling the chamber. Pretty simple. There is a screw at the base of the bridge part- I have not removed it. So far the results have been excellent- seems very hard to pull a bad shot with this machine. I leave it on for hours and just walk and pull a shot. Never had a burnt tasting one yet.

I have another question about that Bezzera group:

Can you 'help' the lever return? On the PV- and on my Sama- it is not possible to push the lever upwards and add extra force to the returning spring. I had a Mini Gaggia lever and on that machine you could 'help' the spring in this way and thereby increase the pressure and get more manual control of the shot.

seems like all such groups should be like that? All you need is something to lock the lever to the piston on the return stroke- so it is like a fulcrum both ways.

i think.... please forgive my ignorance of the terminology here.