New o-rings in my Europiccola and my regular technique was resulting in painful "burping." I had read a description in which the writer would push the lever down an inch or two and then lift it back up allowing more pressure to build. He would do that repeatedly until the lever had pressure. I was getting far greater volume which was one of my biggest complaints. Now, with the new o-ring in the group head if I use this technique I get spraying coffee grounds, steam, and a burn on my index finger. Anyone else noticed this phenomena?

I am new to the Europiccola myself and did my first full dissassembly/change of all gaskets on my 2009 machine a few months ago. While I never had any definite spraying of coffee during my fellinis after the rebuild, I definitely noticed a definate substantial increase in the force of water through the shower head when lifting the lever. The lever action was also almost watery smooth (almost too smooth) to lift and lowered extremely easily.

To compensate, I made sure to raise the lever very slowly and pause a few seconds at the exact point where water would start to infuse before raising the lever all the way up. I also went more by 'feel' than by time when adjusting my fellinis from then on out. It took me a week or so before getting all of this fully dialed in.

After 1-2 weeks, I was comfortable with the new lever tension, and the shot quality seemed to improve significantly over pre-rebuild levels.

I am by no means a Europiccola expert; just my 2cents worth.

overall I would say that my machine works better since the new o-rings

it was five or six years old but only had regular use for a year or two of that time

now, by far, the single most annoying thing about it is the burping

I scald myself, spew grounds all over the kitchen, and often times cuss out loud

I now understand why the pressurized group head is important - if you want to make two shots in less than five minutes

the theory that it was the fellini double pumps is now bunk - it doesn't much matter how I pull the shots unless I wait for a little while it wants to spew grounds all over me

Matt,

When you talk about burping, are you talking about being sprayed during the pull or experiencing the "portafilter sneeze" afterward when you remove the portafilter?

If it's the dreaded "portafilter sneeze," I've heard that some people have had luck slightly raising the lever before and while removing the portafilter to reduce the built-up pressure and avoid the mess. Grinding coarser or tamping lighter may also help.

I've got a spring lever, the La Peppina, and if I'm impatient it can start to sneeze. I just slowly start to remove the portafilter and depressurize it this way, but I usually just wait a minute with the portafilter in the group while enjoying my espresso and by that time for me it's no problem.

yakster wrote:
If it's the dreaded "portafilter sneeze," I've heard that some people have had luck slightly raising the lever before and while removing the portafilter to reduce the built-up pressure and avoid the mess.

Have a look at the 1 minute mark of this video & you can see how the pro's do it! To Lever or Not to Lever???

yes, that's what I meant, "sneeze" - not burp

it seems there's a continuum of great shots and even greater sneezes or poorer shots and no sneeze

I have tried lifting the lever a little to relieve some of the pressure to no avail

thanks for posting the vid, maybe I should lift the lever all the way up after the shot is finished?

my problem is that I like to pull two shots in quick succession for a latte in the morning

after the second shot I steam milk and there's no sneeze due to the wait time, only after the first when I unlock the portafilter immediately after pulling the shot

I guess this is why there are multiple groups on machines

Matt,

Most machines with multiple groups actually don't have this problem because they also usually have a three way valve that opens after the shot to relieve the pressure and drain the extra water on top of the puck into the drip tray.

It's mostly levers and a few entry-level machines that don't have three-way valves, but the upside is that while you still need to clean your dispersion screen, you don't and can't backflush your machine, no hose leading to the drip tray to get all gunky.

Good luck.

Now, I'm thinking perhaps changing my routine will be a better solution. First shot, steam milk, second shot, enjoy.

On the weekends I make a latte for my wife too. She's so tired of the cussing that she just asks for a drip

With my manual lever Caravel I could get great volume shots by the following: lift lever and pull half-way down (until one drop falls), lift lever and pull another half pull, lift and pull a whole pull. This might work with the Pavoni, and you could get enough volume for a cappa with one basket full.

PC