So, since November I've played with a Pavoni, grasped a Gaggia, tried to revive a Riviera; but now I'm expecting an Elektra Microcasa. And I think I'm giddy.

Over the past months I've read about all the machine listed, each with their own praises and shortcomings. And all the while the Elektra kept catching my attention. Maybe it was the good looks, maybe it was the bespoke quality of parts, or the supposed (yet to find out) superb shot quality; but certainly not the almost other-worldly list price. Anyhow, I decided to see for myself what this machine is all about, after saying after every other machine I've had that "this is the last one"................................................

Well, I found a machine in Austria last month and thought I could have it shipped to my German friends so that they could ship it on to me. But I lost the ambition for that whole ordeal and the machine went for about $750 US. More looking found 1 in Orlando and 1 in Boise. I tried for the one in Boise but it proved out of my range because it was too new (2 yrs old). Then oddly, the same day the Boise deal declined I found an odd listing on google through Kajiji in Edmunton. An '84 bought brand-new and stored for 20 years*** NO SIR!!

The price was right so I shot off a response to the ad not expecting the seller to want to deal with a buyer from the Southern US border, but she responded the very next day and agreed! HOT DIGGITY DAWG! I also asked that she please pack the machine securely and square up with me after the machine is shipped. I've got my tracking number yesterday and now I'm just holding my breath that the thing arrives in one piece. Then it's on to see if it holds pressure. But one thing at a time for now, I just want it to get here intact.

This machine is the copper/brass/wood handle model. More interestingly though is both the base and boiler are cooper, vs. copper base brass boiler; which I think is way out of production nowadays.
Until then, keep your fingers crossed, y'all.

Updates to follow

#222

You mean "Edmonton" right?

Anyway, congrats!

frege wrote:You mean "Edmonton" right?

Anyway, congrats!

Oh yes, the very one and same of course, and thank you. I do have to admit the favorable exchange rate made the deal just a little bit sweeter as well. Anxiously tracking the box and holding my breath....

222

Checked the shipping status...
Seems like the courier is taking a lovely tour of the Pacific Northwest with the machine.

5/13 arrived for export Edmonton
5/13 arrived at Calgary
5/14 forwarded to export gateway Edmonton south
5/14 export via Vancouver INTL
5/15 consists of 11 entries containing Vancouver, Seattle and Redmond...bloody hell
5/16 departure via Redmond
5/16 arrived at Portland
5/18 departure via Portland
5/18 arrived via Roseburg, OR
5/18 departure via Roseburg

Anybody want to put odds on delivery ?

I know how you feel.

I just had a new grinder delivered from Italy. It took longer to get from the airport 20 milies away than it did from Venice to Milan and then London Gatwick....

Hope the wait will be over soon. They're lovely machines.

Cheers

Mike

So the machine finally arrived yesterday, and I zipped over after work to get my hands on it and see how it faired from being shipped all those miles. My first impression upon seeing the box was an instant "oh no". The box was far from crisp and it truely looked like it had traveled 1000 plus miles in the back of a few or more trucks. But I kept my fingers crossed as I took a deep breath and plunged into freeing the machine from its "packaging". I quickly discovered wetness within the stuffing and knew what that meant right away- broken sightglass-. Although the glass assembly was intact there was some definite grittyness to be felt there. Also I immediately realised the lever had been left in place for shipment as well, not unscrewed as I had hoped. It's a good thing I asked for the seller to pack this very carefully. The next visual was the bent steamwand, from the far end of the valve out. Not too worried there.Moving on I found the dome and eagle along with the portafilter and not much to say there except the portafilter probably has never been cleaned, and the eagle seems to be a wee bit out of alignment. Though another easy fix. What really struck me was the fact that the lacquer is really flaking off. Don't worry y'all, I have pics that I'll post sometime this weekend once i get all the more pressing projects completed. Inspection underneath showed a missing base plate and missing top drip tray.

Once home I wasted no time in getting the tools out and pulling the group off and the piston out. Not too bad, spring looked nice and dry with no rust and the gaskets were still pliable but a little disintegrated in spots as my fingers quickly turned black. The calcification was very light as well and easily removed. I have a feeling that the machine had some sort of cleaning not too long ago, as I found teflon tape around the water inlet tube for the grouphead, and the boiler and innards were pretty free from deposits. But moving to the sightglass, I couldn't believe how plugged up the pathway was with a greenish sandy deposit. The glass itself was cracked at the top end, as I found the top sightglass mount to be bent out of alignment from the bottom mount. Thats the biggest drag of all...not promising to be an easy fix there. The only other inspection I need to do is of the pressurestat. The steam tube for the pstat has slight green patina to it but I'm confident that any repair there should be simple-I'm hoping for an easy EPDM gasket swap much like MHOY's a while back.

So for now I'm waiting for a few additional parts which should be here by Saturday and then I should be able to light it up for a citric acid bath and testing. I also think I'll be ordering clearcoat from caswell plating in the near future.

That's all for now. Pics to follow

#222

Sounds like the same person packed up my Elektra Microcasa. Full of water with handle in place and such. Luckily it arrive in tact with a fairly quick shipment otherwise the soaking wet cardboard would have given way in another day or two.

Check out what your pstat is like, it might be in OK shape if your system is relatively new. If you need parts Orphan Espresso is great to work with (but you know that already from this forum).

Awaiting the pictures.

Mark

Not wanting to do much at the moment except wait for the mail (parts), so here's espresso machine porn pics:

peeling lacquer

piston corrosion from sitting idle while wet- cleaned up easily

bent gauge face-not sure how that happened; and condensation-needle will be repainted red

group cylinder and dispersion screen-not too bad

gasket peeled apart-looked and felt unpleasant

the other half-did clean up nicely with soap and water

gauge in place-more lacquer peeling

underneath the group-what is that "button"?

sightglass was plugged with this stuff- a little straight vinegar and a good flush opened the ports in a snap

trying to demonstrate the amount of misalignment of the sightglass hubs

is this an OEM valve assembly?

under the base

the pressurestat

That's all for now. As usual, any insight or words of wisdom are greatly appreciated. I'm holding off for now on ordering any other parts until I know for sure that the machine isn't sour.

Happy Holiday
Tom

that steam wand assembly looks exactly like the one on my elektra semiautomatica (which came in WAY worse shape than yours. hopefully that makes you feel a little better

also, i've taken to just removing all of the clear coat, and went straight to re-polishing the metal, so if you end up going that route, feel free to PM me for tips if you need them.


-mike

itsallaroundyou wrote:also, i've taken to just removing all of the clear coat, and went straight to re-polishing the metal, so if you end up going that route, feel free to PM me for tips if you need them.
-mike

Mike: I'm kinda curious how you get rid of the clear coat (and presumably replace it). My silver Microcasa is looking a little gray in color from age.

Mark