Hey,

It's been a while since I've posted. I have an Olympia Cremina that was given to me about a year ago. At the time I got new gaskets for it as well as the pf and lever handles. The machine is in working order and I have been able to pull a few shots that I found to be barely acceptable. I have finally gotten some money together to buy a grinder and some other things. I have a few questions. When I got the Cremina the boiler top did not have that small circular plastic sticker on the top. There is a metal dome exposed and a bolt. When the machine gets up to pressure the boiler top hisses and bubbles. What can I do to fix this. I have the whole gasket set. Also I was wondering what size tamper I should get. I think it was a 49mm or so but it's been a while since I read what the exact size was. I am currently thinking about getting either the Rocky grinder or the Quickmill. Any thoughts on what I should steer toward ? Thanks for your replies , home-barista has always been a great source of information. I can't wait to get a great shot out of this machine after hearing so many great things about it.

The cap valve is a vacuum breaker to relieve the vacuum that forms when the boiler cools down. It has been a cause of the intermittent pressure leak when powered up. The valve is supposed to leask a little at first till full pressure is up then it seals completely.

I am personally about to find a brass threaded plug at a hardware store and eliminate the leak issue.

The little cover cap can be made out of a disc of your choosing and cut to fit. An old poker chip perhaps? That will be fun to figure out.

The tamper is officially 49mm- but a custom tighter fit might me made with a few of the custom tamper makers found on line( a couple of great options here at HB) maybe a 49.4mm - you get the idea.

Grinder ? that is a whole question and thread in itself... hand mill, Rocky, Macap, Mazzer, Nuova Simonelli... etc etc. etc.

Check your tree in the morning and see what Santa brought!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night...

Mo

mikemar42 wrote:
When I got the Cremina the boiler top did not have that small circular plastic sticker on the top. There is a metal dome exposed and a bolt. When the machine gets up to pressure the boiler top hisses and bubbles. What can I do to fix this.

It sounds like your machine has the optional vacuum breaker cap fitted to it. If so, the machine is supposed to hiss and bubble as it gets up to temperature. The boiler cap you have has a vacuum breaker designed to prevent the machine from going into vacuum when it cools down and it also automatically bleeds "false pressure" when the machine is heating up. This prevents the nasty inadvertent sucking up of milk and contaminating the boiler. These were used by the factory on the Cremina 2002 and perhaps some earlier machines and were also sold as replacement caps by Olympia-I believe. They are really convenient, but they must be maintained. They can develop a slow leak from lime deposits over time and can inadvertently empty the boiler without the user being aware. The factory eventually went back to the solid cap to avoid this possible slow leak. If your cap is not leaking once it gets to pressure, it is not a problem and is simply functioning as it was intended. If it is leaking even after it gets to full pressure, then it needs cleaning/descaling and perhaps a new seal. There were several styles of vacuum breakers, but they are relatively simple devices and are simple to overhaul. There should be a snap in plastic disk covering the vacuum breaker valve.

Also, is it ok to leave any water in the boiler after pulling a shot. I usually empty all of the water from the machine, but I have been wondering if it would be ok to fill the boiler and just leave the water in there until my next shot. How long can you leave water in the machine ? I haven't done it but I have been wondering about this.

mikemar42 wrote:Also, is it ok to leave any water in the boiler after pulling a shot. I usually empty all of the water from the machine, but I have been wondering if it would be ok to fill the boiler and just leave the water in there until my next shot. How long can you leave water in the machine ? I haven't done it but I have been wondering about this.

I like to empty the machine at the end of the day and fill it up with fresh water first thing in the morning. Then I pull shots with that water throughout the day. Don't think you need to use fresh water with each new shot.

Jon

I usually pull between 4-6 doubles per day on my Cremina. I dump her to refresh the water once per week. It seems to do well even with that interval.

We have had some discussions here on H-B of the health issues, if any, related to drinking lots of water that has been heated in a brass boiler. Lead can leach from brass, and that process is made worse by high temperatures and soft water.

Here is what I have decided to do, based on the info I've found at reputable sources:

-- moderate consumption of espresso from these machines (for me, moderation = 3-4 ounces per day)
-- the water I use is only moderately soft
-- descale no more frequently than every six months (patina of scale inhibits the leaching of lead)
-- empty boiler every other day

On lead leached from brass:

Dept of Health and Human Services; Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry wrote:A survey of 1,484 drinking water samples taken from various districts of the American Water Works Service Company showed that average lead levels in a 1-L first-draw sample for copper, galvanized, and plastic pipes were 9, 4.2, and 4.5 microgram/L, respectively. These data show that even plumbing that did not use lead solder for copper pipes (e.g., plastic pipes) contained significant levels of lead, primarily from the brass faucet fixtures, which are used in almost all plumbing. The brass fixtures may account for approximately one-third of the lead in the first-draw water (Lee et al. 1989). Lead levels are also known to increase when tap water is heated in boiling kettles that contain lead in their heating elements. [emphasis added]
p. 331, http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp13-c6.pdf

Regards
Timo

Ya I had forgotten about the lead issue... Must be old age... Perhaps once every other day would be better. Thanks for the reminder.

Has anyone taken their brass boiler water to be tasted for lead?

I'm curious about the results and clearly those results will depend on water hardness, patina buildup, etc., but...

I'd like to get a sense of the order of magnitude of lead that leaches and make an informed judgment from there. In other words, approximately how much lead per ml espresso are we discussing here?

Thanks,
Jon