It's my birthday tomorrow and my new toys are coming in a few days early

I got a Cappuccino Amore (CA) as a complete impulse buy on Ebay without knowing anything about it.




This is technically my first lever, although I also have a La Peppina coming from Italy These will be my first restoration projects!

Luckily, OE is here to help with a set of gaskets (http://www.orphanespresso.com/Italianst ... c_208.html) and a group rebuild guide (http://www.orphanespresso.com/Cappuccin ... 547-1.html). I also bought their refresh kit (http://www.orphanespresso.com/Orphan-Es ... _1639.html).



I will start taking it apart and cleaning things this weekend, but since I have never done anything like this before I wanted to get this restore thread started a bit early. Mainly so I could ask the more experienced members questions and also to document some info to help others. I saw Dr Gary's gnarly 2 year, 72 page mega thread for his Prestina and was intimidated! Hopefully, the CA will be more straight forward.

Some really elementary questions:

1) Can you completely empty the water chamber/boiler? First thing I did was put fresh water in the CA and turn it on. Both light switches seem to work fine and the heating element works. Ok so far, so I turned it off and a few hours later, I took the cap off and dumped the water into my sink. I couldn't completely eliminate the swishing noise, so some water remains. I should note that the CA arrived with a bit of water in it as well.

2) I couldn't help but pull down the lever. Here is my first problem. It is stuck in the down position and wont go back up. What should I do?

3) How do I start cleaning the parts? Anything important I should know? If this info is out there somewhere in the internets, I couldn't find it :/

Thanks in advance for the help!

Links to other CA threads:
- Home Lever Machine Rebuild: Cappuccino Amore
- Help on Cappuccino Amore
- Value of used Cappuccino Amore?
- Cappuccino Amore? Any good
- Cappuccino Amore coming, a few questions
- Need help making espresso with Cappuccino Amore
- Thermostat needed for cappuccino amore

Forgot to mention that my CA didn't come with a basket. Instead I had this little surprise inside the portafilter:



I tried to measure the inside diameter with a ruler, it read 57-58mm. I don't have a precision instrument to give more precise measurements Does anyone know which baskets fit the CA PF?

Found this:

danw2002 wrote:Aug 03, 2011, 1:48 am
i too have just finished my CA, and all that is missing is a basket...anyone...ideas of different brands that may work, it looks like a 56mm flat rim is what will fit as my 58 from my DB machine was too big, and a spare 57mm was just a bit big still, but close. thanks...rats, now i am not a lurker anymore....oh well....here is a pic of it, now i need a basket so i can play!!!

No solutions were proposed, however.

I'm starting to wish I held on to my Amore.

My girlfriend calls it 3CPO
I love the look--has a great cheesy 80s vibe!

I will post more later but the big issue is the piston. Yours is probably pretty rotten hence the stuck lever.

Thanks Paul--look forward to your insight

by doubleOsoul on Wed May 15, 2013 5:32 pm

I'm starting to wish I held on to my Amore.

Why?

Jorge,

Orphan put up this guide to pulling the piston and if it isn't too far gone you can clean it up with some sand paper and then a flat file. Mine was pretty bad and the top seal was hard and cracked and falling apart, that could easily be the reason why your piston is stuck.

http://www.orphanespresso.com/Cappuccin ... 547-1.html

I ordered the seal kit from OE and installed them on the refurbed piston (I needed to make the existing piston work to keep costs low) but it spewed water under pressure, so I wrapped the piston grooves with about 5 wraps each of teflon tape, reinstalled the seals and they now hold.

The base must take on water every time water is spilled during boiler fills or anything else and if the boiler seal leaks, so the switches and hardware under there can be a mess, mine were (all the screws, bolts, washers and nuts are steel and they rust). My boiler seal was crap and leaking as well. I replaced it with a gasket cut from a silicone hot pad/oven pad similar to these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/160553390132?ss ... 1439.l2648

Aside from doing these things I gave the group, boiler and coil a long vinegar bath.

Time to take apart the CA and see what's what. And I've got all afternoon to do it!

@ Paul, thanks for the advice. I printed the OE piston rebuild guide and already have my group gasket kit from OE.

Ok, so I'm already stuck on step 1.

How do I remove the lever? It is held on with these thingies:


How do I remove them? I'm terribly sorry for asking such dumb questions
I am a Phd in theoretical mathematics, not an engineer! But, I'm open to learning how to use those tool-thingies

Yes, this is going to be a long restoration. You should be able to carefully remove those clips with a simple screwdriver. But if the piston is not completely stuck the spring may eject it forcefully, so be careful. Normally one applies upward pressure on the piston face with a clamp, to release pressure from the pins and keep the piston from ejecting.