Hi:

While relocating my BA across the room and testing functionality, I noticed the showerhead isn't really working? It seems the water is going around it. Is this correct behavior? If not, what would you recommend be the fix? I removed the shower head piece, and it is simply snap on. It was clean.

The unit is plumbed in with 1/4" plastic water line.

The video shows what's going on when the lever is fully engaged.
Thanks for your time.

Hello another Aurora lever fellow

It doesn't look right to me. Is that shower screen the one with three slits on the side by any chance? I would check to make sure it's clean & not clogged (looks like you already did this). Secondly, I would make sure it's clipped in completely - place both your thumbs/fingers on the center and push it in. I would also make sure the 'legs' of the screen are intact and in shape. Mind taking a pic of that screen?

You should be able to get something close to this if all is right: From talking to others, there also seems to be more than a few version of that clip-on screens which make thing a tad complicated.

p/s: the water dripping sound in your video without pump noise is so therapeutic

Thanks! plumbed in is nice I had it attached to a flojet for a bit, but the noise ticked me off so I drilled a hole in the cabinetry behind my dishwasher cabinet, and tapped in a plastic line into mains. Heeeeheee. Draining worked fine initially, but the tiny little drain thing sometimes gets clogged and I get spills, it is gross.

Wow.. yours is clean. Mine was never intended to actually be used before restoring it, but I've been too busy with other projects to focus on it right now.

The screen is clean. It snaps in place, and spins around freely. It's a pain to remove. I'm trying to think back to a couple years ago when I switched out the gaskets, I think I got a screen from OE and I couldn't attach it no matter what I tried, so I went back to what came with the machine. I think...

I just saw this thread:
Aurora Brugnetti lever lacks flow restrictor?

Uhm... with the shower head removed, mine does something similar. I will take a video later, but going to see if I can duplicate that mod.

Dear all,
From what I have now learned this is a general "flaw" in design.
The Aurora Brugnetti is perhaps the only vintage machine with a true HX. However, the group is built for a classic dipper setup.
One can imagine that putting unrestricted line pressure (2-6 bar) on a small cylinder inlet port, water seeks to the way of least resistance (providing the jetting effect and a subsequent sh**ty dispersion). In the dipper setup the pressure would be only 0.9 bar....

I can only conclude that a Brugnetti user can do some playing with pressure and flow (and add an extra dispersion screen) and live with the result. If not, and one wants to stick to HX (for obvious reasons) the Londinium can be an improvement. From what I can see, this machine has a double walled cylinder allowing four inlet ports to the dispersion.
Cheers, TY

This screen is designed to disperse water at a pressure over 6bar during an extraction, whatever the machine type is...
Same screen type as many other old levers, doesn't seem to be a general design "flaw" but rather a problem with the inlet "flow" restrictor (stainless steel ball behind the group).

The metal filter for my vac pot seemed to fit, so I tried it. The shower is much improved, but my line pressure is likely high as the water does continue to go around and off the sides of the shower screen just not as bad as before. Reading the other thread, I bet this could be fixed by securing the shower to the group with a seal so water would have no choice but to go through.. however, who knows what sort of issues that might cause? Explosions?!

Here it is with the vac pot mesh - please ignore just how bad my BA looks.. : Mr. Turbo Yeast: it's funny we post a similar issue at same time, looking at your equip list, I also have a conti prestina. I've had it in pieces for about 5 years now.. a few months ago I polished and sealed the brass, now I just need to order parts and reassemble, so close to finishing it. Then I can start with this BA.

pootoogoo wrote:This screen is designed to disperse water at a pressure over 6bar during an extraction, whatever the machine type is...
Same screen type as many other old levers, doesn't seem to be a general design "flaw" but rather a problem with the inlet "flow" restrictor (stainless steel ball behind the group).

The screen and the metal ball are not the problem (btw the latter is not a inlet flow restrictor but acts as a non-return valve).
In my opinion the flaw is to install a group -optimized for a dipper setup- on a HX system. This leads to poor water dispersion (caused by jetting) and can be improved by modifications to the stock dispersion screen.

jedovaty wrote:Mr. Turbo Yeast: it's funny we post a similar issue at same time, looking at your equip list, I also have a conti prestina. I've had it in pieces for about 5 years now.. a few months ago I polished and sealed the brass, now I just need to order parts and reassemble, so close to finishing it. Then I can start with this BA.

It is indeed funny that we post at the same time, but not a coincidence. There are now four users that document similar dispersion issues. See my earlier response.
Yes, I also own a Conti prestina. It is a fantastic machine and I have used it daily for approx 2 years. I have been PM'ing with Paolo and we both agree that it is a machine with a soft touch (caused by pre-infusion at 0.9 bar and brew pressure at 5-6 bar). I think that miss Aurora B gives more complexicty to the shot, but is also (far) less forgiving.....
Cheers, TY

turboyeast wrote:(btw the latter is not a inlet flow restrictor but acts as a non-return valve).

Put a 15mm Ø ball on mine. Believe me, it restricts the flow.

That's looking better!! Which siphon screen did you use? I agree somehow your water is leaking from the side. It might be the gap between the legs. The jet is normal and it happens on Cremina, Pavoni, Astoria etc as well, so I wouldn't worry about it as the screen is there to keep it under control.

Also, I notice the grooves where your shower screen clips on look slightly different than mine. Might be an illusion or the angle of the photo.


To all:

One thing I have not mentioned in detail. I noticed there are a few types of screen out there. For example:

type 1 (mine):



type 2 :



type 3:


type 4:



Type 4 is out of question because the slits do allow water to escape from the side.

Type 3 is tricky. It looks similar to type 2, but the major distinction is it has bigger hole sizes (maybe around 500 micron vs 300 micron on the type 2 screen). The bigger hole size matters because it does not disperse the jet properly, and TY likely has this type of screen (due to the large dent he observed in his pucks). This screen I believe was originally for Astoria group head where dispersion is less critical(?), and it is more widely available/cheaper (can be obtained from Ascaso part A..26).

They can identified by the punching hole indentation -type 3 is round shaped, type 2 is square-shaped.

For example:
https://www.coffeeparts.com.au/parts-by ... wer-screen
https://www.coffeeparts.com.au/parts-by ... hower-head


I have the type 1 and type 3 screen. Without any sort of mod - With the type 1 screen, I can tamp moderately and it won't destroy the puck. With type 3 screen, a very hard tamp is needed to ensure puck integrity - I consider it non-workable without extra dispersion screen as you will walk on a tight rope all the time. I still think there is no need to modify flow/pressure (but I'm a tinkerer so I tend to fiddle with stuff ).

Jed seems to have the type 2 screen. His screen seems to have eliminated the jetting effect completely (which is great). But somehow there's some side leakage issue, which I'm sure can be fixed and much less detrimental than the jetting.

The type 1 shower screen works fine as is without any modification (I suspect type 2 too), and it can become the perfect shower screen with an additional dispersion screen. 'Perfect' is a big word and I don't normally use it, but if you have seen dispersion from other levers/E61, none will actually come close.

Type 1 is the one I am using. I think it is the best combination because - it has small hole sizes, the straight legs which allows easy removal of the screen, and there's no gap in between the leg. Unfortunately, I got it from an ebay seller and so not sure of the part number.



Also, I believe the clip on screens have 2 height configuration. One is about 4-5mm and the other 7mm. I have no knowledge how to differentiate one from the other but the 7mm will almost certainly not sit in the group properly.