I've been using my La Pavoni for almost two years now with nary a problem (knock on wood). I brought the 1980s machine home from an extended visit to Italy where I found it for $100 (75Euro). After replacing the three pronged Italian plug with a three pronged North American plug I've been using it plugged straight into the wall here in Canada. No step up voltage converter.

Aside from the fact that it takes 20 minutes to heat up (on a good day), do I risk doing any damage to the boiler? I will be getting a converter soon, but thought I'd ask, mostly out of curiosity. What should the heat-up-to-ready time be for a pre-millennium LP?

Thanks! (Keep in mind that I'm electrically illiterate)

No you just cut your wattage in half, The heating element is just a resistive load so they arent too sensitive to a different voltage, to a point.

But basicly you have the same load, half the voltage so you end up with half the current and therefore half the power(watts) Watts=Volts x amps

You could also swap out the 220 element for a 110volt element

My older 200/800 watt madel heats up pretty quick really, probably less than 10 minutes, but I never really timed it. A little longer soak when its up to temp gives a little better results on the first shot

Nick just did a check on my 200/800 watt model, from dead cold to 1 bar pressure (240ish temp) in just under 6 minutes. Thats right at the threshold where the steam really gets going and I switch down to the 200 watt setting

Of course the group is/was still pretty cool in relation so If I was to commence to brewing, the first shot would be bad. Im no expert on what an exellent shot tastes like but Im real good at making a bad one

Thanks Adam! I definitely need to get myself a converter. 20 minutes is too long to wait - especially if 6 mins is the norm. I did look into buying a 110v boiler - it's simple to replace, but they're tough to come by and very expensive according to the good folks at orphan espresso. Probably easier just to buy a $75 converter.
I also have the two-switch model - rated at ~800 watts. Do you think a 1000 watt converter would cover the startup spike?

Hi Nick.

Because of the way ohms law works, you're achieving only ~180 watts running the machine on 110v not half the specified 800 watts as has been suggested earlier.

You won't do any harm at all to the heater, but a step-up transformer sounds a sensible way to go unless you are a much more patient person than I am.....

Well, after almost two years of waiting 20+mins for warm up, my patience is beginning to thin.

Rob, what would be the minimum voltage rating I would need for a step-up converter? Would a 1000 watt converter do the job? Or would I need to go up to 1500 to avoid over-loading on startup?