Looks like another restoration project has found me in the form of a La Pavoni Eurobar. Since my last restoration of a Faema 1gr commercial HX i've learned to do a full inspection and test of everything before take down.

The good news is she fired right up and cycled nicely around 1.1 bar according to the gauge. No obvious leaks to be found although everything clearly needs rebuild.

There is some evidence of un-qualified repair work, some bad soldering and a boiler that looks to be sealed on with kitchen caulking. The boiler base is 1 turn off from where it should be so all the pipes have been bent to accomodate the new orientation of the base. (You would think that just remounting the base would be easier, but maybe not if you have already caulked it in place).

All things aside this seems to be a good candidate for restoration and i'm eager to get started.

First things first; sourcing a boiler gasket. Doug, if you are out there I know you have done a Eurobar before and i'm wondering if you cut your own boiler gaskets (one above and below the frame base) or if I can use the same gaskets as the EP Professional?

I'm also missing the original drip tray. I'm not sure where all the drip trays go but they always seem to be missing for some reason. If anyone has a lead on a replacement I'd love to hear about it, otherwise i'll have to fabricate something.

A couple of pics as she is today. The colour is actually Italian red, it looks more orange in these photos.

How do people find these machines in Ontario?

Do these Eurobar's suffer the same as Europiccolas with the overheating? I'd assume it doesn't as the grouphead isn't attached, but without ever having one, it will always just be an assumption. Either way, I love the look of them.

Don't think the grouphead has tendency to overheat like the Europiccola. I had an old Gaggia Lever (spanish) , nearly identical design to this from my recollection, that had no problems with that. But I finally got rid of my Pavoni Professional cause I grew tired of the cool rag routine. Currently using an old classic gaggia machine @ home, keeping my eyes peeled for something nice and cheap to rebuild.

That boiler gasket is likely the hardest part on the machine to figure out as it is completely counter intuitive. I don't have the machine in front of me anymore but the seal is made, as I recall between the bottom plate and the frame with a little inner hangover against the boiler. I tried making what seemed like a more logical seal but it did not work so ended up copying the strange seal on the machine and it was fine. You more or less have to take it apart and clean off the gunk and cut the flat gaskets and holes. the original seal had a shoulder on it that fit inside the boiler and so it sealed between the bottom plate and the frame as well as the frame to boiler. Likely the simplest way to do this is with two gaskets but as I recall I did it the hard way and since the new (2 years ago) owner has not contacted us it must have worked!
Good luck as it is a really nice machine and everyone who owns one is pretty content with it as far as I know.

KnowGood wrote:How do people find these machines in Ontario?

Lyndon, Its not easy that's for sure. This one came from an old barber shop near Hamilton. I used to see more come up on CL and at garage sales in the downtown T.O. Italian neighborhood - EP's and 80's pump machines mostly. I was staring at that Gaggia you picked up for weeks but just couldn't pull the trigger - great score on that one!

Doug thanks for the advice re: boiler gaskets. I'll make a template and cut my own and try a couple of options. As for group gaskets and other consumables... can I generally interchange with the parts from the Professional?

That Cremina looks familiar...

I'm really happy to see another Eurobar in Toronto, now we just need Colin to chime in with a photo of his hack to prevent the grouphead from flexing too much on a pull.

Yep, group seals are same a either premillenium EuroPic or Pro....the steam valve, if it has an o ring and flat washer on the end same a Cremina....it may have the same setup as the Epc and Pro if it has a metal pointed shaft end. Sight glass seals the same as well. The pressure safety has a flat seal in it, likely unused on the back side or possibly teflon. Boiler cap gasket the same. The pipes all have cap end fittings and can be changed if needed (6mm I think). Power switch same as Pro. Pstat same as OLDER pro. Have fun!

orphanespresso wrote:That boiler gasket is likely the hardest part on the machine to figure out as it is completely counter intuitive. I don't have the machine in front of me anymore but the seal is made, as I recall between the bottom plate and the frame with a little inner hangover against the boiler. I tried making what seemed like a more logical seal but it did not work so ended up copying the strange seal on the machine and it was fine. You more or less have to take it apart and clean off the gunk and cut the flat gaskets and holes. the original seal had a shoulder on it that fit inside the boiler and so it sealed between the bottom plate and the frame as well as the frame to boiler. Likely the simplest way to do this is with two gaskets but as I recall I did it the hard way...

I've cleaned off enough of the burnt caulking to get measurements for the boiler gaskets. I wanted to get this issue sorted before sending the frame out for PC, but without the old gasket as an example I need some advice...

As Doug describes, there is 3/32 of boiler "wall" that extends past the boiler flange, with a small groove around the bottom. Lets call it the "boiler lip".



The boiler lip goes through the frame (1/16 thick), leaving 1/32 of "lip" showing on the underside of the frame.



The bottom boiler plate with the heating element is flat.



Gasket Option 1: Flat gasket between bottom boiler plate and the frame, ID will be slightly smaller then the ID of the boiler. The lip will seal against the bottom plate with a single 1/16 silicone seal.



Gasket Option 2: Add a second gasket to the first, with an ID the same as the OD of the "lip" and stack them. Boiler > 1/16 frame > 1/16 gasket outside lip > 1/16 gasket between lip and base. The frame would go under the gasket on the boiler in this photo (frame removed for visibility).



Any thoughts (bets?) on which will work?

btw: I've cut these gaskets from a silicone baking sheet (NSF, 500F) using a compass cutter...

You are on the right track with this gasket that you are making. The original gasket was a stepped affair...the outer part that matched the bottom plate was flat and the innter part was a raised edge, almost like a beveled riser that pokes up to make the seal. Using two pieces helps create this two step geometry. The way I ended up making this seal was to basically create a seal in both directions...boiler to frame and heating element to frame....but they have to be thin enough to allow for the somewhat short length of the boiler plate bolts. It was a challenge of sorts but if memory serves you are on the right track with this two flat seal design you are working on is the way to go.

Doug thanks for your help. I had originally planned to have one gasket on either side of the frame as well but that didn't leave much of the boiler wall to extend past the frame. I'll stack them on the underside of the frame to get the step you describe.