La Pavoni Europiccola gasket change help !?!

by **MattJ** on Sat Oct 16, 2010 7:36 pm

I used the Pavoni Express directions to change the seals on my Europiccola...

http://www.pavoniexpress.com/sealrepl.html

I was a bit confused reassembling the o-ring over the screen and now the lever has no resistance. I'm soon to take it apart and see if I can alleviate the problem. Any advice for getting the o-ring placement correct for the one between the screen and the group head?

Thanks.

by **orphanespresso** on Sun Oct 17, 2010 4:27 am

If your lever has no resistance the problem is in your installation of one of the piston seals (or both). The group o ring only seals the porta filter.....but to install, place the group o ring on the screen and push into place with a not too sharp screwdriver until it is seated, but again, that is not the problem if no resistance on the lever.

by **MattJ** on Sun Oct 17, 2010 1:12 pm

thanks Doug!

by **mayhew** on Sun Oct 17, 2010 3:59 pm

Doug's spot on. But after a rebuild there should be no resistance at all on the lever. It should actually pull itself down if there's no puck in place. So maybe you did it right? I'm not quite clear what you mean by no resistance.

by **MattJ** on Mon Oct 18, 2010 8:06 pm

I mean when I'm pulling a shot. It seems like there's a lot less pressure than I remember even when it was new. It makes the whole process a ton faster and it would be easier to make a lot bigger shot. There's a drastic decrease in crema or I probably wouldn't be concerned

I guess I can start playing with the grind, quantity, and tamp again, but I can't wrap my head around how new o-rings would decrease the friction.

by **mayhew** on Mon Oct 18, 2010 8:11 pm

The O rings get very hard and brittle. That means they don't slide as well going down the piston shaft. So that generates additional force you need to overcome when pushing down on the lever. With new seals that friction is no longer there.

Or maybe you screwed up the seal replacement. Hard to say w/o more info.

by **Salcoffee** on Fri Nov 18, 2011 1:09 am

Hi, I came across this post searching for answers to my issue and the description here on Oct.18, 2010 at 8:06pm, is exactly the same issue that I have. I bought my Europiccola March 2011 new and I've used it daily since. But in the last month I had the same symptom described here. The quality of my shot has suffered, no creama and coffee lost it's luster. I have not taken it apart or replaced anything. What can I do to bring my machine like before. Thanks. :?:

by **homeburrero** on Fri Nov 18, 2011 3:26 am

Sal,
First, double-check that your problem is not in the grinder. Check out this post:
Problem w/ La Pavoni Professional Millenium
where the shot quality suddenly went bad on a relatively new Pavoni and the culprit turned out to be a broken part in the grinder.

by **Salcoffee** on Tue Nov 22, 2011 12:22 am

Thanks for this info. I did notice the change when my Baratza Preciso plastic ring broke. I bought the grinder the same time as LaPavoni. Baratza has great service and sent me a replacement ring for free. The new ring is suppose to be made stronger with reinforced fiberglass...so far so good. But when I re-installed the grinder that's when I noticed the difference. There is a calibration screw but I have to take apart the grinder again, which I'll do this week. I'll post a follow up.


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