Hello everyone... I'm new here. I just purchased a Pavoni Professional and according to my manual I should pull my shot when the needle is in the green zone. However, my needle touches the green zone at about .8 bar, the drops to .7, the kicks back up to .8, Just hardly touching the green zone on my gauge.

This is a pre-millenium model with a 49mm filter basket. Do I need to adjust the thermostat? Please advise. Thank you very much.

Regards,
Gonzalo

Hey Gonzalo!

Two things to double check before messing with the thermostat (usually called the "pstat" if you search the forum) :
Make sure that the water tank is 80 - 90% filled, AND make sure that you have released what is called 'false pressure' before trying to pull a shot. To do this: when the heating element clicks off (the light goes off), open the steam valve for 4 seconds or so to release built-up air pressure inside. The heating element will kick on again. Close the valve. Wait for it to heat up again. Only now will you get an accurate pressure reading for pulling a shot.

If you are doing the above already, it does sound like the pstat is set too low.

BUT... I would suggest pulling a shot at the pressure at which it is set to see if you like it. Make sure that the portafilter is hot before pulling the shot (run hot water through the empty pf, then dry it off, put the ground coffee in, tamp and pull) ... If it tastes sour, then adjust the pstat upwards. But if it tastes fine, leave it. People honestly differ in how much pressure they like. There is also an interaction between the coffee you are using and the temp you want... (this is part of the fun of a lever machine -- you can play with all the variables.) I like one coffee (a single origin Ethiopian that is not too darkly roasted) that tastes amazing at a lower temp/pressure than the darker roast I usually drink.

The pressure 'stat (pStat) can be seen on the following page:
Removing the base and adjusting boiler pressure on a Pavoni?

You turn the black dial to adjust the pressure. Adjust it slightly, wait for the machine to cycle off and on again, then recheck the pressure.

The pStat is accessible by removing the base. This is easy on a pre-milenium machine -- it doesn't need the special screwdriver hex thingy that they discuss on that page. It may be as simple as removing the drip tray and unscrewing the regular screw there...

REMEMBER: the right pressure is the one that gives you the taste YOU want.

Have FUN!

Just my 2 cents.

Michael
(1999 Pavoni Pro, and my trusty 1981 Cremina Olympia. Original owner of both. Love them both.)

MichaelinMontreal wrote:You turn the black dial to adjust the pressure. Adjust it slightly, wait for the machine to cycle off and on again, then recheck the pressure.

Be very careful with this adjustment wheel. At least on my Factory, the thing is *very* fragile, and glued into place. Carefully remove the goo with tweezers, a nut pick, needles, needle-nosed pliers or some other pointy fine-work tool. Don't push the wheel around too much, If it doesn't move with gentle pressure, it will break with amazingly little force.
And the P-stat is somewhere between $50 (if you're luck) and $140 (if you're not), and almost nothing works to replace the lil adjustment wheel. Except maybe a zip tie. DAMHIK, IJK, OK?

Pre-millenium models don't have a glued pstat, unless it had been replaced with a newer pstat, the pstat will not be glued. If it is.. I wouldn't recommend chipping off the glue with tweezers, it's plastic you'll likely break it , the glue covers a good portion of the wheel. Save yourself the time, you'll probably need one soon anyway as they collect scale pretty easily, and buy a new pstat for $62.50 from Stefano's, not $140??. Descale the machine (if necessary) first before installing the new pstat, and follow all that up with a new set of gaskets, $38.50, especially if it hasn't been done in a while. Bottom line chipping off the glue, without a spare pstat ready to go, man that's crazy! I wouldn't wanna be without my machine if I didn't have too, nor get geeked out on some silly glue removal project....

Thank you all for the great help. My model has the olders brass adjustment screw. I was able to tweak and now my pstat kicks off just before 1 bar. It was an easy fix thank to you guys. I did descale the machine before my first use by using a solution of 50/50 white vinegar. I now need to perfect my tamp pressure. I'm currently using Illy espresso coffee to start off, as I don't have a burr grinder yet. I've also ordered a double filter basket, as my machine only came with a single shot basket.

Thank you,
Gonzalo

Heckie wrote:Pre-millenium models don't have a glued pstat, unless it had been replaced with a newer pstat, the pstat will not be glued. If it is.. I wouldn't recommend chipping off the glue with tweezers, it's plastic you'll likely break it

The advice was a general warning, not necessarily directed at the OP exclusively, but I'll take your word for it on the pre-millenia models.
And I tried 'chipping' with a small screw driver, and that's how I broke it. 'Pulling' and 'prying' with tweezers is how I cleaned it up before I used the zip-tie to temporarily hold the p-stat position til my new p-stat came in. Still have the old one with the zip-tie in case I do some other silly thing.

Good freshly roasted beans and a quality burr grinder will get you a long way with your pavoni . You could get an adjustable (hand-crank) conical burr grinder, Zassenhaus is a great brand starting at $60, as an alternative to some of the more expensive burr grinders like the Mazzer, Macap, etc... Or could go for the Baratza Virtuoso about $199. All that said, I think you'll have a difficult time with tamping using the Illy. I think... better to start with the beans and grinder. BTW nice looking machine, Good luck!

If you go for a hand grinder I would opt for one of the older model Zassenhaus, or any PeDe model. I've had some poor experiencewith my brand new Zass.

Thomas-
r.e. your experience , WOW. Thanks for sharing I was referring to a Zassenhaus that I used to own and no longer due. They have had a great reputation over the years. I can't believe they would use those plastic teflon pieces there, ridiculous!! Thanks for your post, like Pavoni with their silly Teflon pistons I hope they re-evaluate this design. Good looking out!

Beautiful machine and that lovely Richard Penney tamper is just perfect for it.

Unless you're mad about powerful steam for cappuccino, when you get a grinder and try fresh beans, you may actually want to lower the pressurestat again. 0.7-0.8 works pretty well with Brazilian and Central American beans. It also ameliorates some of the overheating issues.

Cheers

Mike