What a loverly way to start the day! Congratulations, a beautiful piece of work! If you have a photo tale of the restoration, please post them under a new title in the lever machine forum! Welcome!
-Richard

glk_09 wrote:wow what a great thing, hope i'm worthy just new to all this. posted my pride and joy up love this machine. i restored this a year back best looking machine i have ever restored.

<image> <image>

Wow, that is quite a nice looking machine. I'd second the notion of a fuller write up with it's own title (and more pictures).

mark

Well, I was going to wait until I pulled the first shot to get my LMWDP number, but I can't stand it.

My coffee journey started in earnest in the late 80s or early 90s. There was a place in Houston called Dolce & Freddo where I probably had my first decent cappa. It was only "decent" but it was enough to start me on my way. Started with a Krups steam toy (perhaps a wedding present?), and then "moved up" to a higher end department store Krups machine.

But I always had my eye the La Pavoni lever machine. Even in those days, I knew what would REALLY work I looked at them at various stores, but certainly couldn't afford the price, even with no kids! My wife and I did take a vacation to Europe in November of 1993. I remember standing on a sidewalk in Venice, staring at the La Pavoni on the other side of the glass, and calculating exchange rates and shipping costs in my head. But it had been confirmed before we left the States: a little one was on the way, and coffee would have to wait.

Fast forward 10 years or so: I picked up a refurb'd Gaggia Coffee Deluxe and a refurb'd Rocky. Both have served me well for 4-5 years now. I have replaced (and upgraded) several parts under the hood of the Gaggia, and can pull decent shots and get reasonable microfoam (usually), as long as you don't want more than 1 or 2 drinks in a 15 minute period. But lately, I've had a bad case of upgradeitis. Worst I've had in a long time. And Chris has that sweet little deal working on the Vetranos...dreaming of plumbed in, quiet, rotary sweetness. Oh man, what to do!

But I returned Friday from an international trip, and before dropping off to sleep, I checked craigslist (iPhones are a great thing), and I saw it: a La Pavoni Pro for $100. I fired off an e-mail and passed out. Saturday morning, while working on my morning cappa, I checked e-mail and there was a response. A few quick checks and I was on my way to take a look at the machine. Supposedly from the mid-80s, boiler was clean, body in decent shape, no real evident problems underneath...it was probably too much money, but what the hey. I wasn't in the mood to quibble, and couldn't stand the thought of it being bought out from under me. So before noon, I was on my way back to the house with my new old La Pavoni Pro in the seat next to me.

The owner did tell me that it had a slow leak that prevented it from coming up to pressure, and he pointed out where he thought it was (on the pressure stat connection into the boiler). So Saturday night, I set up a little station in the garage, took the bottom off, supported the machine so I could watch the underneath, filled the boiler, turned it on, and crossed my fingers. (Incidentally, Jonathan (who we were expecting in Europe in late '93) just turned 15 in the Spring, and was helping me check out the machine ) About 6 minutes later (yep, I had the stopwatch going), the pressure started to climb. It got to about .5 bar, and paused. I looked underneath, and sure enough, water. But it wasn't coming from the fitting; it was coming from the gap between the heater element plate and the flange onto which it was bolted! A gasket replacement!!

Its the old copper element, so I need the flat gasket (I have the element out of the machine, and have cleaned out the old petrified gasket). I'll be on the phone tomorrow, and hopefully up to pressure in just a few days!

This is what happens to a dream deferred (with apologies to Langston Hughes...). It probably won't cure my upgradeitis, but I expect that the Gaggia will leave my counter long before the La Pavoni does. Whether the plumbed-in rotary dream comes to fruition or not anytime soon, the Lever stays.

I'll let you know about the first decent shot once it is in the cup!

Wow, a year plus ago (last July) I picked up a used Elektra Micro Casa a Leva I tinkered with it for a while, replaced the pressure stat and such, but liked my T1 way better. Over the last 6 weeks, I've had no kitchen! I have had part time use of the bathroom sink area (excuse the mess). I couldn't even think of putting the T1 up there, but the little lever fit with room to spare.



So now after 6 weeks of making at least 2 latte's every morning I think I've actually gotten the hang of it and believe I quality for my LMWDP number. I can't say I'll be a steadfast lever guy, but the simplicity of the system is sure appealing, along with the quick heat up time of the system.

Mark

espressme wrote:What a loverly way to start the day! Congratulations, a beautiful piece of work! If you have a photo tale of the restoration, please post them under a new title in the lever machine forum! Welcome!
-Richard

Good to see you still welcoming the thirsty "hordes" her Richard!.. that is some machine ehh? Makes me miss my Big Red Gaggia Compacta....

I have to tell a story to get a number? <groan>
OK, I have been a certified coffee freak since I was a student and had a little 'top of the cup' filter thingy and used cheap ground stuff in it.
I liberated my grandparents' 1950s bakelite handled stove-top percolator from my brother and used it everywhere, including camping at music festivals. Seeing the coffee bubble through the glass top of that as a very small child and smelling the fabulous aroma is probably my first memory of coffee.
I graduated to a whirling blade grinder and a caffetiere shortly after getting married, and that moved on to a cheap hand grinder which quickly became for the percolator only as it was so bad at producing anything better than chunks. However, the observant of you will realise this meant I was buying beans and had forsworn the pro-ground stuff.
At this point we both liked coffee and my wife's parents bought us a little krupps 'espresso' machine for Christmas. They knew no better. A Starbucks burr grinder (which I think is a rebadged solis?) arrived one year from them as well. That actually still serves me for caffetiere duties.
Unfortunately my wife went off coffee when she was pregnant (going off coffee when pregnant is a protective biological mechanism - too much caffeine can cause the ductus arteriosus which diverts blood away from the fetus's lungs to close early which is very bad news indeed), and never regained the taste for it, poor thing.
Over time I became less and less satisfied with the krupps, and earlier this year upped the ante to a Cremina along with a used Mazzer SJ. I got the SJ first and the Cremina's diminutive size (and shiny chromium) when compared to the grinder significantly added to its spousal acceptance factor.
I didn't consider a pump driven machine for more than a week, and the deciding factor was the degree of control potentially available with a lever. I learn best by doing things hands-on, and the lever goes along perfectly with that ethos.
It's a toss up whether I will leave the Cremina to my kids or insist I am buried with it. I have no doubt that it will outlast me.
I also dabble in photography and folk music.
Will that do, can I have a number now? I promise to help dominate the world...

Hi everyone

I'm a new HB member and here's my machine:

Its a late 1960's La San Marco, a lovely machine and was operating when I purchase it a few weeks ago here in Melbourne. It's 240v of course, 2400w with a 13L boiler, manual boiler refill and is very original, even down to the asbestos boiler insulation It takes about 20 mins to heat up with the boiler 2/3 full.

Im currently descaling and rebuilding the groups with all new seals & springs from Coffeeparts in Sydney. (great service!)

Looking forward to share my experiences and learn from others here!

Cheers
Mokka

OK, so I have officially joined the lever club and bought an Orphan restored Caravel, a silver VAM one. A real beaut' - I'll post a pic once I get my camera fixed.

Dialing in the grinder gave me some trouble, as on the third shot I pulled that was still to tight I forced the pull a bit too much and heard a soft "pop" sound.

After I looked inside the kettle, the water was quite tainted with coffee, and after dumping it out and starting fresh, I have a drip leak coming from the group. I assume I burst one of the seals.

The most frustrating thing is when you get a new toy and it breaks before you get a chance to really use it.

Anyway, I ordered the replacement seals this morning. And I am very much looking forward to justify the newly shrunk counter space in mt kitchen!!

I'm in the club now!! I'll be the first to say that I am a relative newb to the espresso world. I started at the bottom, with a budget $bucks Barista machine and grinder (at least they were both on some outrageous clearance deal), and once I started using them, I found this site. I somehow knew in the back of my mind, however, that this was just the start of the journey. About a month ago, after doing some reading on the lever machines, I found a very nice pre-mil Europiccola on craigslist for $175.00. Great condition, and I couldn't wait to try it. I forgot to mention that in the meantime, I acquired a Baratza Vario, so the grinder issue was taken care of. After a few weeks of trying, I now feel I've gotten my little dragon dialed in. What nice espresso! What I didn't realize, though, was how much fun I would have playing around with this machine. Here it is...

Carl,

Welcome to the club! The stainless steel peacock is a fun espresso machine.