Henry,

Welding seems a little over the top? May be there is hidden treasure inside.... or not.... I will keep you informed on if there is a "off the shelf" V piston seal that works.

Today a victory !

I was skeptical of the new seals I received from ASCASO since they were not the same V type as the one I removed. I called Espressoparts NW , had a encouraging talk with Devon in their parts department and he thought that it would not be a problem to fix me up.

So off on business to Seattle for business and a small side trip to Olympia produced the hoped for results. Devon was great and had never seen a Mini Gaggia / Minimoka before. In less than 5 minutes - I had 3 new V seals and found myself shaking hands with Terry Z! Nice guy that looks just like his Avatar! I thanked him for his company's support of HB and their help for me ..... and was on my way.. Yippeeee!

Let me say it again-- Great folks on the phone and in person! EPNW

mogogear wrote:a small side trip to Olympia produced the hoped for results.

"Making the impossible possible" What machine were the seals from originally?

I was noticing on the Zerowatt that how far the piston head is screwed onto the shaft determines (obviously ) how far down the piston goes.

I think it would be best for it to go as far as possible without hitting the showerscreen, so the displacement is as great as possible...

Of course, the showerscreen is the kind that grips on quite firmly, I don't think it would be possible to push it off from the inside...

Just thinking out loud. Have you put her back together yet?

Henry

hbuchtel wrote:"Making the impossible possible" What machine were the seals from originally?




I was noticing on the Zerowatt that how far the piston head is screwed onto the shaft determines (obviously ) how far down the piston goes.

I think it would be best for it to go as far as possible without hitting the showerscreen, so the displacement is as great as possible...




Of course, the showerscreen is the kind that grips on quite firmly, I don't think it would be possible to push it off from the inside...

Just thinking out loud. Have you put her back together yet?

Henry

1.I don't understand your question Henry? The old v seal on the Gaggia didn't match the seals that ASCASo sent me - see the pictures.. of the two seals...

2.Remember the farther the piston is "unscrewed" to end up closer to the dispersion screen, the less water it will intake when the piston is raised.. because the piston will be lower at the top of the stroke. I would screw the piston down firmly on the threads on the piston shaft.....

I came down with a terrible chest cough- the kind that almost breaks your ribs... while I was in Seattle. I will get the Gaggia back together in the next day or so..If you want me to Henry I can pick you up a seal or 2 and mail them to you for your piston...

mogogear wrote:1.I don't understand your question Henry? The old v seal on the Gaggia didn't match the seals that ASCASo sent me - see the pictures.. of the two seals...

I mean the piston seals that you bought at Espressoparts- are they a standard part or were they from a specific machine? It would be interesting if the MiniGaggia piston is the same diameter as some Commercial Lever pistons!

mogogear wrote:2.Remember the farther the piston is "unscrewed" to end up closer to the dispersion screen, the less water it will intake when the piston is raised.. because the piston will be lower at the top of the stroke. I would screw the piston down firmly on the threads on the piston shaft.....

Actually it is the other way round! When the piston goes up it actually comes out of the piston cylinder. It only starts producing pressure when it enters the cylinder again.

On the Zerowatt screwing the piston in all the way makes it too high, it comes way out of the cylinder when up and doesn't reach the screen at the bottom...

Sorry to hear about your cough, take care of yourself!

Henry

ps. I got the new spring installed on the Zerowatt...with disappointing results!

The seals Devon got for me seem to be standard pistons seals for a commercial machine. He walked over and grabbed one out of a box and said"here this will work"

I guess I don't follow you or I have my logic working backwards.. So is your new spring not stiff enough... ? What gives?

Well, Loctite 518 found, purchased and used. All is tight and dry. Today I assembled the boiler and cabinetry , installed a replacement power cord - with a ground ( the original was European and the adapter for use here in the States didn't have a ground- I always feel better with a ground , a tank of hot water with an immersion heater and my hand on a lever!

BTW - the boiler, when filled to the fill line visible through the fill neck, holds 1.2 L. Of that about .9 L is usable. Remember that the cylinder for the piston rises from the boiler floor approx 1.2" This leaves a reserve pool around the cylinder well that keeps the element from ever being completely dry. I don't know if that is a designed safeguard or not- but handy to have when there is no visible site glass.

Also there was a very stable high limit on the thermostat of 203 / back on at 201. on for only about 10 seconds with a full tank!

Cranked up the machine for about 45 minutes and cycled water shots to cure the sealant. Tossed the water and will let her sit till tomorrow. I will post some pictures of her all finished.

Nice when everything is working OK

Well,
She is all trussed up quite quickly. I await the spare element from DEMOKA ,SA and with that have a well rounded back up supply of seals, thermostat and resistance for the future. Also as a last specification to relate, on this much made of but not much know of, little gravity-feed; non-pressurized boiler lever machine, is weight. On this earlier production model with the cast brass boiler she weighs a total of 18.5 pounds. Not bad

She has a nice heft in a small footprint... which is 8.75" wide X 9" deep X 11"tall ( this to the top of the body) she is 18" tall at the tip of the lever...







Next cheek




and yes, she drools on occasion...





arrivederci-

Mini Gaggia



Ciao!

So clean and nice design

Have you checked the boiler temp. with something precise yet?