My new-to-me '75 Olympia Cremina continues to perform as well as can be expected with a newbie owner. Lots of experimenting over the weekend with dosing, grind, tamp, timing, etc. Some really wonderful shots!

But there's a mysterious phenomenon: When I'm through playing and have cleaned everything up I turn off the power and go away. When I come back, the lever has mysteriously raised itself to the "up" position! My husband swears up and down that he hasn't touched it!

Is this levitation/posession by a spring-activated alter ego?

I'm puzzled .....

Sue

It's the vapor in the boiler condensing creating a vacuum that pulls the piston up.

I always considered it my lever was doing a salute for a job well done!

We all have been there when this is first discovered....

My wife was the poor soul at our house to have noticed it raise up - just out of the corner of her eye... she was sure that was our ghost. We live in a house built in 1915, and a lever rising up for no reason definitely got her attention. Plus our house was rented by Monica Lewinski ( and roommates) during her 4 years at Lewis and Clark College here in Portland........ I am sure that had nothing to do with a lever suddenly ..... No of course not......

I think I have been hanging out with the cheeky Brits on Too Much Coffee lately- Sorry

mogogear. One can never have too much British strangeness, nor too much coffee, so I think you are going to be fine.

Lever up is a sign of good seals, I believe. I get worried when my '74 67 Cremina doesn't rise to attention after it's cooled down. Never got a raised lever until I changed the piston seals and gaskets.

Thanks, all, for the reassurance!

mogogear wrote:... Plus our house was rented by Monica Lewinski ( and roommates)...

+++mogo
keep it up, would you please