Hi everyone, First off thanks for this great source of information to do with Lever Machines....... I could have never gotten this far(I have been lucky a few times with my Dad's Pavoni Pro) without everyones help...... Upon returning my fathers '83 Pavoni Professional to him with new handles (see page 106 of Rollcall, new pics of handles soon,to be posted in Lever Machine Gallery), I was handed a 1999 Europiccola (49mm0 from my Dad's caregiver and told it didn't work very well....... and she said something about the seals.....

Well after a few days cleaning the machine and taking things apart and putting them back together with the help of you all in this forum, I have discovered that yes it needs new gaskets that seat the boiler to the base so it doesn't move when you lock-in the portafilter. And, there is no water filling the grouphead at the top of the stroke of the lever. Yes, I relieved the "false" pressure. I can barely get a tiny sputtering only when I really force the lever up(i.e. with too much force, as in "I shouldn't have to push like this").

When I took the grouphead apart for inspection, thinking the tiny water inlet hole had become clogged with a fleck of deposit, I found it clear and no obstruction. The machine is very clean, no scale. It heats up fine, makes good steam, but I can't get water to enter the group chamber unless I really go 'gorilla' on the lever. One thought I had was, that the lever pin has become worn or that the hole in the lever arm was becoming oblong. I read a lot of posts when I searched, and yes the lever is in the proper front hole in the down position. The holes in the lever arm look good and round, the pin shows signs of wear The piston ring gaskets look good and are obviously making a seal, no water comes out when the piston is down.

When I had the lever in the all the way up position I can't see the H2o inlet hole, but I thought that water could still come out because the hole could be just below the rubber piston gasket. If I take the lever arm off and push the piston to the top of the group chamber I can't see the inlet hole. I have looked at the piston/piston rod connection and the piston is screwed on tight.

Obviously, I am missing something..... and I know it is probably really simple and right in front of my face....
Hopefully someone has had this experience and can direct me to the right thread in the forum? I will keep searching.

Could the piston be too tall? Or could the piston ring seals be upside down? Vapor Lock? must........have.........coffee...... Thanks in Advance.

I just tried the Newton Gravity test..... where you fill the tank, put the top on and tip it so that the siphon tube will bleed water through the inlet...... with the piston at the top of the stroke, I can get a couple drops,...with the piston removed from the grouphead I can get water to flow through.
I guess I will see if there is anything that is inhibiting the piston from going a couple hundreths higher to let more water in.

clay-
Are the gaskets assembled properly?
Strange question... I know, hear me out though, have you tried pulling shots? There's a reason I am asking

The piston is possibly unscrewed from the rod. The second hole for water travel in the group may be plugged.

Hi, thanks for the inputs, and for the link to the picture of the piston ring seals. I looked and they look orientated like the ones in your picture. I have a Nylon/Rayton/plastic piston. I also checked both holes in the grouphead, and they both are clean and clear of blockage. I did try to make several espressos when I had the machine all assembled. The pre-infusion time was ridiculous....like two minutes to be able to feel any resistance on the down stroke, and then there was so little volume in the shot, I would say, 1/4oz-1/3 oz for one pull of the lever..... I will re-check that the piston is screwed on tight, tight.

On my Dad's Pavoni Pro when I raise the lever all the way I get a shower of water through the screen with force. I made a sharpie mark at the point where water is just trickling in. I know I don't really need the force of the shower my Father's machine has, but I would think I could get the chamber to fill with water faster than a couple of minutes.

One last digression..... He is totally digging his lever machine again!! It has given him something to focus on(other than being in a body that is falling apart), and he seems rejuvenated in his spirit despite all his health issues! Pulling on the lever is actually good physical therapy for his blown out shoulder........ so this raises the question for me, Can making espresso on a lever machine prolong and enhance your life? In my Dad's case I am going to say YES! It has given him a reason to get up in the morning and deal with all the pain in his body..... Just to be able to pull a good espresso.

Okay, thanks you guys again for your suggestions! I will push on with my trouble shooting...... or should I say I will pull on......heh, heh.....

PROBLEM SOLVED!!! YEAH!! And I just pulled possibly the best 1 oz shot on a lever machine of my life!!! And it is only Tuesday!! I went back and was double checking that the piston was screwed on tight, and I couldn't tighten it any more. Then I just wanted to take the piston off the piston rod and have a closer look, and there it was! the scale gunk had gotten into the threads and blocked me from tightening the piston. I cleaned the threads of the piston rod with a brush and screwed everything down tight...... And Voila' I got a good amount of water coming into the group chamber.....!!! And a pretty decent espresso! I am so flipping happy right now..... I knew it had to be something simple that I over looked. Doug, thanks for making me think about the piston/piston rod connection again. I guess when I cleaned/soaked the boiler with descaler solution, and ran some through the grouphead, I might have loosened the scale on the piston rod, but I didn't remove it until physically brushing it off. Good lesson for me in cleaning. Take it ALL apart and clean.

So thank you for this website, and forgive me for being an amateur technician. This is sooooo much fun though..... Like working on my bicycles without all the grease, and the espresso tastes better than eating dirt.....and flys.....and exhaust.....

Maybe consider replacing the nylon piston with a brass one next time you replace the piston gaskets. I have had nothing but headaches over the years with the nylon. Glad you got it fixed!!

Hi heckie, thanks for the input. I will mention to my Dad's caregiver the brass piston upgrade...... Although she is on a tight budget and probably doesn't have the change to make the change..... I have been using her Europiccola once a day with some really fantastic results!! Same coffee run through my Vetrano or the Europiccola, and I get two great cups, but the Lever gives a world away of depth, and flavor...... I still don't get it....why? Anyway, I am using the Europiccola to help teach me how to run my Vetrano better..... Yesterday I did a 10 second pre-infusion on the Vetrano, and it was closer to what I am getting with the lever.....

Now I am the owner of a Cremina that arrived yesterday, that needs some LOVE....... Piston won't move, missing lever handle, boiler element doesn't heat.......Steam arm looks clean though, and the body and front panels are in nice shape.... I got a little project now! Tear-down starts today!!

looks like you got a bit of work ahead of you with the cremina, have you opened it up yet?