After watching all the OE videos of the Pharos again yesterday (I placed my order on Wed), I watched the videos of the Cremina group rebuild --which I knew I needed because some dribbles of water had started to form on the top of the group. Inspired by the video (and having purchased all the seals and tools some time ago in anticipation of this day), I woke up early this AM (armed with a french press full of Harar Longberry coffee I roasted the day before last) and set to work. Check out the old parts that I removed -especially the snap ring (circled in red) that seems to have failed entirely:



My wife asked me how I would know if the rebuild was a success (other than if the espresso came out well) and I told her that (first) the dribbles should be gone and that (second) about 15 minutes after I turn the machine off, the lever arm should rise of its own accord (thus indicating the seals are so tight as to not allow the pressure to escape):



What I wasn't prepared for was how differently the machine would feel. Where as before pushing the lever down had been a struggle it now feels like a hot knife moving through butter (no doubt due to the Dow 111 I had smeared on the piston seals).

I could not have done this w/o Doug and Barb's instructional videos and the satisfaction of having done this job myself made the espresso that much sweeter

matthew

For future reference, here is the OE video I used to guide me through the rebuild:

Once again, thank you Barb and Doug!

Don't you just love how easy these machines are to work on? Reminds me of rebuilding an old carburetor. Basic mechanical knowledge and skills with tools, and Bob's your uncle.

So after you get/got yours all back together, does the arm raise back up by itself as it cools? Mine doesn't - though the arm on my LP Europiccola does. Hmm...

And, yes, condensation on the upper part of the brew-group sounds exactly like a bad seal above the piston. Super simple one to fix.

It really was a pleasure to work on the Cremina...it's just so well thought out.

And after about 15 minutes, the arm goes right up (check the second pick in my 1st post)

condensation on the upper part of the brew-group sounds exactly like a bad seal above the piston

I was well beyond condensation...it was more like a leak that resulted in some dribbling down the side of the group! Had I known how much fun the job was going to be, I'd have done it ages ago.

After shutting off the machine I will put the steaming pitcher under the steam tube and crack the steamer open a tiny bit so the lever doesn't lift. I often have my Penny boiler cap pressure gauge mounted so can't benefit from the newer boiler cap release of neg. pressure.