My La Peppina lever produces a squeak that seems to indicate inadequate piston seal lubrication. As I've mentioned before, I have little mechanical ability and very few tools. Also, I don't find the Peppina parts diagram/blueprint very helpful. Would it be possible to lubricate the piston seal by simply mixing a little dow 111 with some water and pulling a few shots with it? Intuitively, this seems rather stupid, but I am vary wary to take the machine apart unless I absolutely must. Suggestions?

Maybe someone has a plan, but I frankly can't see a way to lubricate the piston properly without gumming up the two washers in the process. Here is my best guess on how one could lube the piston without taking the kettle off the body and it would require a screwdriver and a syringe with a long needle, a needle just the right length as a matter of fact. With the machine empty of water, remove the screw on the front of the group. There is a straight channel that runs above the group washer directly into the cylinder, but you have to measure the distance from the front of the group to the inner wall of the cylinder. Use a thin stick or something and push it into this channel through the front screw hole and it should hit the side of the piston with the lever up.....this gives you the approximate distance. Now, take a syringe and remove the piston from the syringe body and put a blob of dow 111 in the syringe and push the blob to the working end of the syringe and put the needle or even a thin tube on the syringe end and push the lube into the cylinder with the idea of getting it to somehow spread over the surface and not just sit in a glob. (do this with the lever down so you are delivering the lube above the top of the piston). You might be able to get away with adding a little moneral oil or thinner lube but not so much as to gum up the big washer, and if you gum it up you might have to take it apart to clean the washer and then you can properly lube the cuylinder. Actually, the big washer should work even with some lube on it since the force opening and closing it is pretty great, but the little washer in the group could get fouled and cause a no sealing situation...but the little washer is easier to clean than the one inside the cylinder.

I actually think that this may work as long as you approximate your distance from the front of the group to just inside the cylinder and don't get too carried away with too much lube. The dow 111 won't spread around too much on its own but you want something pretty sticky or you will end up with lube in your espresso. Think about it, it might work, but then again, it might not.

Thanks, Doug! That sounds like a good idea. I will give it a try and let you know how it worked out.

Alright, so that method was quick and easy. After that failed to reduce the squeak at all, it became apparent that the problem was really just a simple matter of lever friction. This was easily remedied.

Note: I used a fine, hard-haired paintbrush to apply the Dow 111. It fit through fine, and did not cause any "glob" problems as a syringe might have.

Dow 111 is designed to be temp stable and not be reactive with water (ie Food grade). So that it does not move about and lubricate where it has not been placed on purpose is not a fault of the lubricant. If you did not put a very light coat on the piston seal when it was apart I am in doubt you could get it to spread from a single point injection without a wiping force.

An alcohol thinning base like Everclear may get it to thin and spread, but it may well ruin it's food safe properties.

I have no better suggestions, I am sorry. Are you sure the piston is making the noise, and not the spring?

-C

I suggest taking it apart. Mine sqeaked too a while ago. Turned out the piston seal was worn to the point that the metal of the piston could hit the cilinder. The cilinder now has some minor scratches, but no leaks. I could polish them out, but it's a fiddly location.
Still, when machinery makes unexpected noises, there is something wrong. Take it apart and check. It's just one screw, and will take 15 minutes maximum.

+1

The "quick and easy" solution is often neither

Cheers

Mike