I purchased my export last fall and have been very happy with it. It is the first lever machine I have used and am finding it pretty easy to get a handle on...har, har. I will save my questions regarding beans, grind, tamping, and pulling for another forum but what I am looking for here is some technical help with trouble shooting a drip.
Recently while the machine is warming the group head drips through the dispersion screen. If I pull the lever and express some water with or without the portafilter, or with it empty the drip stops. While I pull a shot with the pf full of coffee the piston seems to not return all the way to the top and after removing the pf my drip has returned.
Can anyone offer an explanation or advice?
Thanks.
dw.

thanks much.
dw

While waiting for the parts to arrive you can try a few "tricks":

1) Lube the pins that go through the lever and the top of the main piston rod that protrudes from the group head. Olive oil is as good as anything else readily to hand.

2) Pop the shower screen if you can. I think the PV is the same as most other lever machines in having the screen held on just by the rubber gasket, but don't have any direct experience of the PV myself. If the shower screen is clogged with coffee oils this can cause or exacerbate the problems you mention. Give it a good soak in Cafiza/Joe Glow etc.

3) While the shower screen is out, raise the piston and lube the cylinder walls with a light but thorough coating/smear of Dow or another food-grade grease that retains its properties at high temperatures.

All these should improve the situation at the very least before you can change the piston gaskets. You may even find that the above combined with a descale gets the machine back to where you want for several months at least. They are all good maintenance practice.

Cheers

Mike

Thanks for the tips mike.
dw

Mike.
One more quick thank you. Descale and lube seems to have done a bit of a trick for the time being. Waiting on parts to do a more comprehensive fix and glad to have machine operating in the mean time.
d

The screen on the PV is not held on by the gasket. It 'snaps' into place. There is a small indentation on the side of the screen that snaps into a groove on the outer piston chamber wall. You can remove it with a flat headed screw driver- using the driver as a lever against the bayonet mount. First time is a bit hard but after that it is easy. If you look under there you will be able to see the indentation on the edge of the screen: this is where you gain leverage.

Glad to hear you're up and running again!

here is the culprit!!
completely torn middle seal...any ideas how this happens?

Hi David, while you have the machine apart, check the bore to see if there is anything the seals are catching on that could tear them - scale, rough bore etc.Also avoid using the lever when the machine is cold as this could tear the seals.When its up to temp the seals are alot softer and lubed by the hot water.