Won a Faemina off the bay...looks to be complete, except for switches/wiring/power cord. The seller confirms that it has both heating elements, but I won't know if they are functional until the machine arrives and I can put them to the test with a multimeter. In the meantime I've ordered a set o' gaskets from OE as well as the replacement switches. Here's the weird thing - in the photos, it appears to be stamped 270v, not 220v. Has anyone seen this before? I've heard that Europe didn't have consistency around voltage until the late 1960s, so maybe this is possible?

In any event, what gauge wire should I use for the innards? Francesco's site has an excellent wiring diagram so I feel confident there - it looks quite simple actually.

I was also tracking that machine, but since the seller could not confirm the state of the elements, it was a bit of a gamble. My machine didn't have a label but the resistance readings seem to confirm 220v. It's a bit strange that your machine, being from a later period (early 60's?) would be 270v. I thought that by then power had already been regulated in Italy. Regardless you can run a step up transformer that outputs 220v. It just might take a bit longer to heat up than mine. As far as wiring, I went complete overkill on mine and used 20 amp rated wire. Wire rated for 10 amps is sufficient.
Here's my wiring job. The new switches are larger and new holes might have to be drilled.

I ordered the spare switches from Orphan Espresso as well, even though my 120 V version seems to be working just fine electrically. I just wanted to have them on hand for any future issues.

Has anyone replaced the feet on their Faemina? I'm looking for a good recommended replacement from the originals on mine, they don't seem to hold up to the weight of the espresso machine quite like they should.

The feet that came with my machine were worn down to the base and were crumbling badly. My base is the type that accepts push-in feet. I believe some later ones had feet fitted with a screw. Taking a tip from Francesco I sourced feet from an old plastic lawn chair and trimmed the rubbers a bit to fit in the base. Works great!

Here are the feet:

Yeah, I had the same thought on the elements - no way to know if they are toast or not. It's difficult to tell from the photos, but I suspect that it lacks the plate underneath as well. But I have been looking for a Faemina and figured a rebuild project would be a more affordable path...of course if the elements are blown, I'll end up spending the same as if I had gotten one advertised as functional. Luckily there are a couple of sellers in Germany who have replacement elements, so in that worst-case scenario, a functioning machine can eventually be scrapped together.

I hope your elements are good but more importantly that nobody has previously tried to remove the group cylinder unsuccessfully. I have seen a few Faemina's go up for sale mid-restoration. This puzzled me a bit until I remembered the cylinder.

My feet are the type that accept a screw to attach them, I'll keep an eye out for suitable replacements.

What's the trick with the group cylinder removal without damage? Your message is ominous, I haven't had the need to tear apart my Faemina, but I'd like to be prepared in case I do need to.

Not that I've tried, but it sounds like you need a spanner to remove it and apparently some folks have inadvertantly cross-threaded it while trying to get it off, or stubbornly turned it the wrong direction (cw instead of ccw) and really jammed it on there.

OE's rebuild guide walks you through it. My plan is to re-wire the machine once I have it (assuming the elements are good), bring to temp, and see how the seals are. If it holds pressure I may just replace the PF gasket for now.

The boiler lid seal you'll probably have to replace, but that's nothing. That was the only one on my machine that leaked. Considering the cylinder did not look like it had ever been tampered with, I was pretty amazed the seals were holding up. However everything depends on how the inside of the group looks, particularly the spring. My spring was rusted so I had no choice but to do a complete disassembly.

My Faemina weeps a bit out of the top of the group where it connects to the lever as it comes up to temp and pressure. If I move the lever, I can get this to stop, but the first time this happened (and it didn't happen at all for several weeks) I didn't notice it and quite a bit of water weeped out of the group. As this gets worse, I'll probably have to do a rebuild and check the seals and gaskets.