Here are a list of modifications for most La Pavoni machines, some are cosmetic, others convenient, some, I think important functionally:

1. Replace steel threaded rod attaching portafilter to handle with either brass (preferred) or stainless. This area can get wet, and has steel against brass in (horrible) stock design. (Wrapping stock in "teflon" will help, but throwing stock threaded rod in trash is best!)

2. Get rid of roll pin in steam valve. Hard to remove, ordinary steel against brass, corrodes and becomes hard to remove. After throwing roll pin in trash, thread with M4 tap and replace with stainless M4 set screw. (Very bad initial design.)

3. Cut off locking tab on bottom of sight glass protector. It is difficult or impossible to remove stock without risking breaking protector or even sight glass. (Bizarre oversight by manufacturer)

4. Replace cheap looking plastic group handle with wood. Best to use ultra hard woods like eboy, lignum vitae, or desert ironwood because threads can be cut in these woods. Soft wood requires machining insert.

5. Replace cheap looking plastic portafilter handle with wood. Best to design better shape. See other comments in #4.

6. Replace steam valve plastic valve knob with wood. Cosmetic. Requires machining brass insert. Some kinds of wood may be prone to crack. Ebony works well.

7. Make new brass boiler cap. Somewhat difficult machining project. Requires M32x2.0 die. (Or lathe cutting deep coarse threads.)

8. Provide some kind of pressure gauge for Europiccola. Can attach to steam tube, machined brass boiler cap, or bayonette fitting for steam tube for temporary attachment. Or can put on top of sight glass for permanent.

9. Discard steel pins on top of group that is held in place with circlips and replace with 6mm brass rod. Thread ends and hold in place with "acorn" or "dome" nuts. Bad original design has brass against steel.

10. Replace stock steam tip with 1 hole one. Engineering formulae lead to conclusion that best diameter for the 1000 watt La Pavoni system is 1.4 mm.


(For older models replace steel ball in pressure relief valve with modern plastic one. An example of a case where plastic is dramatically better than metal.)

Great suggestions and list. I think the original steam wand works great for making microfoam, so I would change #10.

I suggest 10. replace the base and drip tray system with a stainless design (as shown on another thread herein). The stock one collects water under the plastic drip insert, a setup for rusting out the chrome plated machine base.

To some i fully agree ;o)
some i dont , but that is about taste /blondes or brunettes
some you can fix easy with almost same result

1,easy fix = use some olive oil on the threads ,it will dry in and be sticky and prevent rust
but replacing it with stainless is best (most brass makes your finger stink AND it can corrode and leaks funny colors if wet)

2 easy fix =replace with a stainless one (should really have left the factory with a stainless one )

3 agree

4 I like the look of the black grips , but i am biased because i always think of Murphy , wood if left wet,,,
i know as long as you dont put the grips in the dishwasher , they stay pretty

but its really blondes or brunettes

5.see nr 4

6 see nr 4

7 . i hold my hand on the boiler cap while pulling a shoot , i dont want hot metal there
neither wood because of .see nr 4

8.if only to check the boiler pressure
easy fix , a cheep manometer and a short piece of high temp silicone tube
ad a tiny bit of silicone grease on threads of manometer , screw on tube (hard to do)
this can be mounted to the steam arm without the steam tip
or if you have the cappuccino store arm to that
or with the new type steam arm removed , directly to the steam outlet

9 i am a machinist, keep the steel pins they are stronger , and i dont want two of the same type metals rubbing under high pressure =galling
the spindle of old lathes did run a steel axle in a brass bushing for days weeks years , with out losing tolerances
the c clips are so easy to remove with something flat non scratching material
hold you thump on the closed side of the clip , push with flat tool on the open side at a slight angle towards the lever , nothing will slip or fly away
remount is just as easy
you seldom has to remove more than one c clip to do maintenance

10 absolutely change the tip
i have only tested it with a 1,5mm (because that was what i had at hand) but will soon test one with a 1,4
Warning a less good 1,4 drill will drill a 1,5 mm hole , so if one dont have way to test , you dont know what size the hole ended up
the shaft of many drills are smaller than the size they drill

so if you use the shaft as a test pin , measure it first AND look for a burrs on the end , if it has that , dechampher it

but hey ,,,just make few in different sizes and see what suits YOUR habit best

Great suggestions, and I love #1. My Pavoni came with a rust bound stud on the portafilter handle. No amount of heating, cooling, oiling or combination would release it, so I had to dissolve it out of the handle over a 1 week period. I have a brass stud ready for installation, but for now I'm temporarily using a galvanized steel bolt, o-ring & lock nut to keep the threads dry. Bolt is the handle for now. (I've got some nice madrone burl for the handle that I need to work on.)

I don't know what is standard on these things, but on mine the piston rod seal & washer keeper ring was rusted into an unrecognizable mass that looked like hardened coffee resin. Wasn't until 1/2 way through picking it out with some force and determination required that I realized it was a rusted keeper ring as I could finally see the groove. That thing should be stainless or brass so this doesn't happen.

There are multiple reasons for getting rid of the steel pins on top of the group as discussed in item #9. The roller that contacts the brass of the group is steel, apparently stainless. The original pin that runs in it is ordinary steel--very bad practice to have stainless and ordinary steel in contact. Replacing with brass results in stainless to brass contact, not brass to brass. If one take standard physics formulae for round rods 6mm brass round rods suspended on both ends is strong enough here. Circlips are normally used for larger pins, these small ones often are damaged removing them, and most people to do keep circlip pliers. In spite of what the other poster wrote, my machine has had brass pins for nearly a year, and they are in perfect condition. Acorn nuts also can be tightened exactly to reduce the "slop" in the lever action.

I also prefer a wooden cylinder for the top of a brass cap on the boiler, because it is easy to hold while pulling a shot and to turn in and out. It NEVER discolours my hands nor anything else. I have had my machine this way for about a year.

For removing the c-clips from the lever pins I find an open ended wrench works great. Forget which size I pull out, but any wrench that slips over the c-clip should work great in pushing it off in a very even manner by laying the wrench open end flat alongside the lever and pushing the clip in the direction you want. The wrench is polished steel, so little danger of scratches if handled with care.

I use this to put them on as well as take them off. Acorn nuts look nicer I think.

Everything about looks , i just that , thats why i did write the blonde or brunette thing
do what YOU like best

the roller i think are chromed brass , but i have to check when i get home , and they could be different on different machines ,,

just keep things lubed
the rollers on a bicycle chain are made of steel , just like the gear it runs in and the pins in the chain links
steel to steel to steel ,for days and years

the ways on my lathe are made out of steel ,just like the saddle than runs on the ways ,lube is the key

if it aint broke , no need for a fix ,



except the roll pin for the steam , fix before it starts to rust , much easier to get the pin out if its not rusted

or lube it to prevent rust

all this is not to say you should not pimp your machine if you like to

but its nice as is ,,if the pressure stat is set right (if it has one ), and maybe the steam tip
but with the old machines that did run much higher in pressure m they where ok

drgary wrote:I would add another mod but don't know quite what parts to use. The standard La Pavoni steam valve seals brass against brass. The small channel where that happens easily scales and is hard to reach and clean, so it frequently leaks and often must be closed hard. It also doesn't have the nice feel of gasket-seated valves like you find in an Elektra Microcasa a Leva or an Olympia Express Cremina. I'm pretty happy with my Millennium La Pavoni Europiccola except for that poorly designed steam valve. Has anyone seen a good mod for that?

This mod doesn't deal with your scaling issues, but it does make adjusting the steam valve much quicker and easier. Since following suit, I'm relieved to no longer have to twiddle the fiddly gear-shaped plastic knob with my relatively large fingers. The hand wheel is also removed some way from the manometer, which I used to have to struggle to avoid knocking.

Completely unnecessary La Pavoni steam wand handwheel mod (and a question)