Welho wrote: Usually mine starts with 0.3 and when it is warm it rarely goes over 0.2 on the meter. Can Anyone share where the reading should be when the machine is warm and ready to go?

Niv, mine pressure relief valve never starts making noises but it should open when the right pressure is reached no to get the machine over pressurized.

Also included is the image of my pstat pipe. As you can see it is cracked all the way to the bottom as far as I can see. Also you could see some light coming through the crack so water will also finds it way there as well. If the crack should not be there I guess I have option trying to fix it or get a new pstat. Any opinions which way to go?

On the good side, as the most pressure is made by spring I have had few pretty ok espressos out of the machine so far. Next I will try to listen for any leaks and if I do not find anything I will try to change pstat settings to see if it helps. That means opening the bottom of the machine for the first time..
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I do not follow your description of the machine's temperature/pressure progress. It should increase, not decrease, that is, it should go from 0.2 to 0.3, not from 0.3 to 0.2.

The pressure relief valve should open when the pressure exceeds the machine's target pressure range. If the p-stat is turning the heating element off, then the relief valve won't open.

It is not always easy to find replacement parts for these machines. Seize the opportunity.

The boiler pressure and the spring pressure are unrelated. Boiler pressure determines/reflects water temperature. Spring pressure determines the force of the water being pushed through the coffee in the filter.

Ville,

How did you manage to picture the pstat pipe ? it seems you have taken the whole machine apart and opened the boiler ? How difficult is it, how long should I spare for it ? any tips ? (I guess I'll need to have in hand a new boiler-to-base seal, where did you get it from ?).

another one: do you get an even shower above the coffee cookie ? when I took off the portafilter after test brewing of espresso, there was a hole dug into one certain area of the cookie..

Thanks for your help,
Niv

timo888 wrote:I do not follow your description of the machine's temperature/pressure progress. It should increase, not decrease, that is, it should go from 0.2 to 0.3, not from 0.3 to 0.2.

Yes indeed, it makes no sense but this how it works. In the beginning I can get up to 0.35 pressure but when I open steam wand pressure just disappears very fast and boiler starts to run again. After a while, let say 15min or so, pressure gets more stable, and after enough heating I can get unlimited steam too but pressure will no more go over 0.2 but tends to stay there.

It is not always easy to find replacement parts for these machines. Seize the opportunity.

I heard, from Finnish La Cimbali importer that all parts should be still available, hard to say if that is true but I might find out pretty soon..

The boiler pressure and the spring pressure are unrelated. Boiler pressure determines/reflects water temperature. Spring pressure determines the force of the water being pushed through the coffee in the filter.

I guess I should measure temperature of water I can get out of my group head.. Any cheap measurement devices you can recommend for this (from dealextreme.com for example) ?

-Ville

nivzur wrote:Ville,

How did you manage to picture the pstat pipe ? it seems you have taken the whole machine apart and opened the boiler ? How difficult is it, how long should I spare for it ? any tips ? (I guess I'll need to have in hand a new boiler-to-base seal, where did you get it from ?).

another one: do you get an even shower above the coffee cookie ? when I took off the portafilter after test brewing of espresso, there was a hole dug into one certain area of the cookie..

Thanks for your help,
Niv

Hello,

taking microcimbali to apart was pretty easy I think, just follow these great instructions:
http://www.orphanespresso.com/index.php ... chapter=30

Just taking off the boiler to see pstat is actually just removing only two bolts, pretty easy if you have any decent tools. Personally I did not change any seals yet, I think they are fine, but will check them more carefully later.

My cookie is even so there is no showers. If you take the machine apart you will see two small bolts keeping the filter on, if they are too tight they will have effect to the shower.

-Ville, who is wondering what to do next, pstat seems to be the problem..

I recently acquired a microcimbali which appears to have had very little use. The operating pressure on this machine is in the red area between .2 and .3. On two occasions it has reached .4, but quickly dropped to .2-.3 level. The portafilter is under pressure when removed and the cookie is soupy. I appears that the boiler stops heating and will cycle off and on.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Bruce

The boiler pressure should read about 1 to 1.2bar when the heater is shut off by the pressurestat. If you are in the red zone, that would mean that the gauge is wrong or that you are way too hot. If the machine is like the older La Pavonis then a little bit of mist from the overpressure valve would be at the high heat, ready to steam..one bar is equal to the boiling point of water at sea level. 212°F and 100°C
I lifted this photo from Orphan Espresso.

So you may have a gauge that would be marked with the decimal in an unaccustomed place.
If you have very good steam, then your heat may up in the .8-1.5 or much higher range.
The water from the group through the coffee puck in the portafilter should be about 190-200°F / 88C-93C measured with a kitchen thermometer in a cheap bead styrofoam cup. And about 212F/100C into the cup without the portafilter in place.
A machine operating in the red zone is not a good thing and may cause serious injury.
Best of luck to you all!

I just had another thought... That machine has a great deal of bulk/mass. If so, the time to get everything hot would be as much as 30 minutes or more from turning it on. But try the water temperatures before leaving it on that long..
-Richard

Could the gauge be showing the pressure as kg/cm² and leaving off the number to the left of the decimal point? 1 bar = 1.02 kg/cm².

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