I have been getting a stiff lever on my la Pavoni 16 cup machine. Everything works great but I am putting undue pressure where the group attaches to the boiler. So , I have read a few things from this site on lubrication ... and wondered if the food grade vegetable oil type solution is still considered a viable solid way to go ?

I have a product in my hand here named BIO-LUB BDQ-100 ... that is high quality ... however I wonder about the temperature rating required for lubrication the piston ? this stuff flashes at 130°C.

Thanks guys ,

Andrew

FWIW, I used a food grade silicon to try to improve the piston sliding without dismantling the group about 3 weeks ago. It worked fine for awhile until last night when the piston was fairly stuck. I dismantle the group to see that one of my gasket had crimped and was jamming the works. I replaced the gasket and used Dow 111 on the group. This morning the mechanism was as good as new. The ruined gasket still felt fairly supple so I don't know if it was age or if the oil instead of grease had anything to do with the demise of that gasket.

http://www.hitechseals.com/chemical-com...al_id=1504

This is a massively useful link.
H/T to gamgra

I am new to this so thanks for your FWIW ... cause it's worth lots to me at the moment.

Did you have to remove the group from the boiler and then disassemble the group to get at the gasket ?
I don't think you have to .. just remove the snap rings on the lever and go from there I guess...

Also - the Dow 111 - is this what you used to lubricate the piston as well ? not sure if the piston is considered part of the 'group' or not yet ... newbie.

I did try the BIO-LUB and it worked ok ... but not as well as I would have liked. The lever sometimes stutters or slips a bit when pulling a shot... but it has always done this and it's minor.

My machine is only a year old but it gets alot of use ... and as u mentioned ... it really doesn't matter what I expect in terms of maintenance - I just have to deal with what is happening regardless of why or time.

Again thanks for the help.

AndrewYabsley wrote:Also - the Dow 111 - is this what you used to lubricate the piston as well ? not sure if the piston is considered part of the 'group' or not yet ... newbie.

I did try the BIO-LUB and it worked ok ... but not as well as I would have liked. The lever sometimes stutters or slips a bit when pulling a shot... but it has always done this and it's minor.

Sounds like your lever pin and roller need to be lubed. Any time I feel any notchiness (stuttering as you mentioned), this is always the cause.

I use Dow 111 for the piston and shaft and Orphan Espresso's pin lube for the pin and roller, though Dow 111 will work fine there too.

Hope this helps!

Excellent point Bluecold, and a very good link.

Exposing seals to something they are not designed for can be disastrous. The use of ethanol in older automobiles that have seals that were not designed for it is a good example.

Ideally, find out the seals elastomer and use Bluecold's link or similar charts. Or check with the manufacturer for an appropriate lubricant. Another source may be Orphan Espresso who has a lot of experience with many espresso machines.

Good luck
Geoffrey

Is this a machine with the plastic sleeve or
pre millennium?

stefano65 wrote:Is this a machine with the plastic sleeve or
pre millennium?

its a 2009 machine.

I have also found that the machine is stiff as hell when cold and leaks a very slight amount of water
if I try and use it while 'cold'. Warm meaning 10 minutes pre heat.

I saw service kit for 'new group' pavoni machines .... maybe that a way to go. and some dow 111

uscfroadie wrote:Sounds like your lever pin and roller need to be lubed. Any time I feel any notchiness (stuttering as you mentioned), this is always the cause.

I use Dow 111 for the piston and shaft and Orphan Espresso's pin lube for the pin and roller, though Dow 111 will work fine there too.

Hope this helps!

excellent. this is me.

step1. complete.

now to get the thing apart.

Thanks Geoffrey as well for your advice.

Also .. something I almost forgot.

For a long time after pulling the lever up or down an extremely fine black graphite-like residue would be left on the each side of the top of the portafilter. What the hell was that ? I must be crazy.