KnowGood wrote:Top of sight glass is too much. Don't go over the fill ridge (which no one knows about), which is the line going all around the boiler near the top.

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For those that didn't know why that was there, now you do.

You do need to site your source on this (mis?) information. Under filling is more of a problem than overfilling with a Pav. If you look inside a Pav you will see that the group is fed from a tube that reaches close to the bottom of the boiler and that the safety valve is well above the top of the sight glass.
Also if we are going to "theorize" about the joint in the boiler here are my almost worthless 2 cents. They have the joint at this point to help resist flexing in the boiler body. The lever via the group really works the boiler hard (notice flexing at boiler /base) Having the joint just below the group like this helps stiffen the column. Additionally perhaps the joint is not filled (smoothed over) because the fill might crack from the group stress.

Heckie wrote:If it is a max. water fill line line as you say then why does Pavoni say that the max water fill line is top of sight glass, http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/pavoni/europiccola.pdf

They say this because it is a guesstimation. The first page says and I quote:

First Time Operation
For first time "out of the box" operation we recommend you clean the inside of your la Pavoni machine. Follow the simple procedures below:

1. FILL THE BOILER (9) WITH WATER UNTIL THE WATER LEVEL REACHES THE TOP OF THE SIGHT GLASS (5). FOR THIS CLEANING PROCEDURE YOU MAY ADD ANOTHER 3 TO 4 02 OF WATER TO THE BOILER. THE LEVER (1) SHOULD BE IN THE DOWN POSITION.

2. ADD THE COFFEE DESCALER ENCLOSED OR IF NOT AVAILABLE ADD 1 TEASPOON OF SODIUM CARBONATE. THE ENCLOSED PACKET OF DESCALER IS ENOUGH FOR TWO CLEANINGS.

The next page proceeding this shows a diagram:


#5 indicates the sight glass and above it is an arrow - can you please tell me where the arrow is pointing?

The line/ridge is there for a reason, if you choose to believe it or not.

Interesting, the ridge really isn't drawn accurately at all in that diagram.

I agree, pretty sketchy sketch. FWIW on my Pav Pro the seam is aprox, 1.5 cm below the top of the sight glass. Made a friken good shot this morning though......

Lyndon-
You didn't read the second page of the instruction manual.
But back to the issue at hand, did some checking.....
As a reference 1/4inch below the top of the sight glass is the fill line, which would be pretty much where that weld is (which some think is the fill line but wasn't designed with that in mine). So I guess all this back and forth is really just... waka waka waka. Would be interested to know if the OP got the safety valve spray issue figured out??
B

I'g getting water and steam spraying from the steam wand on my Europiccola. The valve just won't seem to form a good seal. Anyone have ideas for dealing with this? I've descaled numerous times and I even replaced the valve shaft. I think I need a good way of descaling the valve seat. I am also wondering if the valve seat itself might be the problem (maybe someone overtightened the valve on a few occasions and deformed the seat), although I don't know how likely this is.

Tony
Hi! Assuming the boiler isn't overfilled, I wouldn't think you'd be getting a stream of water out of the steam wand, even if there is scale buildup at the end of the shaft or at the end inside of the assembly. Leaking water out of the steam wand tip means the shaft is worn on the end, this happens easily if the shaft is continuously over-tightened. The shaft has a finish on it that wears off and that's where the leaking comes from. Check the end of the shaft if it is worn or scratched then replace shaft and make sure you clean the scale out of the inside of the assembly. Good luck..

It is also possible to dress the valve and seat with lapping compound...I had a weeping wand and I fixed it with lapping......compound.

+1 on the lapping compound.

Those steam wand valves need to be turned pretty tight to seal at the best of times, but the finish/QA on the bore isn't that great. A little valve lapping compound and a few minutes twiddling of the shaft in the bore without nut (followed by cleaning with cotton wool buds and and a good few flushes) greatly improved things on my Pav Pro.

Getting back to the safety valve, have you tried just giving the nylon and seating a good clean? That fixed a little leak on mine. I personally don't fill to more than around 3/4 of the height of the sight glass, but that's on a Pro not a Europiccola.

Cheers

Mike

Thanks for the replies. Maybe I'll give the valve lapping compound a try. Any ideas where to get it or a trade name?