E-61 group pressure release ("3-way") seal repair
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Randy G.
- Posts: 5340
- Joined: 17 years ago
Over the last two or three weeks I noticed that I was "suffering" from wet puckitius. Even with a blind filter in place when clear water backflushing at the end of a session I wasn't getting the familiar "whoosh."
I opened the group up about three days ago thinking all it needed was a good cleaning, but I found about four or five little bits of stringy black stuff. Closer examination revealed that the seal on the pressure relief valve (the one at the very bottom of the group; the shortest one) was chewed up and pretty much fubar. So I contacted Stefano at Espressocare.com And he asked if it was the brass was OK. I assured him that it was just the "rubber" seal portion and thanks to Stefano's excellent service the seals arrived today.
I lost no time in pulling out the suspect part, and thought I would share how I replaced the seal. The trick is that the entire seal assembly can be disassembled. BUT, the part is small and round and difficult to hold. Here's what I did:
I clamped two pieces of scrap wood in my bench vise and drilled a 1/2" hole through their junction. I wobbled the bit around until the hole was just a little smaller than the part. Open the vise, put the part between the wood pieces, and close the vise. I used a soft wood and it held easily without crushing the part. I unscrewed the triangular peg portion of the assembly, working it anti-clockwise and then clockwise a bit to be sure that any deposits in the threads would be worked out and not jam the fine brass threads. All the while I was thinking, "I have a Mypressi, just in case!"
Above is the part ready for assembly. The seal washer drops in, the little brass washer next, the the pin is screwed on. I cleaned the male threads with a small brass-bristle brush and applied a bit of Dow 111 silicone grease. I screwed the peg back on by hand all the way until it seated it, and then gave it just a tiny bit more with a small adjustable wrench.
Back into Sr. VBM, reassemble and I got my Whoosh back! I am a happy barista again. Dry pucks tomorrow for sure!
I opened the group up about three days ago thinking all it needed was a good cleaning, but I found about four or five little bits of stringy black stuff. Closer examination revealed that the seal on the pressure relief valve (the one at the very bottom of the group; the shortest one) was chewed up and pretty much fubar. So I contacted Stefano at Espressocare.com And he asked if it was the brass was OK. I assured him that it was just the "rubber" seal portion and thanks to Stefano's excellent service the seals arrived today.
I lost no time in pulling out the suspect part, and thought I would share how I replaced the seal. The trick is that the entire seal assembly can be disassembled. BUT, the part is small and round and difficult to hold. Here's what I did:
I clamped two pieces of scrap wood in my bench vise and drilled a 1/2" hole through their junction. I wobbled the bit around until the hole was just a little smaller than the part. Open the vise, put the part between the wood pieces, and close the vise. I used a soft wood and it held easily without crushing the part. I unscrewed the triangular peg portion of the assembly, working it anti-clockwise and then clockwise a bit to be sure that any deposits in the threads would be worked out and not jam the fine brass threads. All the while I was thinking, "I have a Mypressi, just in case!"
Above is the part ready for assembly. The seal washer drops in, the little brass washer next, the the pin is screwed on. I cleaned the male threads with a small brass-bristle brush and applied a bit of Dow 111 silicone grease. I screwed the peg back on by hand all the way until it seated it, and then gave it just a tiny bit more with a small adjustable wrench.
Back into Sr. VBM, reassemble and I got my Whoosh back! I am a happy barista again. Dry pucks tomorrow for sure!
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