I have a portafilter, with a one-cup spout screwed on it. Bought it used. I tried to unscrew the spout but it does not move a micromillimeter. The other one from the same batch unscrews fine. I put the portafilter overnight in the Cafiza, tried again, nothing. Used a lever, used a flatlips french key through the napkin (still left some marks on the chrome). The direction is correct—I use the same unscrewing direction as with the other portafilter.

Any suggestions?
Thank you.

Do you plan on re-using the nose or not?

Yes I do. I just wanted to unscrew it, clean it thoroughly and screw it back, knowing that I can unscrew it anytime again if needed.

i've had that problem before....i just put a towel around the spout, and clamped VERY lightly (actually left a mm of play around it) in my vise and used the handle to leverage the spout off...felt like i was gonna break something, but it eventually came off....i went at it a couple times, never forcing it as hard as i could any one time. the towel prevented any scratching from the vise.

if you have access to a sonicator and don't want to risk using a vise, you might soak it in there with some cleanser/degreaser and that might do it too.

good luck
-mike

Yeah the penetrating oil was gonna be my idea but I didnt know if it would taint the nose with the taste of the solvent. you could also try and heat just the nose very lightly over a stove flame or small propane torch. The slight amount of heat will expand the nose and you should be able to grip it with a towel and pliers and unscrew it right off.

Easier (and better or the nickel/chrome finish) to stick the whole PF in the freezer and then dip the schnozzle in boiling water. much more rapid temperature expansion, temperature differential, and the contact will heat the schnozz up faster without transferring as much heat to the rest of the PF.
I've always just opened a door and jammed the spout in the space between the jamb and the back of the door, and cranked on the PF handle. So far that technique has only broken on plastic PF handle...

I like the freezer/boiling water idea never would have thought of that.

Thank you all for the ideas.
I will start with freezer/boiling water. And if it fails I will try to put it in a clamp as itsallaroundyou suggest. Then if that fails, I will go to a local carsmith and ask him what he could do to unscrew it

I had to hold the spout in a vice and then use the handle to put enough torque it to get it apart so I could mount a brew head pressure gauge on it.

Susan

I don't know if we call it a shot divider, a shnoz, or a honker, or at least a nose, least of all what the people that make them would call them, but I did have to remove the double shnoz from my PF and it took a toweled clamping of the nose in a vice grip and a good bit of force on the handle to get mine removed.

I think they may be flat threads, as I have to use a good bit of teflon tape to seal a pressure adaptor on with standard threads.

BTW, the threads looked clean, IE no loctite or other gunk in the threads. Just one heck of a compression fit.

-Cecil