Unscrewing the portafilter spout?

by **Vad** on Fri May 08, 2009 12:57 pm

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.

by **Bluegrod** on Fri May 08, 2009 1:21 pm

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

by **Vad** on Fri May 08, 2009 1:22 pm

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.

by **itsallaroundyou** on Fri May 08, 2009 2:20 pm

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

by **Bluegrod** on Fri May 08, 2009 2:24 pm

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.

by **Psyd** on Fri May 08, 2009 2:29 pm

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...

by **Bluegrod** on Fri May 08, 2009 2:37 pm

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

by **Vad** on Fri May 08, 2009 2:55 pm

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

by **SJM** on Fri May 08, 2009 10:42 pm

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

by **CRCasey** on Sat May 09, 2009 3:42 am

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

by **Psyd** on Sat May 09, 2009 7:03 pm

Vad wrote: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

So, Vad, how did it go?

by **Vad** on Sat May 09, 2009 7:55 pm

I tried the freezer/hot water thing, and it did not work. I just bent the table's foot that I used as a "clamp".

Anyway, the portafilter is now in a freezer for a second day, awaiting for the moment when I find something more durable, to twist it in. If this fails, I will give it to a car-locksmith on monday.

by **Vad** on Sun May 10, 2009 8:10 am

Tried again now—no luck. Showed it to my car-locksmith and he warned that the material of the spout is soft and looks fragile for such a force that seemed to be necessary to unscrew it. But anyway, I told him to try it tomorrow. Talk about solving the mistery of a screwed spout

by **triptogenetica** on Sun May 10, 2009 9:53 am

Psyd wrote:Easier (and better or the nickel/chrome finish) to stick the whole PF in the freezer

Ah, the freezaporto! Mmmmmm...

When I had real trouble with this (unscrewing a portafilter), I put the spouts on a flat hard surface, put a plank of wood on top, and my foot on top of that. Then I pulled the handle. (But of course, if you have a clamp / vise - go for it). My method probably only suits double spouts, though...

by **Vad** on Sun May 10, 2009 10:02 am

Hehe, nice video

He can also re-use the coffee again, after drying it. So he can get even more of that great yellow-white goodness.

Yes, I tried applying some force, and it did not move. That is why I give it to the guy with a vise. He said he will try to sprinkle some "releaser" on the thread. I guess I will have a long cleaning session, it it works out.

by **chipman** on Sun May 10, 2009 2:29 pm

Why go to all the trouble if the threads are fighting you? Why not just soak it in cafiza and then use a steam wand cleaner or even a pipe cleaner to take care of the insides?

http://sweetmarias.com/prod.coffeecleaner.php

by HB on Sun May 10, 2009 3:22 pm

The threads portafilter spouts I've dealt with were sealed with Loctite Red or similar. It takes a considerable amount of force to break the thread sealant, so much so that I thought the portafilter handle might snap. I doubt soaking in espresso cleaner would make any difference; searching on remove Locktite red turned up some possibilities (heat it to 500F? Yikes!). That said, a vice with padded faces has worked every time and none have broken or bent yet (La Marzocco, La Spaziale, Faema-style, Rancilio, etc.).

by **Vad** on Sun May 10, 2009 5:03 pm

chipman wrote:Why go to all the trouble if the threads are fighting you? Why not just soak it in cafiza and then use a steam wand cleaner or even a pipe cleaner to take care of the insides?

I just want it to be removable any time I wanted, in the future. For that I need it to be easily unscrewed.

HB wrote:That said, a vice with padded faces has worked every time and none have broken or bent yet (La Marzocco, La Spaziale, Faema-style, Rancilio, etc.).

Thank you for the calming words. Anyway, you are not to blame if the spout breaks during the attempt, I will not blame anyone

by **Vad** on Mon May 11, 2009 5:00 am

I got a call from a car-locksmith now. He said that the spout is now unscrewed. He used a vice and a considerable amount of force (I don't know which side though :wink:

hopefully not the Dark one).
Thank you all for the advices.

by **CRCasey** on Tue May 12, 2009 12:46 am

May the spoutless be with you.


Contact Us	Legal disclaimer and copyright: This content and all its parts are copyrighted, all rights reserved. Content including all text and images in part or in whole may not be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission. Home-Barista, Home-Barista.com and related logos are trademarks of Home-Barista.com, LLC. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. By accessing this site, you agree to the terms of service. Overall speed: fast, current page: 0.8s, avg: 0.5s, max: 2.3s