jesawdy wrote:Dan, I don't follow? The standard Cimbali PF has no threads... male or female.

That's true. I had a factory pressure portafilter for the review and it looked like they tapped threads into the downspout of a stock portafilter, then screwed in an elbow (6mm maybe?).

I will make the permanent gauge but I'm afraid a little bit. I'm really not well in mechanical fixing. As you see in the pics, I'm mad about burrs these days. I buy a new set again and going to replace them tomorrow. The bean from a local roaster(John's Coffee) makes me mad. I can't get a 27 sec shot with them. I try everything. I know its fresh and its not over or under roasted. It is Colombian Supremo. Maybe the beans are not suitable for espresso making. I'm waiting for the beans I ordered online. They will be the best beans I've ever seen I think. The tamper was arrived. I wish I had a Home Barista logo on it. My other local roaster(Coffee Pacifica) will send me their espresso blend Symrna. That's the news from me. Now I'm looking for a naked portafilter. Is LM portafilter suitable for my machine?
Thanks for your support. Someday when I can make a excellence espresso I will remember all of you...

ozzyymclaren wrote:As you see in the pics, I'm mad about burrs these days. I buy a new set again and going to replace them tomorrow.

Why? Burrs last a long, long time. I would check the brew pressure first before worrying about burr wear.

ozzyymclaren wrote:Is LM portafilter suitable for my machine?

No, it won't fit, not even close. You'll need a factory original or knockoff Cimbali portafilter. A local machine shop could modify one for you. They charge around $25 for the modification in the US.

HB wrote:No, it won't fit, not even close. You'll need a factory original or knockoff Cimbali portafilter. A local machine shop could modify one for you. They charge around $25 for the modification in the US.

Thanks Dan for your warning. I will make myself one following the instructions that I found on the Home Barista forum. It will be hard to tell the machine shop guy why I am doing this. It will be fun, I will post the conversations between us. It's going to be funny.


and one more think. When I start a shot, water comes to drip tray from the 3 valve system. Is it normal?

ozzyymclaren wrote:When I start a shot, water comes to drip tray from the 3 valve system. Is it normal?

Hmmm... no. Are you certain it is coming from the 3-way valve? How much water? If the expansion valve exhausts to the drip tray (and I think it does), this might indicate that you are getting an overpressure condition and that might explain some of your frustrations.

Also, unless you've been grinding rocks, there is no reason you should have to be replacing burrs at this pace.... I'll agree that the first set looked a bit messed up. A set of these burrs ought to be able to grind 1000+ kilos before replacement.

jesawdy wrote:Hmmm... no. Are you certain it is coming from the 3-way valve? How much water? If the expansion valve exhausts to the drip tray (and I think it does), this might indicate that you are getting an overpressure condition and that might explain some of your frustrations.

Also, unless you've been grinding rocks, there is no reason you should have to be replacing burrs at this pace.... I'll agree that the first set looked a bit messed up. A set of these burrs ought to be able to grind 1000+ kilos before replacement.

The old pourover vibe Juniors, before they put all those needless electronics in, the versions with the sight glass, have an overpressure valve (OPV) just behind the front panel when removed. It looks like this:



(this was taken before I descaled it years ago)

At least as sold in the USA circa 1995, this functioned only as an extreme overpressure valve with exhaust of excess water into the drip tray; it is, however, fully capable of acting as a *real* OPV. You would need to attach some foodsafe tubing (e.g. silicone) onto the nipple on the opposite side, not pictured, then run the tubing back into the pourover tank. Then, with the aid of a portafilter manometer (pressure gauge attached to a portafilter), you can adjust the pressure via the big screw with a flat screwdriver, and the extraction pressure will be adjusted and some water will return to the pourover tank during extractions, in the process.

IF your OPV has been set at one position for years and years and years (as was mine), changing the setting may cause a very loud squeal to come out of the valve when shots are pulled. It sounds like a pig who is awaiting slaughter and knows of its fate You could try minor adjustments to see if it will go away, otherwise you will have to make a new rubber seal to put inside the valve itself, which will require dissassembly; it is simple inside, just a big screw and metal piece holding the rubber seal. Clean everything up inside with a little bit of sandpaper, just to be sure that rough edges aren't causing your problems.

I used an old group gasket for the rubber I used to fabricate this, with a box cutter type knife. You could buy a new rubber seal if your Cimbali dealer stocks it (the part I'm describing is several mms in width and about 1/2cm in thickness, round in shape). My experience with a new rubber seal was that the squealing was not eliminated, but with my custom made seal, it was.

ken

this is what happens during the shot. can you see the water coming to the diptray, and how fast is the shot.

[gvideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7365810558580918967[/gvideo]

Your 3-way valve is exhausting at the end of the shot towards the right side of the drip tray. The other water is either from the overpressure valve or a leak? Not having been under the covers on the M21, I am uncertain. Most likely the OPV.

Actually it is La Cimbali M21 Junior S/1. The water comes from the over pressure valve. My machine isn't plumbed so it has vibratory pump, am I right?

ozzyymclaren wrote:Actually it is La Cimbali M21 Junior S/1. The water comes from the over pressure valve. My machine isn't plumbed so it has vibratory pump, am I right?

Yup, it's a vibratory pump. Dan razzed me for not listening to the video already.

BTW - I usually have better luck with cup dropped down, rather than propped up like that. The tails usually curl back in towards the center. Do you have a PF with the single spout? If not the spout portion is inexpensive, or you can leave the double spout off and just let it fall.