The cleaning tip worked great. I didn't spend too much time on it since I'm not entirely sure about then rest of the machine. I installed new gaskets and screens on the group head and a new gasket on the heating element. Fired it up and pulled a couple of shots and to my surprise, they were "ok". Still have to dial grinder in... So far so good until the pumps stops automatically refilling the boiler. I poke around looking for a loose wire but find nothing. I was able to get the boiler to refill when I pull the wire off of the spark plug like thing on top of the boiler. When I reattach the wire the pump turns off.

Nice work, it's looking better. That spark plug looking thing is the automatic fill probe that's stuck down in the boiler. So long as there's boiler water touching it, it grounds out an electrical circuit originating in the circuit board that keeps the pump from coming on.

You should take it out & clean it with a Scotch Brite type pad or steel wool. Just un-do the smaller nut that holds it in. Chances are it has some mineral deposits on it. Since the pump comes on when you take the wire off, the circuit board is working. If that's not it, you can trace the probe wire back to the circuit board and make sure that those precision screwdriver sized flathead connections that secure the wires to the circuit board plugs are tight. It's gotta be the probe though...

If you haven't already done so, your shots will be better if you set your pump to 9 BAR on the pump gauge. The pump is that brass thing that's attached to the larger pump motor inside the machine. The pump has a flathead screwdriver adjustment provision on the side of it that allows you to adjust its pressure by having a screwdriver in the slot at the ready with one hand as you run the group with the other hand. With the group running, twist the screwdriver while watching the pump gauge, and set it to 9 on the gauge. Assuming the gauge is working/accurate, that will make a difference.

Your boiler pressure should be somewhere between .9 and 1.2 BAR (according to the Specialty Coffee Association of America). The pressure shouldn't cycle much beyond .2 BAR. For example, if you set the boiler pressure at 1.2, it should cycle between about 1 and 1.2 on the gauge.

The part that maintains the boiler pressure is that grey box in the top left of the pic that you posted. It's called the pressurestat. You'll see that the hole in it is for sticking a screwdriver into to adjust the boiler pressure. When the machine reaches the preset pressure, you'll hear a click come from that box. Immediately when you hear that, look at the pressure indicated on the boiler pressure gauge. I think that 1.2 is a good starting point, and you'll likely take it from there as you get more info.

You'll see the plus and minus indicators stamped on the grey box right where the screwdriver hole is.

* See where the gauge is when you here the pressurestat click.

* If it's more than 1.2, let enough steam out through the steam wand to get the pressure lower than 1.2, maybe 1, then close the steam wand. Do this with the screwdriver in hand in the adjustment piece. Right when you close the steam wand, twist in the minus direction indicated where the the screwdriver hole is. Generally, it's one full rotation per individual unit of measure on the gauge. If the gauge is 1.3, turn it toward minus one full 360 degree rotation to get it to 1.2.

* If, it's less than 1.2, just twist the screwdriver in the plus direction

This is a trial & error adjustment that can take a few attempts to get set where you want it. Be careful, you're sticking a metal rod near where all the amperage goes. The clicking sound is the electricity being given to, or taken from the element by the pressurestat. Clean groups with new screens & gaskets paired with the right pump & boiler pressure settings should get you where you want to be, provided that your grinder, grinder setting, dose and tamp are all within spec. $40 for a set of grinder burrs is a great investment in your shot quality...

Keep going and post your results : )

Still working over here... Pulled the automatic fill probe, it seems that just pulling it out scrapes all of the deposit off. It is now filling automatically. Thanks!

For the past three days, I've been trying to dial the pressure to 9bar. Once I seem to have it, the next shot will be at 8 or 10. Also, both groups are consistently... inconsistent. One group was slower, now the opposite is true. I've been leaving it on at night hoping it will mellow out...

More observations:
The top of the right group head is considerably hotter than the other.
The gauge now has water vapor on the glass.

The espresso has gotten to an undrinkable quality in the past few days, Hoping setting the grind to a finer setting will help...

Glad to hear that it's auto-filling. Did you have a look in the boiler when you had the element out? Sounds like the machine is dirty from the inside, based on the probe having been dirty, and the state of the boiler plate around the element.

I think that the difference in both group pressure and temperature are due to dirty internals. Using the group diagram as a guide, remove the group head's equivalent of the AS-47 and clean out the AS-49 and AS-50. Your group has the tubing for the Over Pressure valve going to the AS-47. The AS-49 is a metal mesh filter that might be gunked up. They should clean up with dish detergent or whatever, or there are new ones. Try sticking a pin through the AS-50 to make sure that it's clear. If you can easily remove it, take it out and check it for filth. Be careful though, it's a tiny brass part that'll break off if too much force is applied. You might also have a look inside the flow meters of the machine, and clean them out. If you do all this and things are still as described, you could take out the heat exchangers and/or the tubes leading from them to the group and clean them out.

http://www.espressoparts.com/p1p3solenoidgroup


You're making progress, continue messing with the grind and keep posting : )

Glad to hear that it's auto-filling. Did you have a look in the boiler when you had the element out? Sounds like the machine is dirty from the inside, based on the probe having been dirty, and the state of the boiler plate around the element.

I think that the difference in both group pressure and temperature are due to dirty internals. If you haven't back flushed the groups using a blank filter basket and some detergent, that's a good place to start for normalizing the group pressures.

http://www.espressoparts.com/EPF_156?&search_id=2348986

http://www.espressoparts.com/URNX_FCIRC ... id=2348992



OR, using the group diagram as a guide, remove the group head's equivalent of the AS-47 and clean out the AS-49 and AS-50. Your group has the tubing for the Over Pressure valve going to the AS-47. The AS-49 is a metal mesh filter that might be gunked up. They should clean up with dish detergent or whatever, or there are new ones. Try sticking a pin through the AS-50 to make sure that it's clear. If you can easily remove it, take it out and check it for filth. Be careful though, it's a tiny brass part that'll break off if too much force is applied. You might also have a look inside the flow meters of the machine, and clean them out. If you do all this and things are still as described, you could take out the heat exchangers and/or the tubes leading from them to the group and clean them out.

http://www.espressoparts.com/p1p3solenoidgroup


You're making progress, continue messing with the grind and keep posting : )

After adjusting the grind and dose, the machine is producing pretty good espresso.

When I had the heating element out I used a shop vac with a narrow nozzle to suck all of the mineral buildup. I flushed it with water a few times and got more out. Is there a way besides taking the boiler out?

I have cleaned the group heads a couple of times. Pressure seems to be more consistent.

There is a lot of great resources here. I have a lot to work on. Looking forward to taking the group heads apart at some point.

Glad to hear that it's becoming a viable source of coffee. I've tried boiler cleaning detergents before, and the results were so-so. I've done well with a green scrubby pad duct taped to a stick going in through the boiler. After doing that, take the boiler safety valve on top of the boiler out, and hold your hand over the element hole as you fill the boiler with the hose through the safety valve hole. This will give it a good rinse after being scrubbed with the stick. I've also used a pressure washer through the boiler hole with good results. You don't have to get all the build up out, just as much as you can or at least what's at risk of breaking free and traveling through the machine's parts.

Post more pics when you can. These are cool old machines that can be retrofitted with modern steam wands/tips and filter baskets to provide sweet results.

I am new to all this, I was born in Bogota but I don't' drink coffee, I did when I was young, and I still remember the wonderful taste and enjoy the aroma of good coffee. My wife is a real coffee drinker which I rather enjoy, I first saw a La Pavoni Europiccola in a little shop in Berlin and was struck by its beauty, I have been after a good bargain Europiccola for sometime, we bought a Delonghi sometime ago and my wife uses it daily but she is not to happy with it. We will in the near future open a lux bed and breakfast and a small cafe.
We will need 2 reasonably good espresso machines, I was struck by the great looks of the La Pavoni Crossroads P3v2 that I send a picture off, it will look fantastic in the cafe we are opening, it is said to be in good working order, however since it is from the 1980's I am scared it is perhaps not the appropriate machine, I am scared of it breaking down all the time like old cars tend to do, on the other hand I am sure that I can have it serviced and repaired here in Bogotá for a fraction of the cost of having it serviced or repaired in USA. I can also order parts easily from USA. So should I buy it for $1000 or not?

I was unable to upload an image from my Galaxy Tab , I press choose file, this takes me to my documents, I then choose the image, this opens it in galery and it is not uploaded?
Since I can't upload the image I will describe it. It looks like a regular P3v2 only it is not red, It is totally gold and has a very big decorative ornamented dome on top with an open winged eagle on top of it.