Oh, and I also put some photos of the grinder into an album. There was some horrible funk inside it - I spent MANY hours cleaning it.

Warning - these photos are disgusting; viewer discretion is advised.

https://plus.google.com/photos/10384335 ... 0335653697

TL;DR - IT WORKS!!!

Last night I cut a replacement thermal gasket from the automotive hi-temp gasket material (which was very cheap). First I had to remove the flare-fitting adapters from the group head to both trace an outline on the gasket material (which is like a roll of very thick paper) and to place the gasket on the group head. In the process I discovered thick scale buildup inside the head that I had overlooked in my cleaning. So I scraped as much out as possible with a knife and gave the inside a quick (20 minute) bath in food-grade phosphoric acid descaler. Afterward I flushed it and brushed it for another 10 minutes or so.

I then rinsed and dried all the parts, reassembled the machine and triple checked the tightness of all the fittings and bolts. I filled a bucket of water with soft water (from the hot side of the faucet), inserted the water hose, plugged it in and flipped on the power. CLICK! I tripped the GFI immediately. Damn. I tried another GFI outlet. Same thing. I went to bed tired and disappointed.

Today I woke up and read through the forums for other GFI issues. I started to suspect the heater element. So I disconnected it from the relay and tried again. Same thing. By chance, I thought I would also disconnect the power to the element at the boiler. That did it! The pump filled up the boiler and there it sat!

I powered the machine down, unplugged it and reconnected the wires to the element at the relay and at the boiler. I powered it up again expecting another short, but it didn't. HOLY MOTHER it even started to reach pressure! I'm guessing here, but I suspect maybe the fact that the boiler was empty was the reason the GFI tripped - maybe there was too little resistance in the element? I have no idea - electricity is black magic to me. It's also possible that there was a short in the element terminals, but I really couldn't see how - it looked the same to me before and after.

Anyway, the first thing I noticed was that it got up to pressure very quickly. The clean element worked so much more efficiently than it had before - I'd say just a couple minutes to get up into the 'green' range of 14 - 16 PSI. And then it kept going. And going. And going. When it got up to 28 PSI (well beyond the red-zone of 23 PSI) with no indication of stopping, I yanked the power and opened the steam wand.

All sorts of scary things were happening inside the machine with that much pressure. Large bubbles and splutters were leaping from the the boiler gasket at the top. The steam wand connector was steaming and dripping - inside the machine! Water was pooling near the ground connector and dripping from the counter onto the floor. I suspect this was part of the reason that the previous owners had so many problems with the machine - it seemed like it needed an exorcism.

When enough steam had gone out of the wand that it was back in the green zone, I dialed the pressure adjuster down and down and down again. I probably rotated the adjuster wheel 5 full rotations before the boiler started engaging at more reasonable levels. Now the heater engages at 18 PSI and quits again at 21 PSI. I'm not sure I'll keep it even that high in the end, but I want to keep it there for now until I'm sure all the leaks are gone. I also want to make sure the espresso tastes better when I crank it down to 14 - 16 PSI. Keep in mind that the pressure gauge was totally broken when I got this - I'm still not sure I trust the numbers on the dial.

Anyway, I didn't sense any imminent risk of harm, so I flushed cup after cup of brown, copper-scented water from the boiler through the water wand. I pulled at least a quart of stinky water through the group head until it looked and smelled normal. I backflushed plain water a few times. The water I was getting out didn't smell overly metalic anymore so...

I got out my grinder, calibrated it, ground some SO Brazilian and I PULLED A SHOT! The extraction was a bit long at 30 seconds, so I dialed back the grind. The shot had nice crema and it smelled and tasted good, but I wanted to try again. The second shot came out faster (~28 seconds) but it was still a bit chunky. It had good crema too, but it tasted better than the first. I dialed the grinder back one more notch and tried again. The espresso started coming out right away - I started to think a bit too fast, but it finally blonded to spaghetti color at 23 seconds. It was a big improvement from the second shot and still had good crema.

I feel really good right now!

The only repairs I have left now are minor or cosmetic - I need new threaded posts on the steam wand assembly housing - the steamer is still suspended by the plumbing. I think I can silver solder brass ones to the stainless, but I need to disassemble the steam wand assembly before I try that. I need a new drip tray - the old one is broken and doesn't attach to the frame anymore. I also need to address all the rust on the outer cover. Since it only goes up a couple inches, I'm thinking I can just strip the paint on the bottom two inches and repaint that part in a different color (like silver, black or cream - the original is metalic red).

Great post! I'm just starting my first commercial machine teardown, so, reading posts like this really helps me to prepare myself for all sorts of eventualities ...

Another update on the repairs.

The machine is still pulling reasonably good shots - I'm still learning the ins and outs of my grinder - all this is to be expected, I suppose. The water coming out of the water wand is still usually murky, brownish and smells like copper. The water from the group head is clear and has only the faintest hint of a metallic odor. I'm hoping these will fade with time (and oxidation).

Anyway, I'm planning to silver solder brass screws to the steam wand assembly cover (to replace the threaded posts that have broken off), but I first need to find some very thin wrenches to slip between the knob and the assembly. I'm afraid the heat of the torch could burn up the gaskets, so I think I need to take the whole thing apart before I work on it. I'm having a plumber I know come over and help me take it apart tomorrow using his tools.

The other remaining fix is the outer cover - it has large rust spots along the entire bottom edge and especially in the corners. Last night I carefully scratched a straight line 4 inches above the bottom all the way around the machine. I then took a chisel and carefully removed the paint below the line. My plan is to use some naval jelly to remove the rust and then apply some Bondo to fill in the pits. Then I'll paint the bottom 4 inches some other color and maybe give it a thin racing stripe where the two colors meet.

The last thing I'll need to do, I hope, is plumb the machine. I would really like to find a deal on an espresso side spray rinser - $300 seems a bit steep.

Oh, and I called Astra to inquire about the high cost of the pump he sold me - he suggested that the other company only sold ones that looked like the one he sent me. Sigh. However, he did offer to send me a free drip tray (normally $15) and he sold me a naked portafilter for $75 (normally $105). I'd say that feels about fair.