Well...Murphy seems to be haunting this thing.

No matter what I tried, could not get this pipe to stop leaking at the steam valve. Cleaned and polished all mating surfaces retightened over and over, both cold and hot. Out of desperation, tried sweat soldering(picked up a Map-Pro torch) and it's now toast.

I cannot find any source for a new one, odd given that these machines are still produced. So it looks like time to fab a replacement. Is there a certain spec for the copper? Also having a hard time finding fittings. McMaster-Carr has some that look close, but the variety is bewildering. Stefano's has these - http://www.espressocare.com/products/it ... nipple-8mm. They look a bit different, but might they still work? I should be able to reuse the nuts.

Any insight appreciated.

You could ask Stefano about this, send pix, maybe point him to this thread. He's knowledgeable and responsive.

Thanks Gary -

Had been thinking along those lines, as he's been very helpful in the past.

I have the exact same problem. The hissing is driving me crazy! any luck finding a solution?

Nothing yet, but hope I'm closing in on it. I've collected everything to fab a replacement but have had no luck yet with my soldering. No matter what I try I can't seem to get the solder to wick on the tubing. I've tried low and high(Map-Pro) heat along with two types of flux. Tubing is new soft copper and fittings are new brass. I've filed, sanded, and scuffed, with no good results.


Solder just puddled where I placed it. Tried applying it while hitting the fitting with the torch, as well as removing torch from the work and then applying the solder. Went from heating just to the point of the flux flashing off to the whole thing glowing red. Everything I've studied on this indicates I should be getting good results, so wonder where the problem lies.