Help! I'm a new member, asking my first question. I just acquired a 1985 Pasquini Livietta. It worked fine when the gentleman from whom I purchased it demo'd it in his home. However, since transporting it to my place, it hasn't worked. Pretty sure it's a pump issue. The steam wand worked just fine and steam came out of the group head, but no water flow. The boiler was about 1/3 full and didn't seem to fill up. The pump was quite noisy, so I assumed it worked. I attempted to prime the pump with a turkey baster, as was suggested in quite a few threads, but that did not seem to work. I then wondered if the pump was clogged. So I took it apart and found that a diaphragm within a fitting was calcified. After reassembling the pump, I turned it on, primed it, and it was pumping water into a container. So thinking that the problem was resolved, I reassembled the whole machine. I was completely baffled when the pump would no longer turn on. It only made a buzzing noise, which indicated to me that at least it was getting current. The boiler filled up mind you. I dissassembled the pump once again, thinking that I might of done something wrong, but could not figure it out. Any ideas as to why the pump would work and all of a sudden not work? Note that I did have the machine on it's side while working on it, but I can't see how that would cause the issue. Any suggestions?

Based on the age of the machine, you might just want to get a new pump. I tried to salvage the original pump on my '91 Livietta, but was unsuccessful. (The old one leaked a little.) The new pump provided better flow than the old unit. You can get an exact replacement pump for that machine.

That's what I was thinking. Maybe the pump was on the fritz as I was buying it. From where do I buy a pump? I didn't see it on the OE site... What is the make and model of the pump you bought?

If it's a vibe pump, the most common brand is Ulka. When I replaced my Oscar's pump I ordered directly from Espresso Parts, they are cheap and have free shipping!

https://www.espressoparts.com/120v-ulka ... ibe-pump-2

A Fluid-o-Tech is in the machine at the moment. I guess they are not cheap. Can anyone confirm that this is the correct pump?

https://www.espressoparts.com/110v-70w- ... atory-pump

http://www.pasquinioc.com/products/pasq ... ation-pump

Rich

The vintage Livietta/Coffex/Maximatic machines are all manual fill, so I'm a little confused when you say that the boiler filled up. The only way that water should get into the boiler is when you unscrew the boiler cap on top and pour water into it yourself...

Orphan Espresso stopped carrying a lot of parts for these machines.

The FOT pump you're looking at is the right pump in terms of the basic specs (110 V & 70 W) and matching what is on your machine now. However, it also includes a relief valve [see below] that you don't really need. Here's another source:

https://www.espressocare.com/products/i ... ating-pump

If you don't mind waiting 3 weeks for delivery, you can save a few bucks here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/POMPA-A-VIBRAZI ... 4d16f34f59

Note that when the new pump arrives, you may have to strip parts of the old one and install them on the new one. Ditto with the electrical input to the pump. Remove what's there on the old one and connect it the same way to the new pump.

[FWIW, here's a thread about using the optional relief valve:

Pasquini Livietta restoration for first timer

Note that Johnny eventually arrived at this setup:

Pasquini Livietta restoration for first timer ]