Considering used ECM Giotto, but needs parts (Sweden)

#1: Post by **duenorth** » July 17th, 2010, 10:21 am

Hello everyone.
I have a chance of acquire a Giotto classic (at least I think it is a classic) for a what i think is a nice price. But it has some things that don't work so I need spare parts. I've looked around and it seems to be somewhat difficult to get a hold of parts for the giotto, and even harder for me in sweden.
The parts I know I need is a Pressure Gage, Safety Thermostat and a Safety Valve.
The price is $600 for the machine. Is that a good price?
All the help I can get is really appreciated.

#2: Post by **karl_a_hall** » July 17th, 2010, 10:28 am

All of those parts are non-specific to that brand. You should be able to get them from any number of suppliers (espressoparts.com ships overseas I think). The only issue you could have is the pressure gauge... finding one that is the same diameter. The other parts are just off the shelf stuff you can replace with almost any other 'brand' part that serves the same function.

$600 seems like a great price to me, I'd do it. It's an E-61 machine, so you know its quality in general. Also, one of Eric's Thermocouple adapters would be an easy (and necessary) upgrade you can do for not much cash.

#3: Post by **doubleOsoul** » July 17th, 2010, 10:49 am

Your Giotto looks so much like the Euro 2000 I picked up a few weeks back. Are the parts interchangeable? I need to buy an extra portafilter and baskets.
Looks like you got a nice unit.

July 17th, 2010, 1:43 pm

Thank you karl_a_hall, will mail espressoparts.com and see what they say about parts.
I am going to need a lot of help to get this machine going. Don't have any experience with espresso machines.

#5: Post by **sweaner** » July 17th, 2010, 2:00 pm

When I bought my used Vetrano, for $600 ironically, I had it shipped directly to a repair shop. (Chris Coffee) They replaced and repaired everything, and I had a machine in new condition for $900.

#6: Post by **karl_a_hall** » July 17th, 2010, 2:38 pm

doubleOsoul wrote:Your Giotto looks so much like the Euro 2000 I picked up a few weeks back. Are the parts interchangeable? I need to buy an extra portafilter and baskets.
Looks like you got a nice unit.

E61 machines use the standard portafilter that most other machines use... Think La Marzocco, most all Faemas, etc. Many places also carry these parts. Espressoparts.com has a nice selection as of last notice.

#7: Post by HB » July 17th, 2010, 2:45 pm

duenorth wrote:Don't have any experience with espresso machines.

sweaner wrote:I had it shipped directly to a repair shop... and I had a machine in new condition for $900.

Unless you are an accomplished DIYer, I strongly concur with Scott's excellent advice. A professional technician will assure you start off with a properly tuned machine and avoid wasting coffee/time on a missed diagnosis. Besides, you'll have plenty of opportunities to tinker later.

For what it's worth, $600 sounds like a fair price assuming the repairs are no greater than Scott's experience. In fact, if it were me, I would get a repair quote before agreeing to the final price. It makes no sense to deal with an overseas company like EspressoParts.com; instead ask for local recommendations on a Swedish forum like Riktigt Kaffee.

PS: For reference, some other non-US forums with noteworthy memberships: Too Much Coffee (UK), Kaffee Netz (Germany), Espresso Bar (Denmark), Coffee Snobs (Australia), Ristretto (Finland), and Expresso (France).

#8: Post by HB » July 17th, 2010, 2:52 pm

karl_a_hall wrote:E61 machines use the standard portafilter that most other machines use... Think La Marzocco, most all Faemas, etc.

Not so. There are several E61 clones and their portafilters are not always interchangeable without modifications. The La Marzocco portafilter, in particular, does not fit several E61 groupheads (e.g., Expobar). It will fit if you're willing to file down the ears' thickness / length.

#9: Post by **Mayhem** » July 18th, 2010, 7:27 am

HB wrote:It makes no sense to deal with an overseas company like EspressoParts.com; instead ask for local recommendations on a Swedish forum like Riktigt Kaffee.

The machine in question is actually for sale at Riktigt Kaffe. I guess the thread starter didn't start it over there for fear of someone else being inspired to buy the machine before he had made up his mind or something...

Anyway, finding parts for a Giotto in Sweden is no problem at all. The current importer of both ECM and Rocket for Sweden is Monteriva and they have a large supply of spare parts on hand. Probably cheaper to order from a German supplier like Espressomachinendoctor, EspressoXXL, etc. but then you'll have to work a little harder researching which parts will fit.

#10: Post by **Bluecold** » July 18th, 2010, 10:06 am

---I should have refreshed before replying and not blindly clicked ok after the "new posts" message---
Either way, you've also got
http://www.espressomachinen-ersatzteile.de/
http://www.eunasa.com/ from Spain
http://www.espressoparts.co.uk/ from the UK
http://www.nuovaricambi.it/index.asp from Italy