Because I can.

Cheers!

- Jake

The cladding:


The guts:


4 screws in place:


Water tank in place:


Set the pump on the plate:


5mm Allen wrench to crack the OPV loose before assembly:


4 more screws in place:


Left to right: Screw hole - Boiler inlet from pump - Screw hole, Screw Hole - Boiler outlet (from stand-pipe) to solenoid, Solenoid outlet to group - Screw hole:


Small hole to the right of the diffuser mounting holes is the water inlet from/dirty water discharge to the solenoid:


Water inlet and group solenoid valve attached:

Boiler attached to group:

Diffuser plate in place:

Shower screen? Check:


Group isolators on the plate:


Set the boiler and group assembly in place. Don't forget to tighten the flare nut from the OPV to the boiler (but not too tight!) and route the solenoid discharge hose into the channel:


4 small machine screws secure the group to the plate:

Steam wand in place:

Wiring rat's nest back in position:


Carefully place the top cover back on:

Replace the switch bezel and secure the switches to the top cover with one screw:

Secure the top cover to the plate from below with 4 more screws:

The last screw is stainless and holds the water fill spout to the upright support:

Install the drip tray and solenoid exhaust boot:

Finally add the drip tray grate, steam knob, water fill cover and portafilter:

Finito!

Unfortunately there was not bliss in paradise...

When I was cleaning the boiler, I saw what looked like a hairline crack on the front flange, behind the two mounting bolt holes. I slathered a little food-grade silicone RTV onto the boiler face and loosely bolted the boiler on to let the adhesive set before applying torque to the bolts. I tightened the bolts an hour later and then tested the machine the next day. Upon heating up, water POURED out of the boiler between the flange and the vertical boiler surface at the front.

Upon disassembly, the RTV revealed the depth of the problem. The boiler easily came off of the group, but the front portion of the boiler flange stayed behind, glued to the group

So she needs a boiler. JB Weld did not work. Tried it twice. Baked the boiler to evaporate any water from the pores, cleaned with acetone, clamped it in place, ground the mating surface flat, applied a liberal second coat. No difference. It's broke. And with JB Weld in the crack, welding is out of the picture. $45 for a new boiler is not a big deal, but makes it a toss up of whether or not it's worth fixing... It just isn't worth enough in good working order to warrant the expense unless I was going to use it daily, which I won't.

What do all y'all recommend, part it out or sell it cheap for parts? I hate to see it die as it's well thought out and an easy machine to work on. Anyone have an extra boiler laying around? I don't really feel like boxing it up and shipping, so I may just throw it up on Craigslist or FB Marketplace for a song.

Oh, well. They can't all be winners, right?

Cheers!

- Jake

Holy smokes!

Thank you so much for pointing me their direction!
https://www.wholelattelove.com/alum-boi ... 240-v-assy
Crazy deal... All I could find was $45 shipped on the 'Bay.

Thanks again, she'll live to brew again!

- Jake