The Synckronika reservoir does not have a lid, never has had one AFAIK. I suppose one could be easily fabricated out of some hard plastic

Any time you can avoid sending a machine in for service, I think you should do so. I've had two Brevilles damaged in transit, one of which was a write-off. It was quite new, and I got an older, "refurbished" one back If you're handy, and you're sure it's the solenoid, I'd fix it myself

There shouldn't be much pressure exerted by the plunger of a normal switch. I put a thin film of grease on the cam that operates the switch, mostly so the switch does not score the cam. It makes it move a bit more smoothly and eliminates a slight squeak that sometimes appears if the lube dissipates....

I'm sure you'd have noticed, but it bears mentioning that sometimes the rubber seals can come away from an old valve and be stuck in the group. Likewise with the washers (O-rings). Perhaps this diagram would help (grasping at straws here) {link}

There's a high probability that you've interchanged the valves. Two of them look the same (but aren't), and there's a shorter one that's obviously different. The short one is the drain valve (bottom most). If you have the short valve where it belongs, then swap the other two and all should be right

Paul, I agree with Bodie; there's no one "right" to make espresso, including how long it takes for the soak (preinfusion) stage. That said, you can easily vary a few variables and evaluate the mouth feel and taste. Try grinding a tad smaller and you'll certainly get a longer soak. Or, you can drop y...

I can think of a couple of solutions. One was posted a while back, although I can't find it. The OP simply didn't mount the vibe pump at all; he left it suspended by the hoses. Silicone can be glued; so you could make your own mounts, using some sheet silicone from the home wares section of your dep...

A Resistance Temperature Detector is a resistor whose value changes with temperature. The resistance increases as the temperature of the sensor increases. A thermocouple measures temperature using two different types of metals, joined together at one end. When the joint is heated or cooled, a voltag...

I've bought them from Quest and from Amazon. there's nothing special about them; you just have to get the correct physical size and the type to match your thermometer

It varies by grinder. My Sette had to be cleaned out periodically, else it developed a rancid smell after many months of use. The cleaning had to include opening the case to sweep out fines that made their way out of the grinding mechanism. I've a theory that the case being plastic, contributed to t...