Update on the $25.00 1973 La Pavoni Europiccola

#1: Post by **tmpass** » August 25th, 2016, 10:57 am

So a few months back I posted about my $25 eBay find, a vintage euro. I took a chance, got it delivered from Italy and replaced the sight glass and its gaskets, I added a cheap pressure gauge because the sight glass cap was missing. No other gaskets were replaced. This thing has been flawless since. It is a 220 model so it takes some time to heat up, but once I got the grind dialed in, the shots have been great. I just eyeball the coffee quantity.. But after a few months I don't really need to weigh or change anything. I find now the pressure gauge is also not needed, good coffee can be produced just by listening to the machine.

I lurked here quite a bit reading all the brewing and technical posts and learned a lot, so thank you.

I also found a local roaster so my coffee is right down the road. The guy is great and really into perfecting his roasts, give him a try if you are in Boston metro west area http://www.bostoncommoncoffee.com. He is located in Hopedale, MA but has retails stores in Boston as well.

That's the only drip tray I have, from another sad Euro I picked up locally. I also would like to find an emblem.... The red one for the front, but not confident on that.

#2: Post by **Chert** » August 25th, 2016, 12:25 pm

Maybe it is the angle, but that bell looks to me like a millennium style. Is there a plastic liner? Is that basket 49 mm or 51?

You could rewire the thing to plug into your dryer outlet. Then it would heat up fast!

#3: Post by **grog** » August 25th, 2016, 12:38 pm

'73 should still have the brass sleeve, but with removable shower screen - best of both worlds.

Check out George Howell coffees too. One of
my favorite roasters anywhere - I still order his stuff out here in Seattle, six years after moving from Boston.

http://www.georgehowellcoffee.com/terroir-coffee/

#4: Post by **dominico** » August 25th, 2016, 12:42 pm

It's most certainly a Gen 1.

The original group looks very similar to the millenium group.

You can tell the difference because

The group screws into the boiler, there are no bolts on either side
The male threads are on the boiler rather than on the cap

It will be a 49mm portafilter.

Also to note, these originals didn't have a "drip tray" just a slightly recessed surface.

You can see the progression of the Europiccola here:
http://www.francescoceccarelli.eu/lapavoni.htm

#5: Post by **CoffeeBar** » August 26th, 2016, 4:22 am

Nice looking machine. Yes, I can confirm this this pre-mill model.

#6: Post by **DanoM** » August 26th, 2016, 5:50 am

Absolutely beautiful! I love those old boiler caps on these models.

Now where can I get mine!!!