Peppina Redux - Page 2

A haven dedicated to manual espresso machine aficionados.
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cannonfodder
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#11: Post by cannonfodder »

You think that is bad, here is one of the groups off of my Faema. Looks like tar.
Image
Dave Stephens

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timo888 (original poster)
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#12: Post by timo888 (original poster) »

Maybe it was being used as a hookah?

Regards
Timo

Dr Jim
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#13: Post by Dr Jim »

timo888 wrote:Well, I've CleanCaf'd and double-rinsed the machine twice and the black water in this picture is now running clear. There's lots of water leaking out of the hole when the lever is depressed fully. Does that point to a particular problem?

What is the purpose of the hole?
Timo -

Looks like the sealing ring on the psiton is worn or cracked - allowing water to flow past the piston and out the overflow hole which is there to keep Miss Peppina from having an 'accident' on your counter - which would so embarrass the old girl she'd probably turn red ....

Here's a link to a site which has .PDF files of the original F.E.A.R manuals:

http://www.dmreed.com/coffee_equipment_manuals.htm

Scroll down about halfway, and you'll see links to:

http://www.dmreed.com/images/FE-AR_La_P ... nual_1.JPG
http://www.dmreed.com/images/FE-AR_La_P ... nual_2.JPG
http://www.dmreed.com/images/FE-AR_La_P ... nual_3.JPG

I'm not sure where to find a piston gasket, but you could try Thomas Cara in San Francisco:

Thomas Cara, Ltd. 415-781-0383, fax 415-781-7224, 517 Pacific, San Francisco, CA 94133, USA.

or 'The Good Coffee Company' here in Seattle:

Good Coffee Company (206) 622-5602 818 Post Alley, Seattle 98104

Both of whom are so ancient that they spurn a Web presence.

Cheers

Jim
LMWDP #26

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timo888 (original poster)
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#14: Post by timo888 (original poster) »

Many thanks, Dr Jim.

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mogogear
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#15: Post by mogogear »

Timo,
If you have any luck finding someone with rings or such to fix your Peppina please let me know. I have A La Peppina waiting for me to buy it - black just like yours- It has the same leak you show in your pictures. I hesitated because I could find no one that carried anything to repair them with. I will glady buy the one waiting for me if you report a parts supply- Good luck, I have my fingers crossed for both of us.
FYI- I was just in Seattle last week and dropped by Home espresso repair on Phinney- They offered no options.
greg moore

Leverwright
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timo888 (original poster)
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#16: Post by timo888 (original poster) »

peacecup, the Photo Gallery of old machines is very cool. After looking through that gallery, I like even more the idea that the Peppina's primitive gravity-fed group, fed from a *non-pressurized* boiling chamber, could be adapted for a retro-styled but future-looking machine that would be a superb hybrid for today's home enthusiast...if it also had a smallish auxiliary pressurized boiler dedicated to steam/hot water, and a fresh-water reservoir with a little fill pump.

I think it is high time for a primitive revival. We leverites should lead the way to a new synthesis. With a fresh-water reservoir feeding the boiling chamber, the chamber could be relatively tiny, 3-4 ounces. It's a boiling chamber only, not a reservoir too, and only for brew water. Single-temperature. A little bit of water could be brought to brew temperature in no time. This machine would be more energy efficient than those machines that must bring a large undedicated (i.e. brew+steam) boiler to temperature.

It can be dubbed The Beast. Its advertised price should be $666. I want one.
RIP HX
Timo

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timo888 (original poster)
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#17: Post by timo888 (original poster) »

mogogear wrote: If you have any luck finding someone with rings or such to fix your Peppina please let me know.
FYI- I was just in Seattle last week and dropped by Home espresso repair on Phinney- They offered no options.
Willl do. Thanks for the info re Home Espresso Repair.
Timo

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timo888 (original poster)
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#18: Post by timo888 (original poster) »

peacecup wrote: I wonder if I could bolt a Cremina group on the PV boiler?
PC
I said 27mm. Mismeasured. Sorry about that. :( Not enough coffee. The bolts are 30mm on center apart.
Timo

lino
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#19: Post by lino »

Mine had the lead still intact around the element. Some type of sacrificial anode was my guess, though lead seemed an unusual choice. I removed them.

The piston seal is only an o-ring on la peppina, so I'd suggest McMaster Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com). If you can remove yours and measure it, you should be able to find a suitable replacement in McMaster.

I can't recall how I removed the piston spring assy in mine. I didn't get hurt, but that was mostly luck. I reassembled in a different order. Don't remember how I did that either.

There is a clamping bolt on the back and a set screw on the front. Both of which lock the cylinder into the base assembly. If you leave the piston attached to crank at the end of the lever, the spring will remain constrained, and there *should* be no surprises.

The spring on La Peppina is quite hefty. I think I have some pics of it on some earlier postings in this forum.

Re-assembly is possible by hand (without a large compression tool), but it's not much fun, and an assistant to tighten the setscrew or clamp would be helpful.

And the obligatory warning:
**Be careful when disassembling! The spring is large and strong and it is possible to let it release its energy suddenly. That can be harmful**


Hope that helps.

ciao

lino

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timo888 (original poster)
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#20: Post by timo888 (original poster) »

Thanks, Lino, for the helpful information. I do indeed recall your picture of the Peppina's hefty spring set beside the Elektra's, iirc. I am proceeding with caution, and that I've never done anything like this before makes me all the more cautious.

I have studied the exploded parts view to which Dr Jim directed me, and it looks to my unpracticed eye as though there's nothing holding the heating assembly chassis to the base but the set screw in front, perhaps some friction against the o-ring on the piston, and, if I understand the function of the clamping bolt at the top rear of the base (#1172 in the schematic), the squeezing effect upon the base cylinder when that bolt is tightened ... though the base cylinder does not appear to expand visibly when the clamping bolt is removed.

With the spring still attached to the crank at the bottom of the lever, I removed the small set screw from the front of the base and removed the clamping bolt from the top rear of the base cylinder. With the lever depressed fully, the heating assembly chassis rotates freely in either direction (after application of some edible mineral oil around the chassis's cylinder where it enters the base) but the chassis does not appear to screw out of the base cylinder and it refuses to be pulled up and out. I'm not sure what to do at this point. I was hoping to expose the top of the piston without having to remove the spring completely, though perhaps that's not possible?

Is the clamshell on the back of the base cylinder meant to be pried apart slightly?
Regards
Timo

Back view of Peppina base with front set screw and rear clamping bolt removed and heating assembly chassis rotated:


View of Peppina base with heating assembly chassis rotated (the lever allowed to rise after the rotation):