La Pavoni pro mil shower screen dispersion problem?

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seaofspro
Posts: 3
Joined: 2 years ago

#1: Post by seaofspro »

I'm at my wits end with this machine seems like whatever I do I cannot for the life of me get a good shot of espresso from my la pavoni pro mil. I bought it about 6 months ago in rough condition, after replacing all the seals, replacing the plastic piston with a stainless steel one and cleaning it up I've yet to get a good tasting shot. The only visible problem I can see is the dispersion from the shower screen isn't very good. It's the same as the one in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDA0mvgWJ84 from this post.

After reading the comments I took apart my piston and gave it a big tighten, probably more than is required, and also gave my shower screen a good cleaning even though when holding up to the light it wasn't clogged at all. Crema consistently comes out dark or very weak. I figured I'd make an attempt posting here before I get rid of it. If anyone has any ideas what it could be I'm all ears.

jtrops
Posts: 499
Joined: 9 years ago

#2: Post by jtrops »

I understand your frustration.

I would start with the basics: Beans, Temperature, Dose and Grind. It would help if you could fill in a few blanks:
1. Can you describe what the shots taste like? This will help with diagnosing the problem related to the flavor.
2. Do you have a thermometer, or temp strip on your group head? If so, I would assume that you are consistently pulling in the same temperature range.
3. How old are the beans? How long past roast date?

While the low flow may be related it is not a factor in the flavor of the shot. It may mean low volume shot, but within reason I would think you could still pull at least a passable shot.