Thanks

One other reason I did not install the shutoff valve is because the threads are a little gunked. I figured out the thread today, and it took a little while as I was expecting some sort of pipe thread like NPT or BSP. However, it is actually an odd M10 x 1.25 thread, confirmed with measurements and testing a nut on the shutoff valve rod thread. My local Ace hardware actually had one for $7 so I went out and got one to clean up the threads, and I was vindicated in my suspicions when I could thread the rod about 5mm deeper and fully close off the opening inside the group where water enters the group bore.




The chrome nut went on top with a 1/2" BSP sized teflon gasket. Normally this is where the heating valve is located but my group did not have one, and the inlet hole that is present for this valve was plugged with brass in the group flange. The shutoff valve nuts were packed with teflon cord. The dipper tube just screws on, shown here for demonstration purposes. Now the group is fully assembled.





The other task I could work on was making the bracket for the 20A pstat. It's just 2mm x 20mm wide aluminum, and even with my rudimentary tools I could cut a 90mm piece and drill the holes needed to fit on an M8 stud and the 1/4" BSP thread. After drilling the holes I deburred the edges so nothing sharp can poke me during installation. I made sure the pstat could fit with the body panels installed and also where I could easily adjust the pressure setting by taking off the cup tray.

I could proceed forward today when I was able to pick up my replica radiator fitting from my Metal Doctor. He has a machinist he uses for tasks like these, and the guy (named Tom) did a great job. The square hole was slightly larger, 3/8", but my oil filter tool set had that size so I could thread in the piece without issue. I used Loxeal 18 to seal it.





I had to make one pipe for the pstat. I used 6x4mm pipe for 1/4" BSP threads. This little pipe looks innocent but it is hell to form these short lengths to create the needed shape. No joke I spent 2 hours forming it, it was not fun. Brazing took 10 minutes.




The valves came together too. I have nothing much to add, just about all the seals were purchased from parts suppliers or sealed with ptfe cord, loxeal 18, or loctite 55. The two valve taps were greased with Dow 111. Just for reference the Marte sight glass is a little longer than the common E61 12x175mm glass. It is 12x185mm.








To install the two front feet I had to prop the machine on some wood so I could access the threads and secure them with a swivel ratchet and extensions. Perhaps I should have installed them first before mounting the boiler. After installing the feet I realized that the drain tube and water inlet lever actually interfered with each other, and I could see wear on both pieces from it. I had to loosen the screws on the drain tube to stop that interference.






The group dipper tube was cleaned up and secured with a little loctite 55, and the group united with the boiler. Now I just need to wire up the machine to begin testing. One interesting thing I noted is the bakelite knob cannot fit right now for the hot water valve because it tilts downwards a little. I'll need to prop the machine up on some felt feet I suppose or tilt it slightly. When unboxing it I noted it was very tight to fit the knob so it was not completely unexpected. Classic Faema tolerances

IamOiman wrote:The group dipper tube was cleaned up and secured with a little loctite 55, and the group united with the boiler.

Nice work as always! Is there a reason you used loctite when connecting the dipper tube to the group? I recently removed my dipper tube from my Olympia club for travel and when replacing, just tightened by hand. It seemed it wouldn't make a difference as once the group was reattached to the boiler, the group gasket would fully seal the system. Am I missing something? Thanks!

it just makes me feel better, it is probably not necessary

Ryan: Bravo on that tube bend! It's a joy to watch this classic come together, piece by piece, each problem neatly solved.

Wiring got done today. It's my default selection for wiring and connectors. I managed to fit a switch where the drain tray that attaches to the frame rather than the foot. While doing the wiring I had the Marte on blocks to better access the underbelly. In the process I slipped on the heat shield. At this point it just needs to be filled with water and I can start seeing what leaks and what doesn't! Always a little nervous here, seeing if my efforts paid off and if I got everything properly addressed.












I also polished the bakelite handles (except the lever handle, that one was fine). It was just a hot bath in Joe Glo followed by a light sanding with 2000 then 3000 grit sandpaper/mesh and finally a quick polish on my Omega grinder with blue/plastic rouge + a cotton wheel.

looks great!

How does it feel to have a 65-yr old girlfriend?

She is feisty!

I got the plug installed, and with 3 liters of water I could just get to a minimum water level that submerges the heating element fully. I turned the machine on for the first time, and what I thought was really interesting was how quiet it was during heatup. When it is near boiling the boiler normally makes some noise, but this Marte boiler was definitely quieter than other machines like my Urania and President. It still makes noise but muted. Just before it started pressurizing I turned off the Marte to let it cool off and allow me to tighten the boiler nuts and group acorn nuts just a little more.






The second time I turned it on I let it pressurize fully to about 1.1 bar. During this testing only one small leak was noted, where the radiator fitting screws into the boiler. It is small but I will likely need to redo the loxeal 18. Besides that there were no other boiler leaks after three hours of operation. The group was sealed nicely, except there was a very slight dribble from the portafilter that eventually stopped. I am not sure if it is from the piston seals or the group sleeve o ring but I will be keeping an eye on that. I did not need to have the neck chrome cap fitting unscrewed to have water enter the group and exit with a flush.




Seeing the group was nice and toasty I prepped and pulled my first shot with the stock basket and portafilter. It is an odd size, I think I actually underdosed it with 9 grams of Saka Classic Bar. Perhaps it is a 12 gram basket. Anyways I did pull the shot and it was a little fast. Still drinkable and I happily consumed it. . The cup used was a gift by a Faema/Gruppo Cimbali employee at the April SCA 2022 expo that is normally given to Faema technicians who service machines. Really cool design, and it has no handle.







I will of course need to pull more shots for science and address the small leak. Finally here is a vid of the 1st shot.

Last night I drained the boiler to see what was going on with the small leak. Turns out I did not apply the Loxeal correctly. The sealant was clumped mostly towards one or two threads (I applied a circle of Loxeal too high up on the threads rather than the first two male threads) and I did not clean the female threads of the boiler good enough. After cleaning off those up I reapplied Loxeal and am currently waiting for it to cure for a day or two.


I also checked out the group a little more closely because even though I drained the boiler there was a puddle of water under the machine when I got up this morning. Water was leaking out of the group sleeve o ring, and I was able to tighten the sleeve some more with the sleeve tool. Until I see the leaking stop I will keep the pf gasket and showerscreen off. You can see water peaking out the crack where the sleeve thread starts in the second pic and water remnants on the top of pf gasket too.




Last thing to show today is the steaming power of the Marte. It's powerful. Very powerful. The manometer was showing 0.7 kg/cm^2 when I opened up the valve and this much steam was still coming out