Great suff Ryan, as always. Happy New Year!

Thanks! You have a great new year's too.

Once the new pipe was made for the p-stat I got it all wired up. I made sure the pipe fit without interfering with the rear body panel so it is all good now. I was happy to find the male compression fitting nut so I do not need to add an additional fitting to the cross fitting. The wiring is my usual TGGT 14AWG wiring with my AMP PIDG terminal connectors, really good stuff and I highly recommend for rewiring machine projects. No fiberglass sheating is necessary since at 214F the max current rating for the wiring is 32-33 amps. This machine will have about 12 amps for reference with a 1500W element, plenty for my needs. What's notable about this machine is the extra hole on the side of the lower skirt that normally takes the pipe for the gas regulator if the machine had one. I actually could put the gas assembly on the machine while adding a 15A flip switch. The brand I use is NKK, specifically the S21F double pole single throw switch. There is also a little On Off plate I can add (I actually have one left but need to track it down). I really like this brand. https://www.digikey.com/en/products/det ... 1F/1006967





I brought the machine upstairs for testing. I was able to move it myself when the body panels are off, and I am pretty scrawny at 140lbs. I filled the boiler and turned it on. I was surprised by how few leaks there were, notably the manometer did not leak neither did most of the fittings. Just five leaks were found! I turned off the machine and tightened down the suspects and the boiler bolts too, and flushed the water out to take out any particles left in the boiler. The second time I turned it on with refreshed water I got the portafilter ready for the first shot. This is not Saka, but actually is Mr. Espresso Neapolitan brand. It is surprisingly lightly roasted for what I was expecting, but it's not bad at all I think, just not something I appreciate as much as a darker roast. It was also pulled long but I pulled a shot ! I tried cleaning the drip tray but the chrome is just too worn to do much, so I will get to appreciate the patina instead.







I got all the leaks addressed expect for one on the boiler lid. Initially thinking it was not a tight enough gasket, it is in fact a pinhole leak that needs to be patched. It is on the lower part of the lid, so it will need to come off after I drain the boiler. It actually makes some sense as there was a lot of calcium deposits in this area when I first received the machine. I hope I can braze the repair myself, the lid seems thin enough for me to try. Otherwise it's back to the Metal Doctor. The body panels will be cleaned up on the inside too, and I hope the 220V light works still as I would be using it if it does.

So I took the boiler lid off last night and took a look at it before work this morning. Wire wheeling the inside I could see the culprit: a crack just on the edge of the boiler interior. I decided to do braze a repair on the outside of the lid so I could file it down to shape without interfering with the gasket-lid flange seal. Surprisingly I was able to successfully braze the repair. After cleaning the area, filing the solder so the boiler ring would not intefere with it, and bolting everything back up, I did a test heat up. Unfortunately I actually only partially covered the leak, I still saw a reduced hissing. After crying a little I took the lid back off and did a second braze, repeating the process. I also replaced the boiler gasket and heating element gasket just in case (I am using Klinger material becuase I happened to have it on hand and decided to try it out), just in case. The solder is holding so far as the machine is currently on, I am very optimistic now this fixed the issue and I no longer have any leaks!

And this is where I am currently at. The inside of the body panels were cleaned, very grungy stuff came out, and I made sure the panels fit on the frame without hassle. The p-stat is easily accessible if an adjustment is needed, and if I don't have the machine hooked up to a water mains I can just unscrew the safety valve and funnel water in through there. Taking a look at the lamp I am pretty confident it is no longer functioning because I see cracks on one end of the glass. I will need to go out and find a replacement one, hopefully in 110V. No LED's this time. The only noise the machine makes now is the thermosyphon loop gurgling every so often and the heating element when it is on. The steam wand is nice and capable, I had no issues frothing on the first milk drink.

Ok, a word on that chocolate latte art, please. How did you do that? (Ryan is a certified Italian barista.)

Congratulations on your progress so far, including the brazing!

squirt some chocolate in a zigzag pattern then take a latteart pen or something pointy and go back and forth donkey kong style (go straight to the left, curve in a semicircle down, go straight right, semicircle down to the left again, etc) perpendicular to the chocolate

So I ran into an unexpected problem today! I was steaming a few milk drinks, and after pulling two cappuccinos I went to pull two macchiatos when I heard a snap inside the steam valve and I could turn the knob freely, hearing metal clashing inside. Immediately I turned off the machine and waited for the pressure to come down to room pressure before removing the steam valve for an autopsy.

Initially I thought the rod that is driven by the bakelite knob broke, but to my surprise it was the valve body that seals the steam valve from the steam wand that broke. It was either weakened or I was too strong but the M3 thread that screws into the square pin sheared off. Fortunately I could remove the now M3 stud in the square pin with a pick since it was not stuck. During this autopsy I noted calcium deposits on the gasket, and I found that I did not tighten the valve cover very tightly. So when it comes back together I now know to tighten it more. For the time being the Urania is currently in the musuem dining room until the replacement valve piece arrives. I happened to be very fortunate because this is a part used in the E61 group, so it cost me $3 to replace https://sproparts.com/en/product/1025-b ... 13mm?pt=96

Dining room? There is room to eat? Looks like barista heaven to me. Beautiful job and thank you for sharing your hard work with us.

The new part arrived today, it cost me exactly $2.52 . The measurements were just about exact with the original part, the broken part can now take its final rest but I will keep it with the machine if I ever sell it. I nicked the old gasket so I put a new one in just in case. And now I have a running Urania again!