Hi all,

Just purchased a Cremina SL - very excited to try this machine out after many years with a large commercial spring lever. All this talk about piston gasket changes on an Alex Leva/LM group in an adjacent thread got me wondering about how one would go about this on a Cremina SL. A few of the SL threads mention it in passing but I've come across nothing definitive. Can anyone here offer up some instructive advice ?

Does Olympia Express provide maintenance instructions for a new machine under warranty? If they didn't perhaps you can contact the company that sold you your Cremina and post what you find out here. I hope that the warranty allows you to do such routine maintenance.

Here's one way, assuming it is similar to Club?
https://www.kaffee-netz.de/threads/olym ... le.103486/

The manual is pretty straight forward- maintenance info is limited. I'll reach out to the vendor as you suggest and post anything I learn in the lever forum.

mikel wrote:Here's one way, assuming it is similar to Club?
https://www.kaffee-netz.de/threads/olym ... le.103486/

Thanks for this - I'll see if I can run this through Google translates. Not sure I follow what is being done from the photos alone. Seems like he has manufactured some sort of special tool for removing the piston to get at the seals.

Someone on the lever fever Facebook group posted about a rig he made to get the piston out. It might be worth posting there.

I asked Cerini about this a few months ago and he said they were thinking about having a way for customers to send the grouphead in easily for service.
My suspicion is that service will be less frequent on the SL because water isn't always sitting above the piston like it is with the manual lever. Maybe sending just the group for service is manageable if it's only every 18-24 months?

Hmmmm - interesting idea sending just the group in. As I say, I'll ask the vendor and post any info I get. Thanks for all of the great information.

I'm surprised they didn't design something easier to service. The Elektra Microcasa a Leva requires removing two screws and lifting out the lever, spring and piston assembly.

Its the same group as the Olympia Club.

All you need is a C-Clamp.

loosen the two nuts on top of the piston,

take off the group (4 M8 bolts),

Pop off the shower screen,

take off the arm by removing the pins and the roller (rollers?),

Now: mount a clamp so that the threaded end pushes against the piston, and the other end rests above the roller, next to the nuts. make sure you can unscrew the threaded end of the clamp far enough to release all the tension. the clamp will sit a bit lopsided, so be careful that it does not slip off....

then ever so gently tighten the clamp to push in the piston so that you can take off the two loosened nuts from the piston. once they are off, open the c-clamp slowly until all the tension has been taken off from the spring.

now slide the piston and the spring out of the group bore.

reassemble in reverse order.

send some Pictures, and good luck!

I think I understand what you are describing- you would need to protect the chrome on the group some how so that it wouldn't get damaged by the c-clamp. Here are some pics of the new machine. Finding the shots very well balanced and delicious!