Hi to all,

I'm new to the site. This seems like a wonderful forum with lots of helpful people.

I just acquired a vintage Gaggia Orione that will need some work. I am very good at building and fixing machines and equipment. But seeing as I have never worked on a espresso machine combined with never owning a lever group machine I know I'm going to need some help with info. I don't even know if all the internal parts are there. I already know I've got to get a portafilter. I can't seem to get the lever to move very much and don't want to force anything seeing as I've never used a lever group. Clearly some wires need replacing. Might be a silly question but where does the water go into the boiler? I might see it right away but I haven't done anything other then take pics and wipe it down with a little soap and water.
Any help on seeing if I have missing parts or lever not moving etc.....
Please see pics.

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to bring my post back to the first page. Is there anyone who can help with my questions about my new machine? This is my first lever espresso machine and I'm excited about it so please forgive me being a little impatient.

Very hard to tell from your photos but that lever on the lower left of the front panel is a manual fill valve. I would expect the inlet hose to be attached to the valve inlet which is directly behind the lever.

It also appears that your machine has a solenoid valve which is probably part of an autofill circuit. If you plan to retain this then follow the pipe on the inlet side of the valve to find the water inlet.

Thank you for the info on the water inlet. I'm open to suggestions on if it is better off as a manual fill or to keep the solenoid fill. I'm not a coffe shop or anything like that. I'm fixing it up for my art studio and couple of workers I have. Could you tell if it seems like all parts are there? Should I take more pictures. Oh, I'm in need of a portafilter for it. Any ideas of getting an original one?

The Sun Valley address on the tag indicates you have a Gaggia something-or-other that was distributed by ABC, no longer in business. They specialized in taking Gaggias and adding all that prop brass stuff. The board you are holding has the plug base for the missing controller(Gicar, etc.), so you will have to use manual fill until that's sorted. It sports a Gaggia geared lever group and a hotel group. If the hotel group is not desired, another lever can take it's place.

If you plan on using it, a complete service is probably in order. Any other tags or badges? Sourcing parts for the lever group will not be difficult, same with some of the other fittings, valves, etc., but for some parts, like the controller, you will need to find out what model and vintage Gaggia it is. If manual fill works for you, the only electrics needed are for the heating element and circuit.

Could be a fun stem punk project, and do take the time for research, research, and more research. Looking at it I would not drink anything out of it as is, especially if you don't know it's history.

The controller is still fairly easy to obtain new from online sources. The only thing you need to check is that the base is wired the same as the wiring diagram that is on the side of the controller.
Otherwise it's just a matter of plugging it in.

Thank you guys for the info. Good to know I can still get the controller to plug in if I do go the auto route. I haven't found any other badges or tags in it but I havent looked that hard yet.
Don't worry I wasn't planning or drinking anything out of it till it gets restored. I was wondering what people's opinions are on the hotel group. I kind of like the look of it but if it doesn't make anything that great maybe I'll think of switching it out for another lever group.

I was thinking of turning it into a 110 volt machine so I don't have to run a 220 line for it. I already have 30amp 110 lines so I know I've got the amps to do it. Is there a way to work with the current elements or will I need to have new ones made or be able to find original 110 volt if they made them?

As I've stated before I've never had a lever machine before or operated one. The lever group on my machine won't move but I don't know if this is because it's stuck or if I don't know something about its operation. I do not have a portafilter for it so I don't know if that needs to be on it to function. Needless to say I don't want to try and force the lever and break something. Can anyone help with if this is normal or if it sounds like it's stuck?

Hi,
it seems it's stuck,no need to put the pf in place to move the lever.But anyway you'll have to replace gaskets and clean all gear so you'll be forced to take it apart...

Whatever you do, don't try to force the lever down as you may strip the pinion gear.

With these groups, in the past, the seals were rarely changed as the original system was expensive to maintain. (labour costs).
Instead of changing the seals cafe owners would continue using the machine with water bypassing the seals causing the spring to rust and eventually seize.

You need to take the head apart to find out what is wrong.

Be very careful when doing so as ,if the spring is still working, and is released suddenly, the piston can become a missile.

Risk of working with compressed springs