La Pavoni Europiccola 1994 Restoration - Page 3

#21: Post by **LObin** » May 4th, 2022, 11:11 pm

Blernsball wrote:And it lives!
Elements come on and function as expected.

Comes up to temperature nicely.

A couple pressure leak issues.

One at the steam gauge fitting.

image

And one at the pressure gauge fitting I added.

image

For the steam gauge fitting, it's pretty tight. I think some damage to that area in the past might have deformed the boiler a bit? Not sure what I can do besides crank it down.

For the pressure gauge fitting, I tried with and without the Teflon washer. Same problem. With the washer on I can't get the gauge to face forward either. Maybe some Teflon tape on the gauge adapter to sight glass fitting connection?

The steam tap fitting requires either a short double swivel socket or a wrench sold specifically for the fittings inside La Pavoni boilers.

Dent repair: if you want to give it a shot, there's a technique for this with a bolt and 2 nuts. I searched for the video but can't find it though.

For the sight glass gauge, you can use teflon tape or even better, thread sealant like Loxeal 55-03 or similar.

#22: Post by **ziptie** » May 5th, 2022, 2:14 pm

LObin wrote:The steam tap fitting requires either a short double swivel socket or a wrench sold specifically for the fittings inside La Pavoni boilers.

Dent repair: if you want to give it a shot, there's a technique for this with a bolt and 2 nuts. I searched for the video but can't find it though.

For the sight glass gauge, you can use teflon tape or even better, thread sealant like Loxeal 55-03 or similar.

Clay Lowe (Sonny) and Bong Ruel Juachon have repaired dented boilers using this technique. I cannot find a non-FB vid. But here are direct links to posts on this topic. Sonny's bolt assembly includes a piece that has a face that is contoured to come close to match the curvature of the boiler.

Sonny's:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LaPavon ... 882094152/
Bong's:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LaPavon ... 874878286/

May 6th, 2022, 1:59 pm

Teflon tape on the adaptor threads and cranking down the steam fitting fixed the steam leaks.

Pulling some nice shots already.

I purchased the IMS 14g basket and I'm finding that even dosing 12g, the puck presses up against the shower screen when locking in the portafilter. This disturbs the puck and gets grounds all over the screen. Very annoying.

I'm reasonably sure that the shower screen is seated fully. I double checked by raising the piston and locking in the portafilter and it seems fine.

What is going on here? Do I need to dose lower then 12g with that basket?

#24: Post by **bgnome** » May 6th, 2022, 2:16 pm

Are you using a dark roast? Grinds from a dark roast will take up much more volume than a medium roast.

May 6th, 2022, 3:25 pm

medium roast.

I was using same grind setting that works well for those beans in my la peppina. Just to start.

Went finer and 12g seems to fit. Just strange that a 14g basket can't fit even close to that much.

#26: Post by **LObin** » May 6th, 2022, 3:42 pm

That basket is silly. It's not deep enough. Not an upgrade over the stock double.

The Elektra Mcal basket is awesome. 13-17g, great extractions and quite cheap.

Otherwise, you can get the IMS20 if you have a bottomless portafilter without a ridge. It works with lower doses as well.

In any case, it's much easier to fill the baskets with a funnel.

For the shower screen, just get a puck screen. It'll make your life sooo much better

May 6th, 2022, 3:47 pm

huh. good to know. I'll look into a deeper basket then.

I've got a puck screen, but there is no way that will fit in there too! haha

May 6th, 2022, 5:07 pm

I see you're also in Canada. This is the place to order from:

Elektra basket:
https://www.theespressoshop.co.uk/en/El ... -5405.aspx

IMS20 (bottomless PF only):
https://www.theespressoshop.co.uk/en/IM ... -5399.aspx

Shipping is affordable and quick. No duties or surprise fees at the door.

#29: Post by **baldheadracing** » May 6th, 2022, 6:02 pm

Blernsball wrote:huh. good to know. I'll look into a deeper basket then.

I've got a puck screen, but there is no way that will fit in there too! haha

Coffee-sensor has a thin screen that I and others use. It is a single sheet of metal instead multiple layers of metal mesh. Keeps the mess down. (Note they also sell a thicker one that looks like the BPlus.)

#30: Post by **baldheadracing** » May 6th, 2022, 6:05 pm

LObin wrote:I see you're also in Canada. This is the place to order from:

A local option: Coffeeaddicts.ca in Calgary carries Pavoni and Coffee-sensor stuff in Canada. I order from them and Stefano's espressocare.com