Hi all,

Hope you're all well.

I have a pre-millenium La Pavoni Europiccola which I acquired second hand.

It has been pulling shots decently enough for the last few months (a couple a day) but now I have an issue.

It's a little difficult to explain but I will give it a try.

When you first start pulling a shot, there appears to be a little pressure then something gives and no pressure at all for maybe 1" downward motion then pressure again.

Due to this, the shot appears to be smaller when finished.

Is this likely a seal failure of some sort? I have no idea when the unit was last serviced (if ever) so I have booked it in for one but thought it was worth asking here just in case I was missing something obvious!

Thank you in advance, all.

Stephen.

I'd wager piston seals.
And yes, since the last servicing is a question mark, it'd be wise to do a full change of the seals in the group. Then you have a baseline/point of reference for future concerns.

Welcome to the forum, Stephen,

Another possibility is old beans and/or bad grinder.