The second generation, 1974-2000, La Pavoni Europiccola machines are often criticised for having a tendency to overheat and thus produce bitter and over extracted espresso. There is "another side to that coin". The machines in this generation have either a double element, one 200watt the other 800 watt, or they have a 1000watt single element. Either way they are pouring 1000 watts--1000J/s into the 700 or so grams of water in the reservoir. Were it not for heat loss this amount of energy would bring them up to temperature in just under 5 minutes. In reality when I have timed either my 1978 with two elements or my 1999 with one the time is normally just under seven minutes from power on until fully "up to temperature." (The time is slightly shorter if one do not include the bleed time.)

The group bleed routine for the 1978 machine takes a bit longer, because I have to wait to bleed until it is fully up to pressure to bleed. I have timed the routine many times, and I did so again today. It took 8 minutes to have a cup of espresso ready with the 1999 model, and 9 minutes with the 1978!

To get the temperatures just right when rushing, I use "late lock down" and also saturate the inside of the group with water vapour by briefly releasing a very little bit of steam before attaching the portafilter. (Otherwise I wait until the skirt of the group is just under 90 degrees as measured by IR thermometer.)

With either machine the thing to do for a second cup is have the coffee ground and packed and pull the second shot as soon as possible. It will still be great then. (But if one fail to pull it soon one will need to cool the group with something like a ramekin of water.) The third shot seems to be always in need of cooling.

My 1964 machine has similar times. It may be over 50 years old, but it is still has the best group for La Pavoni machines. You can make a flawless cup without having to try to behave like an octopus! There never seems to be an over heating problem.

It would be great to have a pressure gauge readily available on this machine. The sight gauge of this machine has no threaded opening on top, so a pressure gauge cannot to attached there. The boiler cap is 38mm, not 32mm as in later models, and it is female, not male. Making a pressure gauge cap would require making a large cap with internal threads, probably it is M38x2.0, but it is difficult to tell the pitch for sure without putting it under magnification. The only way I have found to measure pressure is to remove the steam tip and attach the gauge to the end of the wand.

rpavlis wrote:My 1964 machine has similar times. It may be over 50 years old, but it is still has the best group for La Pavoni machines. You can make a flawless cup without having to try to behave like an octopus! There never seems to be an over heating problem.

It would be great to have a pressure gauge readily available on this machine. The sight gauge of this machine has no threaded opening on top, so a pressure gauge cannot to attached there. The boiler cap is 38mm, not 32mm as in later models, and it is female, not male. Making a pressure gauge cap would require making a large cap with internal threads, probably it is M38x2.0, but it is difficult to tell the pitch for sure without putting it under magnification. The only way I have found to measure pressure is to remove the steam tip and attach the gauge to the end of the wand.

Robert's 1963-1964 machine is a version 1.4. It is the very first one with a drip tray and grate. (I have a 1.4 and it's terrific.) These had serial numbers 5000 - A5000. The very next model (1.5) came out in 1964. It is distinguished by the addition of a removable screw at the top of the sightglass. This allows the attachment of a steam gauge. As Robert notes, it's difficult to overheat a first generation machine. The exception is if you're brewing a dark roast (oily beans roasted to second crack). If you're just warming up the machine, you can tell by briefly touching the group whether it is hot. If it isn't a couple of half pumps or Robert's method of a brief purge of water can warm it to brew temperature. If you've just used the high power (massimo) for steaming, you've done this briefly before toggling back to the low (minimo) heating element. A brief purge of the steam wand should prevent overheating the next shot. For light roasts even that should not be necessary.

problem of adding pressure gauge to 1st gen pavonis without threaded sight glass screw might be possible with some precision machining ; peter Bradley at UK site > spanglefish .com , AVICENNA SOLUTIONS has done some machining on this part ; see PRESSURE YOUR PAVONI section of site , bottom of page , different gen of LP , but procedure could transfer /

additional thought , small hole could be threaded to male 1/8 npt nipple of gauge , then would be a clean install with no adaptor !

Today was my first espresso after I moved to Japan on January 1st this year. There's no room currently to setup my Strega, so the 1984 La Pavoni Professional was on duty. (My K10 also has no place to sit right now, so my Kludge grinder was setup for the grinding. Beans were from a regional roaster located just a few minutes from the house.)

In Japan the voltage is 100v so I get about 730w of heat out of the 1000w element. Takes about 12-13 minutes to warm up for a shot. Once up to temp on the group I can start flipping the power on and off to keep the system running at the temp I needed. (90c on the outside of the group bell since this blend was heavy on robusta bean. Still, a very chocolatey blend in cappuccino.)
I ran 8 shots dialing in the grind & temp looking for the natural sweet spot, and only had to cool the group once when I forgot to flip off the switch!

This afternoon I ground 2 shots, hooked up the machine, powered up and pulled 2 back to back shots with no problems and not a bit of overheating with the use of the switch.

La Pavoni machines are great with a bit of experience and attention.

I have Europiccola pre Milenium and Jolly Dosato (new). Problem with Jolly is that on lowest setting there is still very little resistance on lever so I can't throw water as long as 25 seconds while taste is good. Opposite is with conical burr in Lellit 043 - proper resistance but taste is so-so. My grinder setup enclosed.

There are 7 different version for the first models until 1974.
Do you think any of them are superior to others in terms of shot quality?

I guess they have same group and same built quality with some minor modifications.

I have a 1st Gen with no sight glass nut. The steam wand attached pressure gauge is a good fit for this.

ilker wrote:There are 7 different version for the first models until 1974.
Do you think any of them are superior to others in terms of shot quality?

I guess they have same group and same built quality with some minor modifications.

You answered yourself correctly. There's no difference from a Caferina up through the 1.7. I know because I have the first and sixth versions to compare.

I had a La Pavoni 1.6 and have several 1.7's. I agree with Gary , they all make great espresso . I have a few 76-78's as well and they do well too. The heat up time is fantastic on these small machines. I warm it up, pull a group warming shot and then pull my espress and steam my milk and I am out of the house in less than 30.