I am new to espresso, but not new to coffee and im thinking about buying a used La Pavoni Europiccola. The owner thinks it is from the 70 or 80 and they say it is good working order except for a bit of leaking. They are willing to replace the gasket and sell it for $200. So my question to the group is, is this a good machine to learn on (I know manual is more difficult but I like a challenge). Second question is, are there anythings i should look for or test when i see the machine?
thanks in advance.
David

The Europiccola (and La Pavoni Professional) underwent serious changes between 1970 and 1990. The first and most important is the group. The type in use from 1974 to 2000 is dramatically different from what came before and after it. The earlier machines tend to present difficulties finding repairs, etc. Some regard them as antiques, but when maintained they are excellent, again in my opinion. The group of the 1974 to 2000 is attached to the boiler by two bolts and is much easier to remove than the earlier type.

I suspect it is most likely one with a 1974-2000 group. If you look inside the base the date of manufacture should be there somewhere!

There are some other changes. Before 1978 or so the heating elements screwed onto the boiler directly. These are unobtainable today, but there are things that can be done to replace them. After that there is a flange that screws onto the bottom of the boiler, and screws hold the element to that.

In about 1981 there was a boiler change. The threads at the bottom of the boiler were changed to a coarser pitch. The top of the boiler was changed too, before then the point of attachment of the boiler cap was incuse, after that there are protruding "lips" on top of the boiler. I think that any boiler with incuse lips has the old threads, but I am not sure. You are best off with one with the coarse threads and lips, because the old fine thread flanges are difficult to obtain. Note that you can attach new heating elements to the machines with screw on elements with the old fine threaded flange. It takes a few gaskets besides.

At some point the boiler cap was changed to brass with a plastic handle to all plastic.

La Pavoni tends to put machines together with parts made over several years. You cannot go by the year of manufacture to know exactly what it has on it.

Once people master the 1974 to 2000 group they can make extraordinary espresso. However, there is a learning curve. It is also helps if you know something about physics and physical chemistry.

Check also the portafilter. Be sure that the rod holding the handle in place is not corroded into oblivion. There are two kinds of portafilters too, ones with 10mm threaded rod attachments and ones with 12mm ones.

Check for corrosion. Beware of a machine whose former owners have allowed it to become filled with massive amounts of calcium carbonate. Check the base for corrosion. Unless the former owner kept it dry and clean it may be rusted to oblivion.

If you get one with the 1974 to 2000 group you will need to bleed the group of air each time before use, it is steam heated, and steam must enter the top of the group, or it will far too cold. (Simply raise the handle of the group when the machine gets up to pressure while it is releasing steam, and then lower it.)

The thing I like about them is the extraordinary espresso you can get if you do it right. (But you could get very bad espresso learning what right is!)

Thank you for the awesome feedback. I'd hate to throw away $200 if i could not get parts for it. Do you suggest biting the bullet and looking for a newer/new unit since i am a total novice?
Thanks
David

I have a 1977 Europiccola, and it was my first espresso machine. Getting temperature strips on the group really improved my ability to pull good espresso shots by a lot. Without some way to check the temperature you're guessing in the dark and will rarely get it right. That's a fix that will only cost a couple of dollars and simply involves attaching stickers to the group though Once you do that it's not terribly hard to learn.

Make sure you get an espresso grinder too! Without one your "new" espresso machine is completely useless. Preground coffee doesn't work.

As for parts...even with these older models you can find all the parts you will need. Gaskets are the thing that's most likely to wear out and they're readily available from several places. Lots of other parts are available too. I even remember seeing an adapter for replacing the fine thread heating element with the newer coarse thread one.

Here are a few photos of the unit. They said it is dripping from the brewhead. I asked for pictures so i could get the date of the unit to make sure I can get parts for it.

This machine has the 1961-1973 group. The design has the piston moving inside a sleeve with water outside the sleeve. (A somewhat similar design was brought back in 2000, with the sleeve made of plastic. Plastic is almost never an improvement when used for precision parts!)

The boiler cap is has the opposite sex on these models than on post 1974 ones. They have screw on heating elements like all pre 1978 models.

I believe the pistons on all La Pavoni lever groups are the same. If it be leaking from the group it probably means the seals on the pistons are bad. It could, I think less likely, be due to corrosion.

These machines tend to go for more than $200 when in good condition. Unless there is corrosion damage, I would say it is a good deal.

You will need a good grinder. I prefer the Pharos hand grinder, especially after a few minor modifications. I have another grinder, but almost never use it.

Thank you,
You guys are a wealth of information. Im going to go see the unit tomorrow. If it look clean and gets hot, i'll go for it. Im sure I will have more newbie questions. Im waiting for the Vario grinder to become available. I hear that is a good one. I currently have the Kyocera Ceramic Grinder but I think i need an electric one since I have a day job that I have to get to.

Hi David (and all),

I'm the very satisfied owner of a very similar machine (brew head and boiler one piece, massimo/minimo switch, brass boiler cover with bakelite handle). Although I'm not an expert, I'd say we have the same era machine. My machine has a brass piston sleeve that requires a special tool (or some nails and ingenuity) to remove. I bought the tool, but in the year I've owned the machine, I haven't had to use the tool. I spoke to Doug at Orphan Espresso about mine after I bought it (unlike you, I went headlong into purchasing it...because I had a chance to taste the espresso it made and I was sold on the spot). I'll give you my experience, for what it's worth...

Learning Curve:
I had owned a Gaggia New Baby pump machine for about a year prior to the Europiccola, and I'd done quite a bit of reading on how to best pull a shot. I was getting reasonable results on the Gaggia (with my Pharos grinder...make sure you have a good grinder), but I was finding a bitter edge that I just couldn't get rid of. I saw a Pavoni for sale via the classifieds, and I went to test it out. Literally my second shot with the Europiccola was better than any shot I'd made previously on the Gaggia. Either I am a sucker for lever shots, or the "Pavoni learning curve" is not nearly as steep as some make it out to be, because most of my shots have been very good to excellent on my little Europiccola (so good that I'm selling the Gaggia this week). So, overall, I just didn't find the learning curve that bad...if you get the Europiccola, check out Gary's threads...they helped me a lot. Ray Johns also has some good videos and threads, and I've thoroughly enjoyed Robert Pavlis' chemistry-influenced posts on how to get the most of LaPavoni's.

Parts:
I've ordered seals, a dosing funnel and a great tamper from Doug and Barb at Orphan Espresso...I spoke with Doug at length about my machine, and essentially the problem parts seem to be:

1) the heating element (which can burn out if you leave the machine on without water in the boiler) is just not made anymore, and replacing it would cost perhaps as much as you are paying for the machine.

2) the boiler cap is not made anymore, but it is similar in style to Co-Fer machines...Doug has gaskets for it, but if you somehow lost the cap, I think you might have to have one fabricated custom (again, $$)

3) the power cord fell apart on me after a month. One of the metal prongs came out of the plug, requiring me to get a new cord. I figured since I replaced that, I should ground the thing and install a high-temperature thermofuse (I think it's called a thermofuse, anyway) that would break the electric circuit to the element in the event of overheating or a power surge. This fix cost me $200, since I'm electrically inept, but now my wife is much happier that the machine is grounded.

Conclusion:
Although you might not have the same excellent experience I have had, if you find yourself curious about manual levers, $200 is not too much if the machine is in good working order...seals are not expensive, and are a regular maintenance item...there isn't a ton that goes wrong with these mechanically. If I had the decision to make again, I'd buy the vintage Europiccola in a heartbeat...with a good grinder, and some reading/viewing of threads and videos, I'm making better espresso than all but the best barista in the best shop in town (not that we've got a plethora of great shops in town, though). Whatever you decide, best of luck.