After some cleaning, it's not so nasty:



And here a close up on a test with a dremel and a brush on the heat element and aluminum:



It'll probably show off corrosion after removing the scale.

Then my question... Should I descale on a long bath of citric acid, or can I remove the scale using some brush or grit? Is this part of the boiler just aluminum and oxide (same for the piston housing)?

Thanks!

Márcio.

It seems FE-AR simplified the casting after a while. Older ones have got a ridge around the inlet holes which makes it impossible to suck the element dry.
I've got the ridge too, and i've got a early La Peppina, so that would make yours a late model.
http://www.orphanespresso.com/FE-AR-La- ... 577-1.html
The manual with the blue clearly shows the ridge.

You are right, probably is a late model... The ridge is a good idea. The Zerowatt too has the holes in the group placed in a manner that the heat element won't be dry. But, if the heat goes on, the water eventually will evaporate... I've almost done this with a kettle and a 1000W heater at work.

The La Peppina seems to be not used so much but forgotten in some basement. Unfortunately the chrome is bad, it's not possibile to see in the pictures.

Let's buy some citric acid...

Márcio.

Mix the citric acid hot and when you add to the exposed base there will be much bubbling and fizzing and all the deposits will soften so you can brush and pick them off. Do not soak the kettle in citric acid, only the inside, not the enamel outside as the finish will then be dull and lifeless. I have powder coated La Peppina groups with bad chrome, in fact have removed the heating element and powder coated the entire group and it turns out to be a bit magical in the end. This treatment puts and end to any corrosion and has the side effect of making the machine yours forever since so many people are fond of chrome, so bright and shiny, and have less preference for red or yellow, but there are many tastes in the world and some actually prefer color to shine!

Hi, Doug.

That's interesting. Do you have pictures?

The chrome was looking bad but then it went really bad... The peeling off is massive. I thought about anodizing (and give a aluminum color outside). I'll see the prices of chrome and the options I have to make something at home.

Thanks!

Márcio.

Pictures are sometimes my big downfall but I regret letting that La Pep get away undocumented. The corrosion had eaten holes through the boiler base all around the heating element and most of the chrome was gone....the holes were about 2 to 3 mm . We received the machine unsolicited with a hand written note asking us to fix it if possible. I took it as a personal challenge and was able to patch the boiler with a product called Lab Metal, then powder coat the inside with FDA approved grey to seal it all against further corrosion, then masked it all and did the outside in a metallic sparkle (their choice) and after about 50 hours sent it back to them for the price of the seals. But sadly no picture as at the time I thought a photo spread would be an act of sheer ego on my part as I was so proud of myself at the time.

All I wanted to do was cure their beloved La Peppina since it was indeed a candidate for the rubbish heap.

by the way, if you are going to do any such coatings or anodizing you will likely have to remove the heating element.....you will need to fabricate a tool to remove it and be careful, those brass nuts are very soft in the slots.

Nice description! Great price for the service! You should ask the owner for some pictures of the saved La Peppina!

As for the heat elements nuts, I managed to remove one easily, but the other I almost destroyed... They are tight and are soft brass, indeed.

Thanks again!

Márcio.

orphanespresso wrote:... then powder coat the inside with FDA approved grey to seal it all against further corrosion ...

Doug! Have you coated the piston housing too? Is there no problem to powder or teflon coating where the piston moves?

Márcio.

I've quoted a price on coating. The guy says this piece is molded, not extruded, so anodizing is not a good option. Because of that, he says he could not guarantee the chrome too, and the price is almost double the coating (and only for the exterior, of course).

He suggested a teflon coating inside and powder coating outside for a better color. The price here is R$ 100,00, around USD 55 (I know that in the USA the price would be higher). Maybe I could coat the inside of portafilter too

Márcio.

I've finally managed to remover the heat element and remove all the scale from the boiler... Some pictures:









And the heat element with new washers (I found exactly 12.1 x 16.2 x 1.5 mm fiber washers):



There are some bad pitting on the boiler, so Teflon powder coating inside is the way. I'm just wondering if I'll pay the cost to try to maintain the original shiny chrome outside...

Márcio.