Profitec Pro 800 piston gaskets

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blackrobe1540
Posts: 33
Joined: 7 years ago

#1: Post by blackrobe1540 »

Ever wondered what's lurking in that lever group? I've had my Pro 800 for two years now and love it. A while back I purchased Cafelat's silicone gasket replacement set, but it sat in a drawer waiting for the rare day when the machine was off and cold. Well, I replaced the OEM gaskets yesterday afternoon and was surprised by what I found - okay, well, not surprised. The OEM rubber gaskets were hard and brittle and there was a gross combination of old grease, mineral deposits, and who-knows-what-else. Take a look at the photos then replace those gaskets if you haven't already!

By the way, how long before the silicone gaskets should be cleaned and/or replaced?





John in Chicago
LMWDP #561

sprint jinx
Posts: 220
Joined: 13 years ago

#2: Post by sprint jinx »

That's pretty gross. And, I admit, as a daily Pro800 user, Im probably drinking from much the same scenario.
How did the install go, and, im curious about any difference in the function?

blackrobe1540 (original poster)
Posts: 33
Joined: 7 years ago

#3: Post by blackrobe1540 (original poster) »

The OEM gaskets were helllish to remove, but were brittle at the same time. I used a scalpel to cut through one of them, but the others required some brute force with any number of tools and gadgets I found in the basement. The silicone replacements went on like a dream. I don't suspect having any trouble with those in the future. Should have done it sooner!

In terms of function, I would say there's a little less resistance on the lever...but nothing dramatic.
John in Chicago
LMWDP #561

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Balthazar_B
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#4: Post by Balthazar_B »

John, have you checked the quality of the water going into your machine? There seems to be quite a bit of sludge (scale? solids?) gumming up the works.
- John

LMWDP # 577

blackrobe1540 (original poster)
Posts: 33
Joined: 7 years ago

#5: Post by blackrobe1540 (original poster) »

Agreed. I use filtered water from the fridge. Not ideal, I know. But it is filtered after all, right?
I plan to plumb in the machine...but waiting until we do a big kitchen rehab.

I'm open to suggestions!
John in Chicago
LMWDP #561

maxbmello
Posts: 510
Joined: 10 years ago

#6: Post by maxbmello »

If it were me, I would use distilled water plus sodium bicarbonate as listed in the water form (rpavlis recipe) until you can plumb in and properly filter/soften. That's what I did with my pro 800 and never saw any of those kind of deposits when pulling the piston. Saw plenty of gross factory grease though!

Much like you my silicone seals sit unused in a drawer for now. My thinking was why replace perfectly good, new seals? Might change minenout to avoid more difficult removal down the road - and I only have ~7 months on mine.

bgn
Posts: 560
Joined: 17 years ago

#7: Post by bgn »

My machine uses those hard rubber gaskets. I've tried to replace them myself, but I've given up. I take them to a repair shop, and they clean the piston up for me at the same time. I think I'll order some cafelat silicon seals some day and see if they fit. I buy spring water, but still I get some mineral deposits after a few years use.

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Balthazar_B
Posts: 1724
Joined: 18 years ago

#8: Post by Balthazar_B replying to bgn »

Paul and associates at Cafelat are generally pretty good at answering questions like whether (or which of) their piston seals will fit a particular machine. The only Cimbali-specific silicon ware that I see on their site are the portafilter gaskets, but they have a slew of other lever-related items:

https://www.cafelatstore.com/collection ... ne%20Parts
- John

LMWDP # 577

mgwolf
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#9: Post by mgwolf »

Crystal Geyser (specifically) is good water for espresso machines and is fairly readily available. It has been approved (informally I believe) by La Marzocco for their machines.

Palmeredhackle
Posts: 11
Joined: 8 years ago

#10: Post by Palmeredhackle replying to mgwolf »

Did La Marzocco specifically mention which sources, or did they just talk in blanket terms? I've heard the range of hardness on CG is pretty wild depending on the source. In SoCal, we get all our water from the Olancha source, which I happened to test KH on this weekend and it was at ~80ppm. I got distracted and forgot to test for general hardness :(

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