Wanted to get some input as to this leak.

It leaks ever so slightly right where the group is screwed into the sleeve and only one of the points where pictured.

Not sure replacing the piston seals will do anything but I need to replace them anyway.

Also when re inserting the group to the sleeve I tend not to over tighten and play it safe( I checked and it is tight).

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Seeing a leak there means that water is pushing past the piston gaskets and filling the chamber to that connection point, which is the first opening the water can exit. I bet if you take out that sleeve some water will come up as you pull the piston and spring assembly out. First thing to do is replace those piston gaskets (3 or 4 V-shaped gaskets depending on brand). Bosco uses 4 but am unsure how many Salvatore uses.

How old are the piston seals?

IamOiman wrote:Seeing a leak there means that water is pushing past the piston gaskets and filling the chamber to that connection point, which is the first opening the water can exit. I bet if you take out that sleeve some water will come up as you pull the piston and spring assembly out. First thing to do is replace those piston gaskets (3 or 4 V-shaped gaskets depending on brand). Bosco uses 4 but am unsure how many Salvatore uses.
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Thanks!

That's exactly what happened. Water did come up as I pulled the piston out of the sleeve.

The bottom two piston gaskets were still pliable but the top gasket was brittle and worn so going to replace these with the Bosco silicone seals I got from cafe lusso

Thanks again for posting

Yep you might as well replace all of them to make sure they are new and will last at least for a little while.

JohnB. wrote:How old are the piston seals?

At least a year and a half since I changed them so yeah definitely due. I only pull 3 espressos a day.

Replace all 3 with the Bosco seals. After only 1.5 years of use you should only have to lube the piston seals, not replace them. I'll have 2 years on the Bosco seals in my Sorrento this August since I last lubed them & no issues yet.

Thanks- I got these piston seals from espresso parts- they were inexpensive but glad I ordered 2 sets from cafe lusso.

John: can you slide these (Bosco seals) right on the group without using a blunt instrument and just some Dow 111? I'm afraid these are a bit more fragile.

I haven't found them to be particularly fragile but I guess it depends on what you mean by a blunt instrument. You can stretch them some to get them on but don't overdo it. Warm them up in some hot water & they should go on easily enough.

Ever measure the group idle temp?

Thanks for the suggestion.

I was going to used a flat screwdriver to put them on but don't think I will need to based on your input.

I've never measured the group idle temperature. I have a strip on the outside of the group and have lowered the pstat so that it is at 1.1 bar but I do get a thermosyphon stall more often than not.

Would be nice to get a digital read out of the group water temperature and install a pressure gauge for group pressure. Not fond of the double spring set up and aesthetically wish the pressure gauge was flush and it had a site glass but other than that it's served me well for five years. If I upgrade would maybe look at a profitec pro 800 or a Londinium- Bosco is amazing I'm sure but don't know if I want to drill the countertop and set up a filtration system or run it off of a flojet.