I inherited this Expobar recently and was trying to see if it is worth restoring. Having no information on it other than it ran 10 years ago before sitting in a storage unit.



The main label says it is a 220V machine but the power plug is converted to a 110V plug. Inside, the pump motor is 110V, the Gicar also list 110V as the main supply but R1 and R2 switches are listed as 250V.




There is a grey box with the CE label on it where the part of the power cable splits into. Could this be the step down converter from 220V?


I can't get to the boiler where the heating element is at to see what's the voltage rating. Could this machine been converted to run at 110V? I am afraid to plug it in and turn it on at this point.

Help!!!

Certainly looks like it's been converted to 120. You'd have to check the grinder motor also as it should also have need to be converted. And lastly, measure the resistance of the heating elements which will tell you what voltage they are. If 120 it should be in the range of 10 ohms, if 240 it should be around 30 or 40 ohms.

Thank you for the speedy reply. I will try to see if I can get my meter probes down to take an Ohm reading of the heating element. Coincidentally, the 3-way solenoid valve is also labeled 110V.

The grinder is missing some parts and I don't see any label. The burrs are covered in solidified coffee grounds. If I can get the brewing parts to work, I may not even mess with the grinder and just use it as is. My wife would love to have me swap out the Conti CC100 Tall Cup and save some counter space

In regard to the grey box, I wonder why one would "convert" a 240v machine to 120v by installing a step down transformer inside the machine, especially after feeding the machine via a 120v plug. Regarding the 120v pump, or any other electric components rated for 120v in a machine fed by a 240v outlet in the US, there's no problem supplying them with 120v by wiring them up to the neutral wire and one of the two hot wires that come in via the machine's 220v supply plug. If the boiler heating elements are rated for 220v, they can be fed via the two hot wires. This is way simpler and cheaper than installing a 240/120 step down transformer inside the machine.

I suppose one might try intalling a 120/240 step-up transformer inside a 120v machine to supply 240v to just a boiler heating element rated at 240v. The transformer would need handle the 1.5KW rating of this machine's heating elements. In the US, 220v appliances are designed to be supplied by two 120v wires that originate from opposite poles of the utility's service supply transformer. In Italy (and most of Europe using 220v service) appliances are supplied by one 240v wire and a neutral return wire.

The grey box is a pressostat...
But considering that the pump motor and valves have been replaced with a 110V, I would assume that the machine has been converted completely and the dinkus that did it didn't bother to change the plate. They're the inductive loads that need to be the correct voltage.

If it heats really slowly, you can assume that the "wonderful person that converted it" didn't bother with the elements, they're resistive, they don't matter, right?

Thanks guys. I am happy to report the Expobar was completely converted to 110V by a Las Vegas shop in 2015. My aunt found the service receipt and I called them to confirm it.

I decided to take it apart for complete cleaning after checking the water flow rate, getting only 200g for 30 seconds. The E61 group head filter was clogged so went ahead and got a full rebuild kit for it. It is now purring along at 250g for 25 seconds.

I guess I will decide what to do with the built-in Cunill grinder after I get the shots dialed in. I heard brew temperature is a problem with Expobar E61 machines.