Gaggia Dispersion Plate Stuck - Page 2
- Jeff
- Team HB
- Posts: 6899
- Joined: 19 years ago
S/s is likely to change the thermal characteristics pretty significantly.
-
- Posts: 1819
- Joined: 17 years ago
Why don't you post a picture of your Gaggia Coffee when you get a chance.
-
- Posts: 16
- Joined: 4 years ago
-
- Posts: 16
- Joined: 4 years ago
BTW... The "Coffee" has no pressure relief tube; rather, it has a "Group Valve Assembly" which is installed dead center behind the dispersion plate:
The little vinyl plug that fits into the spring worries me a bit because I have no idea how vulnerable it is to the various chemical agents we're discussing. I've always removed it for descaling, so have no experience with how it might be affected even by Dezcal. It can be replaced if absolutely necessary, but this all starts to add up. The cost isn't really my greatest concern, however... I brought it up to see if anyone thinks this should inform how I'm trying to liberate he plate and address ongoing maintenance.
-- Jim
The little vinyl plug that fits into the spring worries me a bit because I have no idea how vulnerable it is to the various chemical agents we're discussing. I've always removed it for descaling, so have no experience with how it might be affected even by Dezcal. It can be replaced if absolutely necessary, but this all starts to add up. The cost isn't really my greatest concern, however... I brought it up to see if anyone thinks this should inform how I'm trying to liberate he plate and address ongoing maintenance.
-- Jim
-
- Posts: 528
- Joined: 11 years ago
Have you tried using a heatgun on the plate? If it's stuck on with coffee residue, heat may soften the coffee muck... and then use a longer screw through the center screen hole to push the plate away from the body... like in the thread I linked earlier. Of course if it's scale holding it on, I don't know if a heatgun will help.
EDIT... Note... if there's indeed a valve sitting under the center screw of the plate, might not be a good idea to do what I wrote above.
EDIT... Read another thread and the stuff on his plate looks like scale. He mentioned he had to lever it off using the rubber covered handle of his monkey wrench and pryed it off. You could try heating and prying a bit.
https://coffeeforums.co.uk/topic/1955-c ... mment-8203
In the linked topic, there's another link where someone worked on his machine too. He mentions using an allen wrench through one of the plate screw holes to help take it off.
http://www.bluebox.com.au/jcrayon/gaggia/
EDIT... Note... if there's indeed a valve sitting under the center screw of the plate, might not be a good idea to do what I wrote above.
EDIT... Read another thread and the stuff on his plate looks like scale. He mentioned he had to lever it off using the rubber covered handle of his monkey wrench and pryed it off. You could try heating and prying a bit.
https://coffeeforums.co.uk/topic/1955-c ... mment-8203
In the linked topic, there's another link where someone worked on his machine too. He mentions using an allen wrench through one of the plate screw holes to help take it off.
http://www.bluebox.com.au/jcrayon/gaggia/
-
- Posts: 16
- Joined: 4 years ago
The heat gun is a good idea -- I'll have to see what I have in my tool chest that'll work, or borrow one from a neighbor. Yeah, I tried the trick with the extra-long M5 machine screw... it went all the way in and did nothing. God only knows if I already trashed the Group Valve Assembly in the process, so worrying about damaging it with Cafiza may be moot. I removed the boiler (very carefully, following all the YouTube demos and tips... so I can get the damn thing back together), so now it's quite a bit easier to work. Thought I'd actually open up the boiler to check its condition, but THOSE bolts are frozen. Do you think I can use a rust removal agent? If not, I think I'll be fine without getting inside the boiler.... I'll keep everyone posted.
--Jim
--Jim
- Jeff
- Team HB
- Posts: 6899
- Joined: 19 years ago
Rust removers are often very acidic, and would likely etch aluminum in a heartbeat. Penetrating oil might help, though it isn't food safe and can make quite a mess, including lubricating the socket.
-
- Posts: 528
- Joined: 11 years ago
There is also a member selling a Classic grouphead in the Buy/Sell forum. Not sure if it fits your machine, or what parts it all entails. You might inquire.
[FS] NYC- Gaggia Classic (and other models) group head
Sometimes frozen bolts can be eased out with an impact wrench... providing the screw heads are in good shape. Perhaps even a cordless drill set on one of the higher torque settings might be enough to jolt the screws loose. I'm going to guess it's scale/corrosion giving you all this pain. Being aluminum can't be the best thing for water/heat based machines. Just an assumption.
[FS] NYC- Gaggia Classic (and other models) group head
Sometimes frozen bolts can be eased out with an impact wrench... providing the screw heads are in good shape. Perhaps even a cordless drill set on one of the higher torque settings might be enough to jolt the screws loose. I'm going to guess it's scale/corrosion giving you all this pain. Being aluminum can't be the best thing for water/heat based machines. Just an assumption.
-
- Posts: 1819
- Joined: 17 years ago
Thanks. And yes, a Gaggia Coffee, sometimes called the New Coffee.jimlewis1126 wrote:Sorry, but mine is in enough pieces right now that a picture won't tell you anything. But here's a commercial shot of my machine:
If you ever get feeling adventurous it can be upgraded by the addition of an adjustable OPV and a PID, but it sounds like it has served you perfectly well the way it is (except for the gunk ) so....why bother ???
Good luck with your dispersion plate.
I still vote for a long (days long) soak in Cafiza to dissolve the coffee glue, but I've been wrong before and probably will be again.
-
- Posts: 16
- Joined: 4 years ago
I saw a forum post somewhere for someone showing off his "tricked out" Gaggia Classic with an OPV and PID. I must confess this is a little too deep in the weeds for me - I don't know what either one does. But the owner showed how it gave him more control, and most important, he looked like he was having fun. Was that you? You're right - happy with my current setup.SJM wrote:If you ever get feeling adventurous it can be upgraded by the addition of an adjustable OPV and a PID
Back to MY fun.... I just left Home Depot, which does NOT sell Cafiza or any comparable product... go figure (my all-too-frequent experience at Home Depot). Does anyone know if the Mr Coffee cleaner is any good? That's what my local Ace Hardware carries. Otherwise I'll just order the Cafiza fr Amazon.