Picked up another Gaggia. This one needs mechanical restoration, as opposed to my other Gaggia project which only needed cosmetic. My first question: where should I tap if I wanted to install a pressure gauge?

Plans for mods:
Auber PID with pre-infusion
Pressure gauge
Hack the distribution block

Progress pics so far:
http://bit.ly/gaggiaowc

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If anyone needs boiler o-rings for the OWC, I have 9 PTFE (good for 400F). They are just ever so slighly smaller than stock. Grainger only sold them in a 10-pack and I'm happy to send them to you at-cost. PM me.

Today I started tackling some of the mods AndyPanda suggested. However, instead of drilling into the casting for the OPV, I decided to tee it. Basically, the idea is to re-route the fresh water inlet just below the OPV, so when the OPV cracks it dumps cold water, not hot water from the boiler. I'm just taking AndyPanda's word for it.

Here was the first set-up:


But then, as you can see, I ran into clearance issues. So then I added a 90* elbow for the OPV. I also had to modify the heater element hook up:


Here is the boiler dry fit in the machine with the modified heater element post:


AndyPanda suggested plugging up the hole at the bottom of the standpipe. He used epoxy, but I found a stainless steel machine screw (8-32 x 3/8) that fit pretty well. It had just enough thickness to tap itself:




Next, I went to work on the dispersion screen. I found some copper stock and cut it to the same diameter as the shower screen. I chamfered the center so the shower screen would seat properly. I also added an o-ring in between the distribution block and the copper diffuser to give the water a path to travel. After drilling the holes, I sanded the back side flush because it looked like a cheese grater and didn't allow the piece to seat properly. Also, a Talenti Gelato pint is the perfect stand for the boiler, the rim of the pint fits perfectly in the o-ring channel of the boiler lol.



So I put everything back together and it's leaking in a few places. The biggest issue is the boiler gasket. I bought something close at Grainger, but it didn't work. I have something else on order. I didn't get to play with it too long to see how the dispersion hack worked. It seemed to do a better job in some areas, but I still need to tinker with it. I may need a gasket between the shower screen and the copper diffuser.

I have a PID and pressure gauge on order. When I get the new boiler gasket installed, I'll report back.

Great job.
I had the same boiler leak problem, it went away once I had assembled with a smear of RTV gasket and adjusted the OPV to 9-10 bar.

Today I tackled the PID, pump dimmer, and pressure gauge. Since I relocated the water inlet to the OPV connection, I had access to the old inlet port; so that's where I ran the piping for the pressure gauge. I need to find a snubber valve though because the vibe pump is making the needle bounce. I could get a fluid filled gauge, but I really like this Cimbali one.

I couldn't find any instructions on wiring a PID for an OWC, but I used a PDF I found for a Silvia and used that for reference. The rest I kind of just guessed, and it seems to work great. The only issue was the PID being constantly on because I tapped the main; but I just added a toggle switch for it. Just another switch to flick...it's more fun that way lol. The auto-tune on the PID has this thing pretty well dialed, so I don't think I'm going to do any custom tuning right now. I started a separate thread on this, but I'm having some weird hiccuping from the pump when the voltage is dialed back on the dimmer and when the element cycles on and off.

I'm trying to find a nice enclosure, so let me know if you all come across anything.

THIS HAS NOT BEEN CHEAP...but is sure is fun The fittings alone were like 40 bucks.

Oh, and I also made portafilter temp gauge.

Man, HB compresses pics to high hell I wish we could outside link.

Here's a video of the modified shower screen. How does that look?

Here's a link to my other thread that shows the odd pump behavior.

Interesting Pump Behavior with Dimmer Installed (Gaggia OWC) [video]

So with my PID set to 230 (probe at the top of the boiler), I'm only getting 178-ish to the portafilter. Thoughts?

Okay, so I know why the above PF experiment didn't work. I'm not flowing any water through the PF. I'll need to modify it a bit to let water flow through.

Next improvement is a snubber valve for the p-gauge. It took some searching to find one in 1/8" NPT, but Omega stocks one.

PN#: PS-8E
http://www.omega.com

Boku Supper Club wrote:So with my PID set to 230 (probe at the top of the boiler), I'm only getting 178-ish to the portafilter. Thoughts?

When Fred and I kibbitzed on the build of a thermofilter back here:
http://www.gaggiausersgroup.com/index.p ... 187.0.html
we used the epoxy to fill the basket with the idea that that would better simulate the puck.

I wonder if that might have something to do with the low temperature readings you are getting.