All -

Thank you for creating such a wonderful community! Been reading for years and finally have tackled a project I have had on the back burner for a while partially due to COVID and partially due to the resources within this site.

With that being said I am working on my grandfather's La Pavoni V 1.5 (SN A8832). After it sat on the shelf for maybe 20-30 years my aunt gave it to me. I decided to plug it in and see what happened and low and behold she still heated up and seemed to generally work.

I have been reading a lot in here and on the FB La Pavoni group about what all I need to do. Here is what I decided on for the next course of action:
1. Order gasket kit - snagged the pre-millenium kit from orphan espresso and replace gaskets with appropriate lube
2. Bought Dezcal to descale insides
3. Was planning to follow Orphan Espresso's rebuild video

So, with all that in mind I have come to a crossroad where I am not sure how to proceed on a couple fronts.

1. I have mixed Dezcal (at the appropriate ratio) and put in the machine - let sit for an hour and then rinse thoroughly 4-5 times. Note, each of the rinsing still will yield some stuff. I have done this routine maybe 3-4 times and am still seeing this:

What should I do here? Should i just keep descaling with Dezcal? Or do I have a different issue that requires a different approach?

2. So then I was following OE's Youtube video around the teardown and rebuild. Was going great till I got to 1:09 when he removes the group and I realized I have a slightly different version than his where my group is not held in place by screws but instead screwed directly into the rest of the machine. Do I need to remove the group to go through with my update? Given that I do not necessarily know what I am doing I want to be careful to not do any permanent damage in this process so better to seek guidance than to just jump in.

3. Some people have mentioned that the earliest La Pavonis (of which I believe my specific version was right before the cutoff here) require a special tool to remove the brass sleeve to which the showerscreen is attached to. Is this correct for my year?? How do I check that? If that is the case then I am under the impression I need to scoop up this tool (flange socket) from OE: . Do I also need different gaskets? Or should the pre-millenium kit cover this?.

When this stalled me out last weekend I did manage to grab the chrome polish and see what that yielded and she is already looking pretty good. Some of the chrome up top has however worn down or has some decent dings - anything to do on that? Overall still beautiful!



Anything else I should be thinking about?

Thanks in advance!

Hi, that's a nice restoration project!
For descaling you can also use citric acid (1 to max 2%)
Pour it in the boiler (be careful not to spill) close the boiler and switch the heating element on (on 1). Let it heat up, switch the element off and let the acid do its thing for 20 to 30 min. Empty the boiler and rinse several times with water.

Your version has the copper sleeve in the grouphead, with the transition to the bolted grouphead the sleeve also disappeared.
The first models indeed have the showerscreen attached to the sleeve,
If you wiggle out the rubber ring in the grouphead you can see if this is also the case for your europiccola (the 1.6 looks completely the same with the only change that the showerscreen is removable).
For general information you can consult Francesco Ceccarelli's website here:
http://www.francescoceccarelli.eu/lapavoni_ep_eng.htm
In case you want to make yuk our own sleeve tool, there is also a DIY section there which covers basic repairs
among which how to remove the grouphead sleeve
with a drawing for the dimensions of the tool:
http://www.francescoceccarelli.eu/La_Pa ... ve_eng.htm

It is not strictly necessary to remove the grouphead when replacing the seals (though it makes it easier) but you have to be careful not to damage the dipper tube. Others may have more experience with this.
Succes with the restoration!
Cheers
Rob

Ps, you may want to check the ground wire and install a thermofuse just for safety.

Having rebuilt a few of these with the screwed-into-boiler group, my take is that while the group rebuild is a bit trickier with the group in place on the boiler, (particularly digging out an old, ossified piston rod seal), it's still a better option than unscrewing the group from the boiler. You will then have to use thread locker (LocTite or similar) when you screw the group back in, and getting it dead centered again can prove extremely difficult.

If you have two punches with appropriately sized tips, you can use those in conjunction with a hammer or mallet to unscrew the group sleeve. The OE tool makes it MUCH easier, though, and you will be much less likely to deform the sleeve removal holes, slip and scratch chrome, etc.

All -

Thank you for the help so far!

Hit a slightly different issue this morning while digging back in on this. The screw at the top of the sightglass is frozen. I tried a little wd40 and heating up with a blow dryer but unfortunately the screw is starting to strip. Any ideas on this one?

I suppose worst case I could invert the machine and drip Kroil in from the bottom.

Also, I cannot tell if I have the brass sleeve with shower plate built-in.

Here is the reference: http://www.francescoceccarelli.eu/La_Pa ... ve_eng.htm

Here is mine:


Either I do not have the built-in or the brass has become severely discolored.

If I do have the brass sleeve, assuming I need to remove the rubber gasket and then use the tool to remove the sleeve right?

By the look of it you have the build in shower screen, the removable one sits over the sleeve so the rim of the sleeve would appear to have the same color as the shower plate.

If I do have the brass sleeve, assuming I need to remove the rubber gasket and then use the tool to remove the sleeve right?

Yes to both, you have the sleeve aand you need to remove the o-ring before you can remove the sleeve.

For the sightglass screw, it could be that it is fastened with thread-locker (loctite or something like it) dripping some acetone between the screw and the body should take care of that. Also make sure your screwdriver has an exact match to the screw this will prevent slipping.
Cheers!
Rob

Also, are you missing the overpressure valve?