Hi guys, posted this in another topic but i think its a new one all by itself. I have been restoring my europiccola which is almost done! I have one issue now and that is the heating element which is an old style screw in one has developed a slow leak. So i have replaced the flat gasket as necessary, its all been cleaned out in the groove where it sits (de-limescaled and wire wooled to get nasties out). But im worried about the leak!

Maybe some food safe (such a thing?) Plumbers tape? Or am i missing something. I read something somewhere.about the use of food safe superglue? What is that and how shpuld that be applied? Any answers i'd most appreciate!

If you have a brand new element gasket in there, you basically just need to tighten it down further. It's not unusual to get minor leaks the first time new gaskets go through some heat cycles. You may be surprised how much more you can crank it down now. Worth checking the boiler ring while you're in there too and make sure it is also fully snugged up.

Ok! Sounds promising. Is there a technique you recommend using if yoy.dont have access to proper tools? Also i guess it expands the more it heats up?

When you say boiler ring, do you mean the threads? Perhaps the tape would be helpful?

There's a brass ring that secures the base to the boiler. That's above the element on the underside of the base. If you have a swiveling base, the ring is your culprit. But if you have a minor leak and recently replaced the element gasket, it probably just needs to be tightened down a bit more. A strap wrench works pretty well on the old screw in type elements, since they don't have much to grip on to otherwise. I wouldn't use plumber's tape. At best it will be a temporary fix that will mask the fact that the element isn't fully tightened.

Fab! Thanks for the advice! So following what you said, I was able to stop the leaks. I lubed the threads a tiny bit and poured boiling water in to test and eventually it sealed ok. I found that the heat from the water i poured out each time helped to screw it down further without the help of many tools.

I now have another query. My element before repairs (220v) was heating water fine and on visual inspection before installation, looked ok. Now however, it isnt heating the water at all. I am fairly confident that I wired the thing correctly as per a diagram, so I took away my wiring and did a continuity test on both the switch and the elements. Switch ok. Checked the elements and got a reading from the low one 284 ohms and the high one 64 ohms. Surely the 284 is to high?? Any ideas what the problem could be?

Also i dont know if this may be of help.in the diagnostics but i measured the voltage coming from the live wire: 14v, voltage from nuetral: 208v. The rest of the connectors on the switch and the elements measure 20v

How are you measuring the voltage?

Neutral wire to? Hot wire to? Heating element terminals to?

Cheers!

-Jake

Sure! Im following the second diagram in this topic. I will try and find a way to take a photo and upload to this site.La Pavoni Europiccola 2-element wiring diagrams

The only difference is that I dont have a thermal fuse.

Ok,

To measure voltage at the machine, you should measure 220V between terminal C (or A, as long as the jumper between them is present) and where your power cable terminates at the switch. According to the schematic, this should be on the right hand side, connected to the red switch. The left hand side of the red switch connects back to A (and C, through the same jumper), which is just to power up the light in the switch when it's turned on. With the red switch off, your machine should have no heat and no voltage across either element. With the red switch on, the White switch then completes the circuit through either the steam element (measure voltage across A and B, wide spacing) or the coffee element (measure across C and D, narrow spacing).

Hope this helps.

Cheers!

-Jake

Having checked, irlt seems that I have the correct voltage from the red switch to terminal A and C (240v), but no voltage present to either element. This makes me think that either I have wired the switch wrong, or theres an issue with it. Shouldnt be though, because its new! Here's my la pavoni so far as wired: