Pasquini Livietta (Olympia Maximatic) restoration - Page 10

#91: Post by **drgary** » July 12th, 2012, 10:55 pm

About to descale. Does anyone know how to remove the tank valve attachment so it can be immersed?

The white mesh receptacle on the inside unscrews but this doesn't free the valve from the tank. I could just immerse it because the ball bearing on the valve is held down by a spring, which is in turn held in place by the mesh receptacle. There are o-rings on the inside and outside. If I can't remove the valve I will check it for leakage and may use a food-grade epoxy to seal the inside just in case a failing seal around the valve was a source of moisture and the rust you see in the first photo. And yes, I'm going to clean that grungy tank!

Although Olympia Express has changed ownership and still builds the Maximatic, their site says they are still working on their spare parts program, so the tank and the valve are not available and must be kept in working order to avoid custom fabricating.

#92: Post by **Eastsideloco** » July 13th, 2012, 1:54 am

Sherman describes the process here:

Pasquini Livietta (Olympia Maximatic) restoration

As I recall, the hex key inserts into the bottom of the valve, which unthreads from the plastic nipple in the reservoir. Watch out for the spring and ball bearing inside.

#93: Post by **drgary** » July 13th, 2012, 2:01 am

Thanks David, and yes, a closer look at the bottom inside of the valve shows it can be gripped with a 5mm hex key. Now I'll really be able to get this thing clean. It sure needs it!

#94: Post by **orphanespresso** » July 13th, 2012, 4:31 am

Don't forget the part CAREFULLY loosen it with a 5mm hex...those plastic threads might not hold against too much torque. The current replacement is stainless steel and costs quite a few Swiss Francs...if you want a new one that is.

#95: Post by **drgary** » July 13th, 2012, 8:57 am

Thanks, Doug. This tells me that if it doesn't easily release I should immerse the bottom of that tank with the spring and ball bearing removed in citric acid before trying to get it out. Is the white mesh part available for less than $20? Mine is showing its age.

Fortunately the valve came out easily, scale and all. No thread stripping. It appears to be stainless steel. The scale isn't as thick as the whiteness in the photo suggests.

#96: Post by **drgary** » July 23rd, 2012, 1:32 am

Restoration as Discovery

Sometimes you learn things .... I'll show you how this came down. Some of you know the punch line. No snickering please!

The back of the group looked like it had a gasket really baked on. I got out the rotary tool and polished and soon could smell burning rubber.

I was ready to get out the torch and thought I'd get a look at this with a picking tool. How hard would it be to cook this out? Doh!

Well at least I did one thing clever today with this restoration. There was a stuck screw holding the thermal safety switch. I applied penetrating oil for days, heated it over a candle, and the slotted screw still kept wanting to strip. So I gripped it with this pointed vise grip, tightened it down with another pliers and it turned right out. Whew!