Hi dgary,

Thank you for your caution. We have not tried the 2x4 method yet due to busy summer schedule. I have to remove the head first. In order to remove the gaskets holding bronze head, I bought a bike tool(parktool HCW-5) from REI. It fits nicely. Phillip C. told me about this tool and I hope this could help other members. Here is the photo:

Hi All,
After removing the gaskets holding bronze-head using the bike-tool(see photos); I was able to remove the old spring with some difficulties due to rust in the guiding rod. I have cleaned all of the bronze parts with some sulfamic acid and steel wood.

I was easily able to install the new spring without any special tool/method other than a screwdriver to turn the spring holding rod-head. I have tightened the spring guide head with the screwdriver using the safety pin hole. This task is supposed to be a very tough job. Am I missing anything?

The concern that I have now is to adjust the group head assembly to the correct length. Using an old photo, I have adjusted to 3"1/8: from gaskets holding bronze-head to the edge of the spring cylinder. Unfortunately I did not take the exact measurement before removing the old spring. How important is having the correct length? How do I determine the length correctly? Your comment/advice will be highly appreciated. Here is the finished photo:

Regards
jkimpossible.

Hi All,

I have the answer for my own question about the length for the group head: Duh! The answer is that you have to screw the gaskets holding bronze head all the way in to the thread of the spring rod. The sticking out portion measures around 2-1/2" 2- 9/16". Not surprisingly, it is the same length as the group head cylinder depth to the dispersion screen shown in the photos. The image is from an Iphone and it is upside down. You get the idea anyway. I forgot the trick to fix the orientation of the photo that Dan told me once. Alas.

Regards, jkimpossible.

Hi all,

Federal Pacific Electric Company's circuit-breaker switch box has been replaced on Saturday and added a dedicated 20A outlet for the Z9. When I tried to add one 20A outlet to my house a couple of months ago, I have learned that this particular brand of the circuit switch breaker is one of the leading causes of the house fire in the USA and I had to hire a licensed contractor for a complete replacement and bring it up to the current Contra Costa County residential building codes. Today, I filled up the tank with the bottled water through the pressure valve opening on the top of the tank. I hooked Z9's water inlet to the garden hose using a plastic fitting. I then tried to add some more water using the manual water inlet lever mechanism. It did not work.

Well, today is the day that I was waiting for since the March 2013. I have powered on the machine and the machine was slowly warning up. I had both water and steam valves open initially. I had to power off the machine a few times to tighten leaky nuts/pipes. Not too bad. It took around 30+ minutes to start to build up some pressure in the tank. Using thumbscrew of the mercury PSTAT device, I have adjusted the pressure level to stay between around .85 and 1.3BAR. It is cool to watch the bright spikes when mercury tubes tilt and switch the power on and off. Is this an acceptable range? Is there any way to adjust it to stay within the green zone of the gage(1.0 - 1.2 BAR)?

I've managed to pull a decent first shot. Judging from perfect one-piece dry puck, the machine seems to be working, as it should. The taste was better than OK. I am sure that shot quality will improve with time and practice but I am a happy camper.

One of remaining issues for my rebuild project is the water intake mechanism. It does not work both manual intake lever and the auto-refill system. How does the auto water fill device/mechanism (light brown color solenoid) work? It was hot when I touched with hand. Is this normal? How can I test the system? I lowered water level below the metal probe's point but the auto fill mechanism did not kick in. I suspect either (or both) water level probe(inside of the sight-glass) or water inlet solenoid might be faulty but before ordering new parts, I'd like to learn to diagnose for the failing element if possible. Should I check any other things to correct diagnose the root-cause of the problem? What are the correct steps? I'd love to hear your own Z9 experience and any advice to solve the water fill issues.

Here are some photos that I took on Sunday(some of the photos are upside down. It has to do with iphone's special feature. ):

Very nice to hear that the z9 is mostly working.
Have you disassembled the auto fill valve already? Sometimes all those need is a proper cleaning to restore the mechanical function. And if I remember correctly there may be replaceable internal parts. The other question is are you sure the auto fill brain is wired properly? Sometimes too the water may not have enough dissolved mineral to carry a charge for the fill probe to work.
Just what you want to hear...more riddles to solve.

Hi Tom,

Thank you. It's good to hear from you. I never disassembled the water fill valve. I should have cleaned up when I had whole thing out. I will try to clean it first. Is it safe to remove the nut of top of the 'coil(brown-yellow plastic cube)? Why the manual water inlet lever would not work? Is this anything to do with a faulty solenoid or other issue(i.e, internal clogging, insufficient water-pressure form the garden hose, etc). Does manual fill require the power in the machine? How to trouble-shoot for correct functionality of the manual fill? I have poured bottled spring-water in the tank and the auto fill mechanism to work when the water level goes below the probe, right?. If so, would the mineral content of the water would be a factor for the probe?

I checked on-line part stores for solenoid, there are too many different ones and I don't know which one is right one. I will post a close-up photo for assistance later. Ideally I'd like just replace the coil and keep the old metal assembly:

It reads:
Lucifer
483510 F
110-115 V 50 Hz
120v60 Hz
9W L04
I hope this means anything to someone. Can I just order the coil?


Tom, You asked a few month ago about JK?
JK == Just Kidding

Have a great day!

Solenoid coils (the brown cube with the electrical specs) are easily replaceable and more or less standard in espresso machines, see http://www.coffeeparts.com.au/misc/solenoids for an idea of the range available. Removal is easy, just unscrew the (generally) 14mm nut and pull off. While the coil is off it's a good idea to unscrew the valve itself and check the spring, slug and the holes for scale or blockage.

Alan

JKIMPOSSIBLE:

Good job on the rebuild!

Inspirational to some of use thinking about used Rancilio lever machines

Stephen

Hi All,

Both the manual water inlet valve and automatic water fill mechanism are operational after some serious de-scaling and cleaning. I used a screwdriver to test the manual water inlet valve and it seems to work fine now. I have not found a manual water inlet handle yet. Philip C. is still looking for his spare handle for me. Barb at Orphan Espresso was also going to order the handle from Europe.

Last weekend, I have adjusted the boiler pressure using the PSTAT's wheel. It now oscillates between 0.9 and 1.2 BAR. Does this look OK to you? I still have a few issues/projects for this project: The rebuilt water-valve leaks through the stem when it is open. I have replaced all of the springs and gaskets and I am not sure why it is leaking. I have also drained the boiler three or four times after the machine was powered on for a couple of hours. The water is clear now. The Z9 will stay hooked to the garden hose in my back yard until all remaining minor issues get fixed in the next couple of weeks. Here are a few photos for water inlet valve and the solenoid. Jkimpossible.

Hi All,

In the last couple of weekends, I have been adjusting (playing with) the mercury PSTAT and practicing various shots with the Z9. It seems to operate like a new machine. I guess this is the end of the project! I appreciate for sharing your experience with me, and for your encouragement in the past five months. If I have to define the project in one word, it must be 'fun'. Fun for learning of new things, fun for cleaning and polishing, fun for painting, above all, fun for coming up with a solution that is not googleable. I took some photos this weekend. I'd love to hear your feedback or questions that you might have about the Z9 project.


Rancilio Z9 LE NC/L single group Lever - 1983


Rancilio Z9 LE NC/L single group Lever - 1983


Rancilio Z9 LE NC/L single group Lever - 1983


Rancilio Z9 LE NC/L single group Lever - 1983


Rancilio Z9 LE NC/L single group Lever - 1983


Rancilio Z9 LE NC/L single group Lever - 1983


Rancilio Z9 LE NC/L single group Lever - 1983

Thank you. Jkimpossible.