Here's my piston after a 2.5 hour soak. Once I receive my new spring I will put everything back together and test it out. My old spring measured at 67mm in length.

Looks ready for testing. You should have spare seals on hand at all times, coffee failure is not an option.

I definitely should. I was able to take off the gaskets and put them back on with no hassle. They seem pretty malleable still so I think they will be fine for a while. I intend to grease up the elektra group as well. If the new spring 'shifts' due to its different dimensions I will get some small silicon gaskets for the inside.

Spring should not slip but it might. If you examine the actual sealing lip edge with a decent magnifying glass and bright light you will a more gray shade at the edge and the length is an indication of the physical wear. Once this is no longer sharp with the wear pattern the seal is not going to function properly and the top seal will allow water to bypass the piston into the spring area. This happens to be a common problem with that machine. These seals in daily use will last less than a year in most cases before leaking slightly. Light coats of DC-111 do retard damage from this bypass leakage. DC-111 is not recommended as a dietary supplement though so light coat only.

OldNuc wrote: Light coats of DC-111 do retard damage from this bypass leakage. DC-111 is not recommended as a dietary supplement though so light coat only.

I am using Danco Silicone Grease, which I applied to my Pavoni recently (it was 'catching' when the extraction was slow) without issue. I have seen this on HB before and decided to try it out. I used a little less than a pinhead size of grease and I could cover all needed surfaces easily.

Reads like most of those silicone lubes and should work fine. Catching seals are a sign of worn out. These silicone seals last many times longer than the usual black seals: https://www.cafelatstore.com/products/la-pavoni I have yet to wear out a set and have not had to open up the machine group for relubing.

I got my new spring today! It measures to be about 94mm in length, which is quite longer than my original spring.





I got it on easily enough on my piston, and it can be pulled without the spring scraping the sides. I will be trying it out today and see how it goes.

Oh my god.

It was totally the spring. This new spring allowed me to produce shots that I expect to come from an Elektra MCAL. My first two shots were better than any of the shots I made with the old spring, even after hours of testing. My grind was approaching the finesness I use for my La Pavoni when using ~14g to make a double. No longer does my spring 'stop' halfway up. I cannot believe the change I witnessed, done only by switching one piece in my machine.

The shots are different from a Pavoni. With my Pavoni, I get an almost syrupy concoction of coffee notes (which using my Saka Classic Bar) is Vanilla, Caramel, and Chocolate with a bit of almond). With my Elektra, I get less body and crema, but it is incredible how much I can distinguish the flavor notes. I will be tinkering with this further and see if the spring holds up. I am very excited right now.

My roommate is looking over me so I have to make him some shots as well.

Adequate pressure is a major requirement and contrary to conventional wisdom springs do wear out. The load on the seals also has been increased so a seal replacement is on the horizon. How do the Microcasa seal dimensions compare to the La Pavoni seal dimensions?

Great work Ryan, can you share how you came about finding the correct spring?