Restoration of an Olympia Cremina - Page 8

Equipment doesn't work? Troubleshooting? If you're handy, members can help.
Paul L
Posts: 73
Joined: 19 years ago

#71: Post by Paul L »

Steve, I have thoroughly enjoyed following the thread. When I bought my Europiccola I was not tempted by the wooden handles but Les' craftsmanship has me drooling and wishing for a set to be sent this side of the water. If you are tempted to order a set for your Europiccola let me know and I suspect I'll double the order. If Les will make a set anyway and ship to the UK it will be hard to resist. Of course, the hard part will be the matching drip tray which I suspect will otherwise look a bit odd in in its standard black plastic (mesh upper part in stainless steel is okay of course).

Breaddrink
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Joined: 18 years ago

#72: Post by Breaddrink »

Paul L wrote:Of course, the hard part will be the matching drip tray which I suspect will otherwise look a bit odd in in its standard black plastic (mesh upper part in stainless steel is okay of course).
Can you order the metal drip tray part as an accessory?
I notice they only sell them with the wooden handle machines, otherwise they're all plastic.

Rob.

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srobinson (original poster)
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#73: Post by srobinson (original poster) »

cpl593h wrote:Did you manage to hook up a pressure gauge here? Any advice on adjusting the pressurestat and relief valve?
Actually Dan and I just did a pressure test on the machine a couple weeks ago. The Cremina 67 does not have a pressure gauge on it but we were able to hook one up right off the top of the boiler.

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There is a thumbwheel at the base of the pressurestat that allows you to adjust. I have decided to keep mine at 1.1-1.2

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We found that the machine is very stable with its pressure. We did a couple tests to see how much pressure fluctuated between cycles and it all stayed within a .1 range. At the range we picked you get great steam and solid pressure for your pulls.
Steve Robinson

LMWDP #001

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Teme
Posts: 342
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#74: Post by Teme »

Breaddrink wrote:
Can you order the metal drip tray part as an accessory?
I notice they only sell them with the wooden handle machines, otherwise they're all plastic.

Rob.
The Pavoni metal drip tray cover is available as an accessory. If I recall correctly e.g. http://www.espressoxxl.com in Germany sells them at a reasonable price...

Br,
Teme

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cpl593h
Posts: 116
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#75: Post by cpl593h »

It looks like you connected the manometer right to the steam output tap. Nice! Did you have to machine any adapters for this or were many of the parts ready made and available at a hardware store? I imagine that one would be able to just attach the manometer only for pressurestat adjustment and re-attach the steam assembly when through... If the pressure cycles in such a small increment there isn't really a need to pressure surf, it seems.

Would it be feasible to remove the steam wand and connect a manometer after the steam valve for this purpose, or would parts have to be milled? Were the parts obtained locally or online?

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HB
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#76: Post by HB »

Steve borrowed my gauge and fittings. Although the Cremina's fittings are metric, 6mm and 1/4" are close enough that I used stock parts available at Home Depot. If you want to add a tee there, it should be easy except for the steam tube bending :shock:. Steve and I also talked about putting one atop the site glass for test purposes.
Dan Kehn

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cpl593h
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#77: Post by cpl593h »

Thanks Dan :)

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cpl593h
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#78: Post by cpl593h »

My Cremina arrived today. Boiler: immaculate. Internals: spotless. Group: NIGHTMARE. I'll post photos of that later. I got it all cleaned up and rebuilt the group with gaskets (thanksfully all of the other gaskets are great). Here's my pressure gauge solution:

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cpl593h
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#79: Post by cpl593h »

So I said the group was a nightmare. It took me FOREVER to drill through the brass to make the portafilter naked. I thought my hole saw was just dull, but the brass is just plain thick.

But ahhhhh.... success.

HooHaw
Posts: 29
Joined: 18 years ago

#80: Post by HooHaw »

Reckon you don't fancy them milk stuff.