Projects & Rebuilds — Coffee Forum

Too much water coming out of the expansion valve

sian21 — Sat, 24 Jan 2026 03:04:11 +0000

Hi, I have a Boema single group head machine that I have restored with new service kit from boema , I have replace the heating element and descaled the machine from top to bottom . The problem I am having is when I extract water through the porfilter I get a strong flow of water coming out of the Expansion valve , any ideas how to rectify this problem ?
Thanks Stewart

Water taking too long to reach the portaflia

sian21 — Tue, 15 Aug 2023 02:02:41 +0000

Hi, I have just had a complete rebuild of my semi automatic La Scala butterfly machine , I can get it to make a shot of coffee , but it takes around 60 sec for the water to reach the portafila , i can hear the pump working OK

and I have replaced the mushroom and solenoid in the group head . can anyone help

regards Stewart

rancilio epoca rebuild!

askthecoffeeguy — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 15:36:36 +0000

Not sure if it counts as a rebuild - more like a remodeling - but I've replaced the plastic sides with custom stainless plates, and the plastic front panel and rocker switch with a fitted dark plastic 'screen' and a new brew switch

Plus I've replaced the steam wand with something a little more industrial, including a synesso steam tip - and the steam pressure is easily twice as good as original !

Photos don't really do it justice coz it's nestled in a pretty tight position - but it does make excellent coffee!

Destoner

cosmic_couple22 — Tue, 06 Sep 2016 21:28:35 +0000

Really needed a destoner for the roastery, hand sorting 10kg of beans at a time is a laborious task Trouble with destoners is that they are a sizeable investment for what is a pretty simple product, 8k is a starting price for a traditional style and about 3K for a compact blower style.
After looking at lots of different designs and having a 200mm high powered fan in my possession I decided to build a compact blower style for myself.

So here's the prototype. Pour the beans in the top at an even steady pace, fan on full pushes the beans up the chamber and over the bend falling into a collection bucket, any stones stay in the tube and are prevented from falling down to the fan by the centre screen.

Took a little bit of trial and error with getting the tube lengths right and best position for the input. Prototype works like a charm small rocks, big rocks, green beans, whatever I mixed in was caught in the destoner screen every time.

For a small to medium volume it's perfect, most expensive part was obviously the fan, found that on the web with a discount code for $240 shipped, the rubber collar was $42 and fitted the fan and 90mm plumbers pipe perfectly. The plumbing fittings were a total of $45 add in the braces at $18, had the trolley wheels lying around and the timber was an off cut of the roasterys new table. $345 total cost, not too bad.

built myself a coffee cart !

askthecoffeeguy — Sun, 14 Oct 2018 16:47:51 +0000

well I'm not sure if it comes under the topic of rebuilds, but it's definitely a project! I built a coffee cart specifically to fit my La Rocca Verona Expres coffee machine which I purchased second hand recently

say what you like about the build quality of Spanish coffee machines - it's very simple under the hood - but it makes great coffee and the 5lt water tank combined with a 2lt boiler mlmeans that I can make a lot of coffees between refills !

in fact I've had 4 gigs since building the cart a month ago, and I made 70 coffees on it yesterday, and it didn't miss a beat !

Bringing the Brugnetti Model C up to date.

Phuture1 — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 10:58:16 +0000

Hi. I got this 2001 Brugnetti model C about 3 months ago. I got it for a song and a dance of you know what I mean. This thing is a beast. It makes great espresso and steam galore. When I got it it had been sitting in storage for a few years. After some cleaning and gasket replacements it was good as new. Now that it's been running for a few months I have decided to update the looks a bit. The plan is to remove the keypad end replace it with 5 individual push buttons with built in led's. I'm also going to be installing an automatic shot timer that starts when the brew starts. One other thing that I already did was remove the brass rails from the cup warmer and replaced it with one made from wood that I had laying around. I'll post pics of that now. Before and after. As I get the rest of my parts I will post photos of the process of each upgrade. I hope you guys enjoy what I'm doing and I welcome all the feedback.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

Constructing a mobile coffee vehicle

rodneyr — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 11:07:51 +0000

Hi all,
I am just about to start setting up a mobile coffee vehicle. The unit I'm working with is an 1800 x 1800 aluminum canopy fitted to my Nissan 4x4. The overall space is limited to what can be placed internally.

After reading up on equipment to use can people advise if I am looking at the right things?

Fracino Contempo Duel Fuel Gas Coffee Machine
Mazzer Super Jolly Grinder
70ltr fridge
45ltr engel fridge 12v/240 (extra storage)
85ltr stainless steel water tank
Generator 3.25Kva
2 x 165v batteries
1000w inverter
4.5kg gas bottle.

I still have to find a wash sink and other pumps and tap set. Again any advise will be gratefully accepted.

Rodney

Lever style knobs for unico splendor

West Village — Sun, 12 Mar 2017 20:41:13 +0000

Hi guys,

This may seem like sacrilege for some in terms of adding a mod onto A diadema unico splendor. I just wanted to know if it was possible to replace the current turn style knobs for milk and hot water to the newer lever style employed on some of the newer machines we see coming out from other brands. I like the idea and functionality of the lever style knobs for instant steam access but am not sure how it would look let alone if it's even possible?

If so would it be easy to do and how much would a mod like that set you back?

Gaggia Classic Rebuild

LeroyC — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 19:43:50 +0000

I've had a few projects on the go lately - clean and fix up a Boema single group I bought (in the hope of setting up a coffee cart), doserless conversion of my Compak K8 (mostly done by my mate), and a full refurb on a Gaggia Classic. The Gaggia is the only one that's fully completed so I thought I'd share. (The Compak is good enough to use but needs some finishing touches like a PF cradle).
I've rebuilt a Classic in the past. That was a long drawn out process as I was learning as I went. This time was quick and easy. I found this one listed on Facebook for cheap and thought it was worth a punt. It had been in storage for a couple of years with coffee still in the filter basket so it was a bit grubby and the whole area from the dispersion disc to the filter basket was in a bad way. The good news is that once I finally got all the gunky parts out and disassembled the machine I found that it was in good nick internally. I took the opportunity to give the boiler a manual descale while it was apart as well as give the whole machine a good scrub inside and out. I then rebuilt it with the following replacement parts and mods:

• Brand new brass dispersion disc
• New group gasket
• New shower screen
• All new seals and o-rings inside the unit
• Upgraded to a Sunbeam EM5900 steam wand with modified tip
• OPV set to about 10bar static pressure
• New water tank lid (the old one was missing)
• A couple of new bolts (just where needed due to corrosion)

I used it for a few weeks while my good machine was away at the service centre. It was working really well and making great coffee. The only thing not working is the light on the brew switch, which IMO is just a distraction anyway.

Here's a few pics:

Ponte Vecchio Lusso - Seal change HELP?

Moon — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 15:08:35 +0000

Well .. after a long time with trouble fee service from this great little lever machine .. it is finally time for a seal change.

I read Jack from Sorrentina's How to change seals over on the CS forum and it doesn't go as smoothly as youd hope .. not that we weren't given the heads up that it is difficult the first time you do it .. which, blimey .. was no understatement :head:

I came a gutza at the 2nd hurdle .. trying to get the spring clip off the pin that joins the end of the lever to the piston.

Jack said to use 2 screwdrivers .. It is that tight and I couldn't find where the gap was .. I couldn't even feel it when running the screwdriver head around the circle of it. After trying many times I realized that there was no hope of getting this little sucker off .. and even if I eventually managed it .. there was no way I would put myself through that again the next time the seals need replacing every couple of years.

Ok .. the only way I was going to get the pin out was to file it down. The idea was to then drill a hole in the pin and put a sheetmetal screw in it that had a flat wide head. This would stop the pin from coming out that held the lever in place .. and be easy to get off the next time.

The drills in the $27 new set that I bought didn't want to drill into the pin .. so I figured they were duds (Frost Made in Australia) and got a refund on the set and bought just the one size that I needed. It drilled the hole ok and the screw fitted in nicely.

Great - time to assemble the Coffee machine ... Yay :thumb:

Ok .. seeing I didn't have the 'Special tool' that Jack has .. I'd been using the F-clamp method .... the large spring in the cylinder shot out quickly when taking the F-clamp off .. but it didn't do any damage.

Now I'm following Jacks instructions to put it back together ... and here's the tricky bit ... well, more than just tricky ... I'd call it 'impossible' without his 'tool' .. but Jack has managed to do it using the F-clamp.

When using the F-clamp .. there isn't much space on the top of the cylinder for the clamp to sit .. and Jack admits that you have to hold it in place to stop it from slipping off the slippery shiny surface.

Here's the knockout blow :pan

Being such a large spring ... how are you supposed to turn the handle of the F-clamp to compress this mighty strong spring .. as if that isn't near or impossible .. there isn't a stable grip at the top of the clamp. It most likely will slide off even if you miraculously had the strength of a dozen Horses to compress it. :doh:

Anyway .. the only way I am going to be able to put this together is to contact Jack from Sorrentina and ask him to send me his Special tool that he has lent to people in the past.

I have tried to contact Jack recently .. but have not received a reply. I don't know if he is still running his business .. and he is the only Authority on the Ponte Vecchio Lusso Coffee machines in Australia

The only contact is via his website .. which appears that Jack may not attend to

Does anyone have Jacks phone number .. so that I can call him in SA? Or perhaps - does any PV Lusso owner have the Special tool that I can borrow?

Any help with this would be appreciated. My coffee machine has been out of action for over 3 weeks now .. and yoall know this is an extremely desperate situation. 8)

Edit: With the handle of the F-clamp .. I could drill a large hole in the handle to put a large screwdriver through it to act as a lever to compress the spring ... but even doing that .. there is still the problem of the top of the F-clamp slipping off

Projects & Rebuilds

bcspark — Sun, 22 May 2016 04:58:08 +0000

Being a old guy with some lung damage,tradie in the building game asbestos and mica plus dust enviroments,the smoke from roasting upsets my lungs. I use a gas filtering face mask but of late this is not enough.My roast station is a home made bench with the bean cooler,KKTO and raised table for my dmm, tablet,and sundry items.I have now added a 200mm commercial exhaust to extract the harmful gasses away from my roasting station so on with my favourite hobby

Roasting trolley project

Lacehim — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 21:56:26 +0000

My existing roasting trolley made from a old BBQ frame has been working ok, but I can't store my KKTO out the way. Last Saturday I was driving out my street when my wife spotted a garage sale... and this is what I scored. $5! Bargain! Well in my eyes.

There's a bit of surface rust but nothing too bad.It has potential. I'm going to install a solid wooden top, make a separate cooler to store inside with the KKTO using a bathroom fan I already have, and build one big pull out drawer on the front for my roasting tools (wooden spoon, scales etc), and I'll have room for my Pizza paddle, and BBQ tools.

I'll post up progress when I make some.

PID controlled automatic drip coffee maker

UNM — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 10:21:15 +0000

I have an automatic drip coffee maker.

Is adding a PID feasible? Desirable?

gaggia espresso OPV adjust?

caronalexis — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 13:07:53 +0000

hi!!

Mod my gaggia espresso with preheat tube, pressure gauge and ... but adjust opv with my pressure gauge is ok? or require portafilter gauge?
thank
watch my setup with this video

Custom tamper project

GeekKopi — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 15:17:54 +0000

Hi All,

I've got a buddy who has access to CNC machines, metal lathes and the like and have been thinking of creating a custom stainless steel tamper (or from other material -brass? copper?).

Yes, its just a tamper but I am getting a little bored and need to stimulate my mind.

The plan is to draw up the 3D CAD model, get it fabbed and give it a nice polish. Im thinking a one piece at this stage (so no separate base and handle).

It will be a 58mm but I will measure my baskets and get the fit right. Might do a few variations of the base - flat, convex, C-flat...

Based on your coffee making experiences, what, in terms of ergonomics or design, have worked, or not worked for you with a tamper?

Breville Bes900 low pressure

Georgem — Thu, 21 May 2015 20:28:19 +0000

Hi

Have a breville bes900 and am experiencing low pressure when extracting a coffee. I have changed the 3 way solenoid gasket but issue is still there though the steam is much better.

Any suggestions on what needs replacing .

Variable Flow rate for vibe pumps

Coughy — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 22:12:21 +0000

Here's a description of my project to control the flow rate on my Rancilio Miss Silvia machine. It would work with pretty much any vibe pump machine.

https://sites.google.com/site/silviabrewprofiler/

Project Cosmic

cosmic_couple22 — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 19:51:33 +0000

Well it has started. Some things have started arriving for my planned roastery upgrade. :thumb:

Whats under the plastic?
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Cup tray protector

cosmic_couple22 — Sun, 05 Oct 2014 14:12:51 +0000

Didn't want to scratch up the cup tray on the Slayer so made this today.

First I purchased a heatproof oven proof silicone baking liner off ebay for $15.00 62cmx40cm, they come in a few different sizes and prices from $6 up to $15. Then wait 10 to 30 days for it to arrive from China.

[attachimg=1]

Then I took of the cup tray

[attachimg=2]

Put the mat on a wooden board and lay the cup tray neatly in position upside down on top of the mat. Then use a hammer and a hole punch (just a little bit smaller than the tray holes) to punch out the holes keeping a little pressure on it all so it doesn't move.

[attachimg=3]

Once you have punched all your holes.

[attachimg=4]

Lay it back in position on top of your cup tray, mark and trim back edges to suit. (I didn't need to trim the side edges)

[attachimg=5]

Give everything a wipe over and polish the cup tray, refit the protector and put your cups back on.

[attachimg=6]

Job done, have a coffee. Protects both the tray and your cups for $15 and an hour of your time.

Chester

Fluid-o-Tech Vibe Pump Problems

paranomia — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 16:00:02 +0000

Hi All,

I'm trying to repair a BZ99 which stopped pumping water - all the noise, no water. It has the older Fluid-o-Tech 70W vibe pump. After completely pulling the pump (and OPV) apart, cleaning & descaling - no joy. Replaced the diode - no joy. Purchased a new pump - no joy. :tearhair:

I'd thought vibe pumps self-primed and the BZ99 tank is above the pump anyway - wouldn't be the problem?

Just in case the OPV or anything else was the problem I've taken the pump only out of the machine and fed it with a clear vinyl tube from a bottle (I can see water at the inlet and there should be reasonable pressure) - the best I can get is a spluttering few drops out with the new pump. I've tried all combinations of the old & new pumps and diode's direction.

Sigh - naturally I'd thought "how hard could it be" - meh.

Any thoughts on what I'm doing wrong?

Other than replacing/rotating the diode I haven't done anything electrical as yet - I suppose it's possible that failing switches or the pump over-temp thermostat could be causing a problem. I guess I should test the voltage at the pump next?

Many thanks in advance for any insights.

Home-Barista.com, Homebuilt machine??

RayTCoffeeGuy — Tue, 07 Oct 2014 21:25:59 +0000

http://www.home-barista.com/espresso-machines/home-built-espresso-machine-t30494.html

Take a look, did anyone in this forum make theirs out of scratch like this guy.

Ariston_MCA_10 Coffee machine - In wall

QM0996 — Wed, 30 Apr 2014 19:00:39 +0000

LOL

A relative got stung $700 for repairs and 2 weeks later it failed again. After much to and fro they gave up and it has sat in the wall doing nothing...

I have taken it on as a small project to keep me off the street; until I can get back onto the bigger two group lever project.

Other than saying bin it; has any one had any experience with one of these units...

No error code that I can see, and it just stops after the grind and the puck is moved into place. It does get to temp and the steam does work... Yet to strip and get inside, but have not been able to find and technical manual or drawings as it is also a superseded model. However the owner would like it as the kitchen is set up with a number of Kitchen items from the same manufacturer and are not happy with having a funny hole in the wall.

Arrarex Caravels Project

galumay — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 20:36:03 +0000

As fellow Crema members would know I have been quietly collecting a few Arrarex Caravels through contacts I have in Italy. My plan is to have one really first class machine for myself, restore the others, convert to Australian power supply and quietly sell on to enthusiasts who dont have either the confidence or connections to but from overseas.

This one is the best to date in terms of internal condition, here it is upside down with the base off, ready for the old power cord to be replaced.

And here is the kettle element,

Finally, the second pour on it, check out the big air bubble hanging off the PF spout - a characteristic of the end of manual lever pulls.

Gaggia Tell 2 Group and Reserve Rebuild

DMH — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 15:54:02 +0000

As a new fan of levers I'm loving my L1 and have greatly enjoyed the various lever restoration threads. This brute appeared on ebay last week and I decided why not.

[attachimg=1]

This machine was in use in a commercial environment up to about 10 years ago. Picked it up this morning and I am currently in the process of pulling it to bits. Interesting observations so far. It appears to be in a relatively good condition. The groups came off easily and it appears the boiler and element bolts shouldn't be a problem. Only one of the levers has free movement. Bearings appear sloppy and double gaskets have been used between the boiler and the groups. I may be missing the wobbler weight but I don't know enough about these yet. The mercury switch appears to be in a good clean condition. I do need a replacement steam wand and also a sight glass cover.

At this stage my plans are to sandblast and powder coat the frame and body panels. brush finish on the stainless and rebuild and rechrome the groups. Not sure if I will clean up the reserve group yet. If I can get another lever group then I would prefer to make it a three group.

Not sure what I will do with the machine when its complete. Its way too large to replace the L1 in the house. Also apparently it needs 32Amps. I may replace the elements so I can run it off 15 or 20 amps.

More photos and info to follow.

[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=3]
[attachimg=5]
[attachimg=4]
[attachimg=6]
[attachimg=7]

La Pavoni Pro 1996

Brett H — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 21:49:45 +0000

So my la Pav has had a new seal kit in and around the group, a clean of the boiler and thanks to Mark QM0996 a new cord... But the darn thing started leaking out of the boiler. I removed the element plate for a look and there's no gasket... A bit of scale but no gasket!! I've cleaned the fitting and run some PFTE tape, re-sealed and fired it up. All good!

Am I better of making a silicone gasket, sourcing an o-ring... Or leaving well enough alone now that it's happy. I will fire it up every night this week but I want it for next weekend when I'm off on a music-camp.

Thoughts please brains-trust.

New baby lever

borat123 — Sun, 29 Sep 2013 05:44:26 +0000

I was looking to get a Caravel for camping duty, but ended up getting one that I'm going to use for both home and camping. Found this one one on Ebay, and at a reasonable price.

Here's a few pics from the ad. Apologies for the crap quality.

With a bit of luck it should be here within a week or so...

Destoner - Home made (small scale)

Intense Coffee — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 10:52:38 +0000

It has been suggested I post the following thread regarding a home-made destoner I adapted and made about February 2013:

It is an updated/improved version of a destoner originally provided by the following (2007/2008) BlogSpot, to which I need to give most of the credit. (i.e. Caf

Lever project - Urania 1 group

borat123 — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 20:30:17 +0000

Call me crazy :o , but I just talked myself into buying a nice old lever, to be my next project. I think it may be late 50's or 60's.

Arrives from Europe in a couple of weeks. After the Cimbali 2 group I did a couple of years back, I can't wait to get stuck into a decent resto again.

Restoration pictures to follow. Here's a teaser:

Kickstarter Craziness

Brett H — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 11:57:39 +0000

So, changing the face of coffee eh!? I prefer a good body but this is an interesting one nonetheless:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jimguldi/worlds-first-roast-grind-brew-coffee-machine

I don't know too many farmers that would sell direct to me as they seem to assert but it's all spin to sell a really interesting product and idea. No I haven't subscribed but it's a cheap price for an excellent idea one big step further than the current grind/brew options.

6 minute roast sounds popper-like but in the video they show an element.

La Cimbali M15 one group rebuild

10ett — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 16:12:02 +0000

Hi,

I'm currently looking to restore an old La Cimbali M15 one group lever. The machine appears in relatively good condition considering its age. It is functional (apart from some leaking at the group).
I am hoping to keep the mercury pressurestat and magnetic water refill in the machine, however I don't know much about either piece.
If anyone has information regarding the functioning of either I would be very appreciative.

Thanks,

John

Projects &amp; Rebuilds — Coffee Forum