My Coffee Sucks

I have a large order in with Chris Coffee Service. I ordered the replacement Macap M4 Burrs and since shipping was free with orders over $50 I took the liberty to order some other items as well:

3 Oscar Group Gaskets - Hey they are cheap!

Latex tubing for the Gaggia Coffee water supply lines

2 Bumper rubber tamper holders - Tiny splurge

Isomac 2 Hole Steam Tip for the Oscar - We love the milk drinks

Replacement brushes for my Pallo Coffeetool - Great Cleaning Brush!

New Vacuum Breaker Valve for the Oscar - So I can put it on a timer in the future  

Water Hardness Test Strips - I have no clue how hard or soft our water is 

Solid Stainless Steel 58mm Tamp -  Total splurge item - Hope the wife likes it!

My only problem is I cant make espresso and we are having major withdraw. Flora called me during the day to tell me she had an espresso at a local coffee shop and expounded about how good it was. I tried my best this evening with the French Press but frankly the coffee sucked. 

Bad User = Bad Burrs

O-Rings

- What o-rings will work with espresso machines?

- What materials are used and what are their respective pros and cons?

- What materials are food compatible?

- What sizes are used and are their standards?

- Where can 0-rings be purchased at a reasonable cost?

These are just some of the things I need to think about.

Some guides I came across on the Internet that I need to study:

Parker O-Ring Handbook

O-Ring Reference Guide

Dichtomatik O-Ring Handbook
(this looks very comprehensive)

Sealman's O-Ring Handbook
(another comprehensive guide)

Very Interesting Commercial Machine for $200

I saw this machine on the New Orleans Craigslist:

I'm selling a Used Cappacino/Espresso machine. It retails for about $2,800. It needs a couple of new parts and a couple of front plate covers replaced. The reason I'm seeling is because I no use for the machine anymore. Please call after 3p.m. Mon. thru Fri. ask for Gus #504-250-2171

After some serious goggling I found out this machine is a La San Marco 95-22 Sprint E

Some good information about the 95 series can be found at this website which goes over the Sprint's smaller sister the La San Marco 95-22 Pract E.

One has wonder how many missing parts and how much time it would take to have this machine making espresso again.

I must admit it is tempting but I already have too many projects.

Gaggia Coffee Parts List

The shell of my Gaggia Coffee looks like the current Classic Coffee but the internal components look like those in the Gaggia Coffee Deluxe or Coffee 97.

It looks like the model numbers for the Coffee 97 are in the the 37000 range while the Coffee Deluxe is in the 97000 range

The Coffee Classic model numbers start in the 14100 range.

I have found good source of information about both of these machines at Parts Guru.

I hope to find the correct manuals and parts diagrams in the near future but until that time I will use the Parts Guru information as well as other Internet resources to help guide may way.

Classic Coffee Information

User Manual, Exploded View, Wiring Diagram 120v, Portafilter Diagram

Coffee Deluxe / Coffee 97 Information

User Manual, Exploded View, Wiring Diagram 120v , Portafilter Diagram

Figuring out the parts I need for a restoration is a challenge. So far I think I need:

DM 0041/088 - OR2025 Gasket - O-Ring for steam wand
DM 0041/022 - OR2018 Gasket - O-Ring for inlet fitting and group valve assembly
DM 0041/031 - OR2018 Gasket - O-Ring for suction pipe

Second Gaggia Portafilter

Gaggia Tear Down

Nice looking crack on the portafilter. I should have caught this in the ebay photos but I didn't. One good twist to get the portafilter sung would have snapped the handle right off.

It appears the pump was leaking at some point in time. During my tests I did not notice any leaking around this area. The stains underneath the pump in the housing also support it was leaking at some point.

The inside of the housing is covered in some tan substance that does not want to come off easily. I hope it will come off with some 409 and hot water. I also noticed some black particles in the corners that may indicate the Coffee was home to some small critter. 

Note the increased staining in the pump area to the top right. I could not find any rust on the housing and the paint is sound.

It could be much much worse based on pictures I have seen on the Internet of other owners boilers after a tear down. I think descaling before disassembly helped. I will still clean it up with a Dremel tool.

It is interesting to see how the chrome is missing in certain areas of the group head. The boiler gasket was totally dried out. Pieces of the gasket were starting to fall off when I removed it. It is no wonder the boiler was leaking in this area.

Seattle Coffee Gear Goodie Box Arrives

When it rains it pours

Oscar The Grouch

Omron PID - E5GN-Q1P