New Toy!

I just picked up a ECM Michelangelo A1 for FREE! I noticed it sitting on a loading dock a few months ago and I had a friend who knew the manager of the company ask if they wanted to sell it. At the time they wanted to repair the machine and put it back into use. Fast foward to May 24th when I see the machine has been moved next to the trash dumpster with trash bags all around it! I had my friend give the manager a call again and they said take it away!

Ulka Pump Repair

Ulka Pump Repair

A pretty cool blog that goes over how to repair / rebuild Ulka vibe pumps used on many espresso machines

Rebuilding an ULKA Vibratory Pump (Espresso machine pump)

A DYI at Instructables

Pompe à Vibration ULKA - Modèle E - Type EP4

A French site with great animations that show how the pump works!

Deal of the Day -Olympia Cremina Lever Espresso Machine (Red) - $450 (West Seattle)

Wow this looks like a good deal if it is in the shape the seller says it is:

Olympia Cremina Lever Espresso Machine (Red) - $450 (West Seattle)

The Olympia Cremina is a hand made lever espresso machine.
This is the first model made, the 67.

It's a machine that's built to last.
Very easy to use, clean and maintain.

Comes with:
-tamper
-use grounds box
-cleaning brush
-2 shot basket

This machine is lightly used and in very good condition.

The Cremina has a cult following among coffee aficionados.

Please reply by email
West Seattle pick up only please (no shipping)
CASH ONLY

Wow! I am impressed

This is some very cool latte art!

Gaggia Coffee o-rings and spring clips needed for rebuild

Per Coffee 97' Parts Diagram / List ER0077/01

DM0041/082 OR 167 gasket EPDM 70 SH - O-Ring between boiler and group body

This is a 2 3/4" OD - 2 1/2" ID - 1/8" W  Material: EPDM  Durometer Hardness: 70A - AS568A Dash Number: 230

A pack of 25  is available at Small Parts for $6.96

DM0041/022 OR 2025 gasket red - O-Ring between inlet fitting and group body & between group valve assembly and group body

This is a 3/8" OD - 1/4" ID - 1/16" W  Material: Silicone / VMQ  Durometer Hardness: 70A - AS568A Dash Number: 010

A pack of 100  is available at Small Parts for $11.07

DM0041/081 OR 112 gasket EPDM 70 SH - Seal between steam valve and boiler

This is a 9/16" OD - 3/8" ID - 3/32" W  Material: EPDM  Durometer Hardness: 70A - AS568A Dash Number: 110

A pack of 100  is available at Small Parts for $3.68

or if tolerances are "loose" - big

This is a 5/8" OD - 3/8" ID - 1/8" W  Material: EPDM  Durometer Hardness: 70A - AS568A Dash Number: 204

A pack of 100  is available at Small Parts for $5.65

DM0041/088 OR 2025 gasket - O-Ring between steam pipe - lower pipe and steam pipe - uppper pipe

This is a 3/8" OD - 1/4" ID - 1/16" W  Material: EPDM  Durometer Hardness: 70A - AS568A Dash Number: 010

A pack of 100  is available at Small Parts for $4.34

 

Group Gasket NG01/001 - Mine is 8.5mm thick 57mm ID 72mm OD

Tex at the Gaggia Users Group recommended I use a $6.06 E-61 Soft 8.5mm Group Head Gasket from Espresso Parts. 

Last item on the list is 4 DM0701 Belt - Spring clips to secure latex tubing.

Still Researching but these may work:

Acetal Snapper Type Hose Clamp, Quick Ratchet Closure, For 3/8" Nominal Tube OD, .351-.394 Clamp ID (Pack of 10) $4.55 at Small Parts

These are plastic so they will not rust like the original ones did.

This is  a helpful o-ring sizing chart

A potentially sleep inducing 256 page technical handbook on o-rings - could be handy

If I only lived near Indianapolis

I watched this eBay item for several days. It turned out no one bidded on the item and it did not have a reserve. Someone could have had a working La Cimbali M27 Selectron 2-group commercial espresso machine for a measly buck.

The listing:

La Cimbali M27 Selectron 2-group commercial espresso machine

fully working commercial espresso machine, ideal for small restaurant or catering business

Here is a working 2-group La Cimbali M27 espresso machine. Semi-automatic, incredible temperature stability and quick recovery times. High quality boiler can steam drink after drink without a significant temperature drop. Industrial quality; built to last. Built in Milan. Imported by Pasquini of Los Angeles for the USA market.

Local pickup only; Indianapolis, IN; this unit is much to heavy to ship. Please do not bid if you cannot pick this up within a few weeks of the auction's end date.

220v - 240v, single phase. Can be easily rewired internally for dual phase operation. Please ask if you have any questions about this item.

Dish Water and the Espresso Gods

It was not my morning. I had three shots in a row choke my Oscar. I kept making the grind progressively coarser but no dice. For some reason switching from Community Coffee Decaf to Startbucks Espresso Blend (My wife loves the stuff for some reason) required a massive change in grinder setting.  It took four full turns on the Macap M4 stepless before I was able to finally to pull a halfway decent shot for my wife's morning latte. I knew after the first sip she was not happy. I said, "I know it is bad but what is wrong with it?" She paused and very polity told me it was watery and tasted dirty - dirty like used dish water.