# Cremina problem



## alexferdi (Aug 4, 2015)

Hi guys,

ive had my little 1968 Cremina for a few weeks now and have fallen in love with it. Really do get great shots from it and it's funny that you hear so much about a long learning curve with it but I find I pretty much never get sink shots now which is more than I can say for my skills with my old Brewtus!

Anyway as of last night it's developed a problem. The portafilter started being less effortless to lock in. Now it barely locks in at all. I can lock it in with some resistance without the basket in but with the basket I really have to force it up and work at it. I'm afraid I'm going to break it. My best guess is that maybe I need to replace a gasket/seal thing on the group head but I'm not sure.

Can anyone shed any light on this?


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## h1udd (Sep 1, 2015)

sounds like the group gasket needs inspecting.

its either breaking and has folded over on its self at some point making it thicker somewhere ..... OR .... and I get this with the La pavoni if I sneeze it too many times when trying to dial in a bean ..... could just be dirty and a few layers of gunk and coffee grounds is blocking it.

get a damp cloth up on the gasket and give it a slip round to see how dirty it is ..... could just need a clean or 3


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## alexferdi (Aug 4, 2015)

Hi @h1udd. Thanks very much for the input. I've already cleaned it with a brush and cloth and no joy. Do you know how I can best inspect it? Do I need to take the whole group off or take the group apart? I don't know how to do that.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

If you take something and prod the gasket. Over time, they turn very brittle where as they need to be supple. If there is no give, that will be the boy. It would do no harm to replace it as a matter of course anyway


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## h1udd (Sep 1, 2015)

I have never worked on a cremina before so dont now if its possible to replace by dropping the shower screen and pulling out / refitting .. OR you need to take the piston out.

but

have you read through eh manuals on orphan espresso

http://www.orphanespresso.com/Olympia-Cremina-Rebuild-Instr-Part-2_ep_549-1.html

it shows a full rebuild of a '67 cremina ..... lovely looking machine ... its on my list one day to own


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## alexferdi (Aug 4, 2015)

Thanks for all the great advice guys. I think will start with the prodding. The machine is from 1968 so replacing probably isn't a bad idea anyway!


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## h1udd (Sep 1, 2015)

be careful when taking it apart.

I used to be wealthy beyond my means, .... then I took my Vivi apart to replace the OPV .. I fell in love with brass and copper and cams and springs and then I have to buy a Microcimbali just so I could fix it .... then I had to buy a La Pavoni that didn't work, just so I could fix it ... ditto the Ama milano then I had to buy a Microcasa a leva .... before you know it you will have a house of unused espresso machines that you keep rebuilding ... and no money and a wife that hates you and a kid that doesn't know you and all your fingers will be burnt


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## 2971 (May 7, 2012)

In your situation, I'd take the shower screen thingy and gasket off, give it a quick clean, relubricate with Molykote, and put them back on. This is routine maintenance for the Cremina, so you're going to need to learn how to do it occasionally anyway.

I can't speak for your Cremina, but I can tell you what I do with mine, which is a 2002 model. I am pretty ham-fisted, and very wary of anything which requires manual dexterity. I watched all sorts of videos over at Orphan Espresso, and in particular some of the newest Creminas have this red silicon gasket seal which even Doug says he can't get on/off without damaging. In the end, the best solution has been to take the pins out from the lever, so that the piston can be pushed through, and let the piston gently push out the shower screen and gasket. This is super-easy for me to do, in fact I just did it yesterday.

When putting it back in, I just gently push the piston up and reattach to the yoke, then push the shower screen and gasket back on, and then lock in a portafilter with basket to push it all up into position.

I did briefly have a 1980-s Cremina and locking the PF in was a little fiddlier. With that one, I found that paying attention to the angle I was holding it as I locked it in would give me a better result.

Hope this helps in some way.


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## alexferdi (Aug 4, 2015)

Thanks again for the help guys. Thank god prodding worked. Not looking forward to having to properly Tia Walmart the group!

anyway here's a photo of the beast. Thank god it was painted hat ridiculous shade of brown that was used on everything in the 60s!


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## alexferdi (Aug 4, 2015)

Pic


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## alexferdi (Aug 4, 2015)

This site is not very mobile phone friendly!


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

alexferdi said:


> View attachment 17169
> 
> 
> This site is not very mobile phone friendly!


I use Tapatalk app which is pretty good and their are others. The site on its own is terrible on mobile...

Glad you got it sorted nobody wants to Tia Walmart the group!


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