# pre-Phillips



## rainydayz (Feb 25, 2014)

I'm a newbie round here so this might seem a silly question but what is a pre-Phillips Gaggia and how does it affect the machine, its cost and its performance?


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Philips took over Gaggia and the size of the solenoids appears to have changed.

Owners have reported that they are a little smaller making them more susceptible to scaling up.

Most people will not be affected by this, but during cleaning processes the solenoid may get a little blocked up.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

rainydayz said:


> I'm a newbie round here so this might seem a silly question but what is a pre-Phillips Gaggia and how does it affect the machine, its cost and its performance?


Not a silly question at all - if you don't ask, you won't learn. Gaggia were acquired by Philips in 2009. Some minor changes were made to the Classic - the three way solenoid was replaced with an allegedly less powerful one. Current Classics are sold with a pressurised portafilter basket. This allows a decent crema (foam) to be achieved with pretty coarse grind. To achieve the higher pressure needed, Classics are set to produce pressure in the region of 15bar - not ideal for real espresso. Most post Phillips savvy Classic purchasers, adjust the pressure down to around 9bar and ditch the pressurised basket and use a stock one. Not difficult to adjust bar pressure down - but a modified portafilter with a manometer fixed to it is needed to register actual pressure at group head whilst the OPV (over pressure valve) is adjusted.

Have a look at this:


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## rainydayz (Feb 25, 2014)

thanks for info!


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## Yes Row (Jan 23, 2013)

Quick question on this, I have acquired a Classic in excellent condition. It has what appears to be date on the bottom of 09/05 (i guess this is that simple) The PF is not pressurised and i do not believe the last owner de-pressurised the machine...back to the question, where pre-phillips classics sold un-pressurised?


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

that is a pre phillips classic! and yes normal baskets not pressurised


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## Yes Row (Jan 23, 2013)

Excellent, just backflushed it, de-scaled it and generally cleaned it and made an Espresso. Crack'in machine, never used on before

Going to play with it a bit and sell it on


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## oracleoftruth (Jan 15, 2014)

It'll go quick on here judging from the number of people who are recommended them. Good luck!


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## m4lcs67 (Mar 16, 2014)

I do love my Classic. Yes there is the year of manufacture on the bottom. Mine is 2010. It does have the pressurised baskets, but I am going to change them to the standard ones. Also contemplating doing the OPV mod, but I don't have the pressure gauge to do it with. Is there someone on the forum who hires them out? No point in buying one as you'll only need it once. Also why is the pressure reduced when you use the non pressurised baskets? To my mind it would be because the machine would need a higher pressure to force the water through the pressurised basket (as it only has 1 small hole) whereas the non pressurised basket wouldn't need to force the water through as much (although you are using a finer coffee and tamping hard). Can someone enlighten me? It is always good to know these things.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

With non-pressurised, around 9 bar is about right to maximise flow through the compressed puck. Above that bar pressure, the increased pressure compresses the puck and actually restricts flow.


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