# Gaggia Achille: Pull trigger? or not?



## Guest (Sep 28, 2014)

I've heard that the Gaggia Achille is a heat exchanging (HX) lever machine....

And unlike the Bezzera Strega, no electric pump is involved, (i think).......

Anyways, when pushing the piston down it gushes water from the reservoir into the HX tube and it pushes the heated water downwards......

Most users ive saw told me that the flushes are more predictable on this machine than others......

And the HX allows steam and brew at the same time.......

Tamping harder and grinding finer will allow higher pressure generation but may lead to leaking.......

Was i wrong or right on my knowledge on this machine if so dont be afraid to correct me......

I've been interested in this machine, and its because it costs less than the Bezzera Strega and takes up less space.....


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## DannyMontez (May 19, 2014)

I hadn't heard of this but after a quick search online it appears to have serious problems with leaks.


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## Orangertange (Jul 4, 2013)

Don't know a lot about the gaggia, but probably suffers from group overheating same as Pavoni and other similar levers.

if a lever is what you want, there's a l1 in the for sale section at a good price


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## coffeebean (Jan 26, 2010)

Is it an HX machine you are after specifically or a lever or both? and what is your budget? I had heard that the Achille is prone to leaks too!


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## Guest (Sep 28, 2014)

Thanks guys, Orangertange ive checked thr sale section out







thanks for the info, and DannyMontez i was worried bout the leaks.... looks like my nightmare is coming true


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## VTG (Dec 11, 2010)

I have a Gaggia Achille. You are right, this machine is a heat exchanger and as it is also a manual lever machine, you deliver the pressure so you're the pump.

It doesn't suffer from overheating issues because the design of the Achille is not a dipper system, i.e. the group head is not directly bolted onto the boiler, and it doesn't build up heat shot after shot like the la pavoni's.

Flushing is just as you would flush with any HX machine. I flush with more pulls the more longer my machine has been left dormant.

I'm not sure about brewing and steaming at the same time, it is possible but practically you won't have any hands to do it; you need two hands for pulling a shot, one on lever and other on portafilter.

About leaks, unfortunately it is a common issue because water can bypass a seal in the piston cylinder if the pressure is too high to disturb it. Not very convenient as I've experienced this myself.

However, if you are good with fixing things it just involves opening the group up and replacing the seal with a standard sized o-ring. After changing haven't had a leak ever since


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## Guest (Sep 30, 2014)

Thanks guys, just ordered the Achille and im gonna test it out.....

If it leaks ill find its gaskets on gaggia parts.....


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## charris (Feb 17, 2014)

How much for an Achille these day?


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## Guest (Sep 30, 2014)

Not much found it for 400-500$


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