# 90s Gaggia Classic- will parts still fit / worth repairing?



## roha77 (Mar 19, 2017)

Hi everyone.

First post so apologies in advance for any (unintended) breach of etiquette.

I bought a Gaggia Classic off Ebay. Turned out to be a 90s model but all seemed to be working well. The machine stopped heating couple days ago (coincidentally exactly a year after i got it...) and turns out one of the heating elements is broken..... (tested with my brand new multimeter - as recommended in this forum).

So now i have a decision to make to invest 50 quid in a new boiler element for an ancient machine (and running the risk it breaks again somewhere else) or writing it off.

Q1 - any thoughts?

Q2 - will new parts fit this old machine?

Q3 - is there a market for parts for machines this old - everything else works fine (and i've replaced the showerhead , steam wand etc)

Q4 - if this is goodbye... where to next?

Appreciate i'm asking a lot of rather broad question - i blame caffeine withdrawal and the shock of losing a beloved friend...

Cheers


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## les24preludes (Dec 30, 2017)

It sounds like you can usefully take a machine apart, so looks like a replacement boiler is an option. Could be a used one.... Might it be worthwhile to buy another Classic and cannibalise it so you have a variety of usable parts? Descale the OPV and solenoid at the same time.

The newer boilers are stainless steel instead of aluminium I believe - don't know if they can be retrofitted to the older models?


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

£40 from uk - fit and forget it for next 30yrs http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gaggia-Coffee-Machine-Boiler-Classic-Baby-Dose-Evolution/161962326052?epid=1568024108&hash=item25b5b4f824:g:BB8AAOSwzhVWqzkj

will need a new boiler seal set - will take you an hour or so loads of strip down vids on youtube


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

Most parts are still available for the classic including the boiler.

Even if you do decide to upgrade, the price difference between a broken machine & a working one will likely be more than the cost of the boiler.


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## roha77 (Mar 19, 2017)

Thx for the quick responses. I guess I'm just a bit worried other parts will break as well but after taking the whole thing apart I guess there isn't too much more stuff that could break

@jimbojohn55 seems to be for a different model or are they all the same ?

Thx again


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

roha77 said:


> Thx for the quick responses. I guess I'm just a bit worried other parts will break as well but after taking the whole thing apart I guess there isn't too much more stuff that could break
> 
> @jimbojohn55 seems to be for a different model or are they all the same ?
> 
> Thx again


Gaggia fitted the same boiler to several machines. My tebe uses it too.


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## roha77 (Mar 19, 2017)

ashcroc said:


> Gaggia fitted the same boiler to several machines. My tebe uses it too.


Smart!

I'm almost tempted to buy a used Gaggia Classic and use mine as a spare parts mine. 40quid plus 5 for the seal set or 100 for the used one. I should have never started this! Now i have a bunch of tools and spares and no coffee!!! haha.


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

there pretty solid and not easy to break - have a go you will get a star for being environmental


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## 9719 (Mar 29, 2015)

Just quickly looked at 'for sale' section and there are several on there to choose from if you decide to go down that route. Although repairing what you already have will be way more fun and with the chance to post progress as you go


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## GCGlasgow (Jul 27, 2014)

I have a tebe I would sell if interested, parts would fit.


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