# Excessive pressure needed on Europiccola lever



## jwripple (Dec 27, 2011)

I've had my LP Europiccola for less than two years, and it's had only light use. Recently it has needed much greater force on the lever to produce the coffee - to the extent that it can be very hard to get anything through. Nothing has changed about the beans, the grind or the fill. The water here is very soft. The coffee still tastes fine, but it's a bit cool by the time you get to drink it. Any ideas?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

When you say nothing has changed with the dose and coffee . Presume you are using exactly the same coffee and weighing a dose each time ...

What water are you using it it also ?


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Have you serviced the machine recently?


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## jwripple (Dec 27, 2011)

I'm using a Eureka Mignon grinder that dispenses a set amount with each actuation. The water is Isle of Man tap water, as always.


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## jwripple (Dec 27, 2011)

I didn't realise servicing was necessary with the Europiccola. My last one went ten years without any attention. Can you point me towards instructions?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

jwripple said:


> I'm using a Eureka Mignon grinder that dispenses a set amount with each actuation. The water is Isle of Man tap water, as always.


Have you changed coffee and or grind. Set amount in the timer will probably have a variance of plus /minus 1-2g.

This is more of an aside really as I'm not sure this is the route of your issue....


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

jwripple said:


> I didn't realise servicing was necessary with the Europiccola. My last one went ten years without any attention. Can you point me towards instructions?


Levers should have a service every six months - every twelve for light use - lube and piston seal check. Have a look at these clips courtesy Orphan Espresso:






Seal kits can be sourced from:

http://www.espressoservices.co.uk/la_pavoni_service_kit_old.html

Excessive pressure needed to pull a shot normally indicates too fine a grind and/or heavy tamping but you say that nothing has changed in that respect. I would try grinding a bit coarser and adjusting tamp pressure to see if that makes any difference without any detriment to quality of shot produced. If it doesn't, a service check seems indicated.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

The Systemic Kid said:


> Levers should have a service every six months - every twelve for light use - lube and piston seal check. Have a look at these clips courtesy Orphan Espresso:


The last part of this is good advise , if you can id make sure you are using the same dose by weight for each adjustment of grind also


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## jwripple (Dec 27, 2011)

Thanks very much for the video links. Very interesting but well above my pay-grade.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Take your time and go for it. Think of the satisfaction and sense of achievement you will gain. Plus wonderful coffee.


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

servicing the la pavoni is really simple, you should at least be removing the shower screen and cleaning with puly cafe as the residue that builds up behind it (especially when grinding fine) will seriously start to affect the pour as it restricts the flow and is probably the biggest contributing factor to the increase in force required. what does the flow look like when you raise the lever without the portafilter attached?

to service the piston and lever assembly is fairly simple as well, remove the retaining pins on the lever, press the piston down so that the group seal and shower screen pop out then take out the piston, clean the inside of the group and the piston, regrease and then reassemble.


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## jwripple (Dec 27, 2011)

WhatI would gain is almost certainly a pile of bits that I can't put back together. Not every LP owner has mechanical skills. Thanks for the comment anyway.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

jwripple said:


> WhatI would gain is almost certainly a pile of bits that I can't put back together. Not every LP owner has mechanical skills. Thanks for the comment anyway.


Photographs at various stages as you dismantle ?


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## DannyMontez (May 19, 2014)

jwripple said:


> WhatI would gain is almost certainly a pile of bits that I can't put back together. Not every LP owner has mechanical skills. Thanks for the comment anyway.


I completely rebuilt mine. There is not much to it really. Take it slow and take photographs.


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## PreCoffeeCantankerousness (Dec 14, 2014)

Everyone has their own skill sets.

If you don't feel confident then take it into a service centre as it seems to be the case where cleaning every 1-2 months and servicing every 6 months to a year will make the unit easily last a good 50 years.

without taking it apart what you can test is:

1 - If you have any residue inside, it will likely make the water taste funny. Heat up the unit as normal and pour out several several shots of just the water into glasses. Are they clear? When cooled, do they each taste like nice clean water? If not, then you need a service to clean it out & probably replace the seals.

2 - as others have said, can you actually get coffee to come out at all? Grind coarser and put less in. If yes then go about dialling in your coffee from there. If you can't get anywhere then it would be a good idea to have it serviced anyway and you can then rule that out of whatever is going on.

good luck.


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

Probably need to change the gaskets or lube the the piston. Do the 'forks' rub against the sides of the group head slot? These machines are seriously easy to service yourself.

You'll find you'll need to keep the 2 bolts holding the group to the boiler, e clips and pins of the lever, and nuts on top of the piston. All together that's 10 small things: 2 bolts, 4 e clips, 2 pins, 1 nut & 1 dome nut on top of piston. Other than that there aren't any small parts that could go missing. It can be fiddly to get the e clips back on the rods (you just push them back on), you can use your hands but you might need a flat tool. I use the base of some chopsticks. Pushing them off is a matter of spinning them around so the open end faces up and then putting one chopstick on one side to stop it from moving, and pushing on the other side. Getting them back on is a matter of facing them down and applying pressure in the middle so it doesn't slip off. A pain in the neck to be honest and probably the hardest part of the whole thing.

You probably won't need to change the internal group gasket or circlip, which is probably only necessary if you've got water or steam dancing on top of the group (after travelling up the piston). Removing the gaskets on the piston is as easy as cutting them or pulling them off with a pick being careful not to damage the piston -- if you go slow it won't be a problem. Putting the gaskets on might require a bit of patience for the first time, heating them up with warm water and using lubricant is advised, but it's really an easy thing to do. You go over the rod for the top gasket, feeding the gasket in one bit at a time (effectively stretching it gently around the group until it slips into place). For the bottom gasket you do the same thing but from the bottom of the piston.

Apply a very small amount of lubricant to the inside of the group and over the seals of the piston and slide it back into the group, making sure the hole for the lever pin is lined up with the slot on top of the group. Next, place the shower screen onto the group and push the piston down until it makes contact, back off a tiny fraction, then fix the nuts to the top of the piston to stop it going any lower. Lube up the group casket and put it in place over the shower screen. You'll need a flat tool to press it in one bit at a time and make several laps around. Lock in the portafilter to make sure it's sealed properly. Bolt the group back onto the boiler and replace the lever (lubricating the pins and roller and group slot, and why not the inside of the lever forks while you're at it).

Done. Just make sure the group is on straight. What tools do you need? Some chopsticks, an adjustable wrench (or one small enough for the group bolts), and a blunt pick or small, sharp knife for the group gaskets.


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