# Gaggia Classic..aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh



## Fazoolecaffe (Nov 14, 2011)

Sorry for the dramatic entry! Hi, I am new to the forum. Beem trying to register for ages but encountered problems. Looks like I am in now but sadly it's with a request for help. i have a Classic that I purchased last April on ebay along with a grinder. The machine seemed in great condition and I soon started to get some half decent cups of coffee out of it - I think ;-) Anyway to start with when i fit the coffee holder to the group head to do coffee it would not turn the full 45 degrees but stop short and be really tight. Coffee was coming out ok so I thought maybe the gasket was a bit hard from being sat around or something. About a month ago this all started to change. Instead of tightening before 45 degrees it started going beyond the 45 degrees - quite a bit further. Coffee was still coming, but slowly, so I carried on using it for a little while but eventually decided to have a poke around. I unscrewed the shower screen and the round bit underneath it and although it was a bit grubby it wasn't too bad at all in there. i cleaned it up and screwed all back together again. Sadly there was no improvment and eventually I had water leaking out from around the coffee holder and just to get a coffee I would have to stop the brew and tighten the handle a bit more - it was probably letting me do this because the grains had a little more give in them having been exposed to some water. I went on like this for a week or so and the problem got worse. I checked the manual and it suggested that the gasket might be faulty so I decided to contact Happy Donkey to buy some descaler a new shower screen and gaskets. You folk may know more about this but the gasket i received and the shower screen were not identical to the bits that i took off the machine. The gasket had a slightly rounded off edges on one side and the shower screen has big holes on the inside and fine mesh on the outside whereas the original had just one size hole. Also the screw that came with the new one is longer. I fitted them nevertheless and descaled the machine however the problem now appears to be worse. I took it all apart again an turned the gasket round so that the side without the rounded edges was not exposed and i also tested it without the shower screen and the metal disk it screws to so that i could ensure that the water was all coming out properly. It all seemed fine. Putting it back together again there is still no improvement - water gushing out from around the coffee holder. I even used a toothbrush on the filter baskets to ensure the holes were not blocked but still no joy. Having said that I can get a better result and a cup of coffee using the two cup filter but it needs some faffing around and the handle needs to be turned round to about 55 degrees or so.

So there it is. I have run out if ideas except for whether the pump may not be pushing the coffee through strong enough but am shying away from buying a new one just yet as i am not convinced.

Any advice gratefully received

Many thanks


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Welcome to the forum.

Well you've already done what I would have suggested... change the gasket to ensure a proper seal... so I'm a little stuck for suggestions. Maybe some photos would help, to check it all looks as it should. If you could post one looking up at the group head and gasket with the shower screen and plate removed, and also the portafilter.


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## gaggiamanualservice.com (Dec 22, 2009)

hi, from memory the seal with the slight round edge is commercial and tougher than standard. if you need genuine gaggia parts mail me at [email protected] or through my site http://www.gaggiamanualservice.com

regards

mark


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## EdgarTP (Oct 28, 2011)

For info, all though it doesn't help you a great deal, I bought EXACTLY the same parts from happy donkey and all fitted together fine. I put the rounded side of the gasket pointing inward. Note that my portafilter now moves left to right greater than 90 degrees and rests at about 135 degrees (pointing diagonally rightward). No leaks and good coffee so far.

I hope you get your problem sorted.


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## david_1 (Dec 20, 2011)

is the classic the 700w version ?


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## Fazoolecaffe (Nov 14, 2011)

MikeHag said:


> Welcome to the forum.
> 
> Well you've already done what I would have suggested... change the gasket to ensure a proper seal... so I'm a little stuck for suggestions. Maybe some photos would help, to check it all looks as it should. If you could post one looking up at the group head and gasket with the shower screen and plate removed, and also the portafilter.


Hi MikeHag, thanks. I will endeavour to post stuff up


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## Fazoolecaffe (Nov 14, 2011)

gaggiamanualservice.com said:


> hi, from memory the seal with the slight round edge is commercial and tougher than standard. if you need genuine gaggia parts mail me at [email protected] or through my site http://www.gaggiamanualservice.com
> 
> regards
> 
> mark


Hi, I may well get one from you thanks


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## Fazoolecaffe (Nov 14, 2011)

EdgarTP said:


> For info, all though it doesn't help you a great deal, I bought EXACTLY the same parts from happy donkey and all fitted together fine. I put the rounded side of the gasket pointing inward. Note that my portafilter now moves left to right greater than 90 degrees and rests at about 135 degrees (pointing diagonally rightward). No leaks and good coffee so far.
> 
> I hope you get your problem sorted.


Thanks for the reply, much appreciated. Reading your post makes me realise that my maths is far from good. I meant to say 90 degree instead of 45 degrees etc...doh. 135 degrees is about the same as mine too. I managed to make a coffee tonight with the two coffee basket which is strange! Will try again tomorrow with the single basket.


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## Fazoolecaffe (Nov 14, 2011)

david_1 said:


> is the classic the 700w version ?


Hi according to the label underneath it says 1300w


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