# Adventures in leverland



## d_lash (Aug 30, 2014)

A little earlier in the year I realised a longstanding ambition to own something shiny and leverish, relieving @coffeechap of the burden of looking after a beautiful londinium-r. I've left it far too long to tell the forums how it went, but better late than never.

It was awesome from the start and remains superb. You may or may not know that I'd had a significant upgrade in the grinding department at the beginning of the year, but I think its fair to say that up until the l-r arrived, I hadn't made the most of the potential from the monolith. From a practical perspective, shot preparation is an absolute breeze and very reliable / repeatable. From the coffee perspective, the big difference is the ability to just grind finer and finer and get more and more from the bean. The LSOLs in particular have been fantastic. A real step up.

I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise the coffee is good with the setup there. It was never my intention to be following the rabbit hole this deep, but that's what a CFUK raffle can do for you. Even now though there is a lot still to learn. The number of shot prep variables now has expanded to include grind speed (which I have never varied...) as well as adjusting to a slightly different way of thinking about things with a lever. The real ambition though is to develop the old coffee palate beyond the stage of 'goodness that tastes good' and then reading the tasting notes. And maybe use the refractometer that I bought a share of for the first time :eyeroll:

For the londinium, its time to start thinking about maintenance routines. I think it needs some lubrication on the piston seals. If anyone has links to good resources, please do let me know.


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

Sounds like you're enjoying it a lot









Have you thought of using the silicone piston seals from Cafelat?


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Oh wow! What a fantastic set up - welcome to the Monolith and L-R club

















It really sounds like you are enjoying your set up and results.


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Pretty sure the other forumites in Your locale are enjoying it too


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## d_lash (Aug 30, 2014)

Coffeechap might remind me when he is passing by, but I think the seals are fairly new. I'd guess he'd have used reiss's.


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## slamm (Nov 26, 2016)

d_lash said:


> The real ambition though is to develop the old coffee palate beyond the stage of 'goodness that tastes good' and then reading the tasting notes.


That sounds like the right kind of ambition.. I think quite a few of us are in the same boat whatever the level of kit. I get a huge enjoyment from the caps I brew with the pav but so rarely pick out tasting notes. I did pick out hops the other day though which was a first and took me by surprise.

Good luck on that particular journey, it sounds like thats where your enjoyment could reach another level and probably what we should all be aiming for. Fab set up so fair to say there's nothing holding you back there!


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## mathof (Mar 24, 2012)

d_lash said:


> View attachment 36720
> A little earlier in the year I realised a longstanding ambition to own something shiny and leverish, relieving @coffeechap of the burden of looking after a beautiful londinium-r. I've left it far too long to tell the forums how it went, but better late than never.
> 
> ....
> ...


Reiss supports people who own a second-hand Londinium. The best thing to do is register your machine on his support forum (https://londiniumespresso.com), which will give you permission to post as well as read.


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## Colio07 (Mar 9, 2015)

Great set up.

I've found Reiss very helpful, so would second the advice of registering with Londinium.

Also some good stuff on YouTube regarding changing seals, lubricating, etc - pretty sure there's at least one from a Forum Day!

Enjoy.


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

Colio07 said:


> Great set up.
> 
> I've found Reiss very helpful, so would second the advice of registering with Londinium.
> 
> ...


He's also got a cool name, even if the spelling is wrong


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## Snakehips (Jun 2, 2015)

Great to see you set up with such nice kit. Enjoy !

I'm not sure whether you are saying 'thinking about maintenance routines' and 'I think it needs some lubrication on the piston seals' is borne out of a desire to keep on top of things or because you are experiencing an issue?

Personally, unless you do have an issue that you feel is not resolved with a re-grease or new Londinium seals or you are just curious, I would see no reason for you to be considering a change to silicone seals.

Definitely register with Londinium so that you can access lots of useful stuff on the website including the Permanent File which includes an instructional seal change video as and when you need it. Other seal change wheezes are available and it's not really a difficult process.

Outside of good general grouphead / shower screen cleanliness and maybe a 6 monthly piston seal re-grease, I think it's fair to say that with the L R....... if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

My experience , both at the back end of my L 1 ownership and the 18 months I've owned the L R is that the Londinium piston seals have been absolutely fine. Whilst there should be no harm done in replacing them, if the seals are still soft and not leaking then they should be fine with a periodic re-grease using Loxeal4. Do be mindful of the need not to over-grease. As per the seal change video, take time to do maybe 30 pulls to drive any excess to the bottom of the piston and wipe away before fitting the shower screen.


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## d_lash (Aug 30, 2014)

Have registered with the Londinium site, so that's all good. Will have a look for the forum day videos (if there's an L-R on them, it's likely my machine).

There's a 'judder' that has developed in the lever action that got me thinking about the lubrication. Does that sound familiar?


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