# 8 cup Europiccola refurb



## owain (Dec 26, 2015)

So I picked this up December 1999 model (pretty cheap considering what they seem to be going for on eBay at the moment) as a bit of a project thinking it's going to need a bit of a tidy up and refurb. I might yet just move it on if it turns out to be too much work.

I do have a few questions if anyone can kindly guide me in the right direction.

When I first turned it on I sounded like it was going to explode and got really hot, pressure seemed way too high, water dripping from the shower screen, coffee undrinkable, so after a bit of reading I opened up the base and turned this little black wheel I pulled I shot just now and it is much better but still very hot, should I turn it more?

The boiler turns slightly on the base, how do I tighten this?

With the gasket kit from espresso solutions do I just buy the grip head sent for £17 or the full set for £27?

The basket on this model seems much smaller than my new group professional, it isn't single basket shape but do you think it is a single?


























Thank you


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## twotone (Jan 13, 2015)

Great site this below and should provide all of the info that you need and look for the link to Dr Pavoni which is also very good, I think that's the pressure stat (off to the left) that you are adjusting owain.

Tony

http://www.francescoceccarelli.eu/Faidate/diy-lapavoni.htm

Dr Pavoni

http://www.francescoceccarelli.eu/lapavoni_drpavoni_eng.htm


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## owain (Dec 26, 2015)

So some descaling, cleaning, and adjustments, pressure is now stable, and water temperature much cooler, not a bad looking shot for a 17 year old machine that could do with a seal change as upstroke feels like it's lacking pressure, and the volume of water on preinfusion is inconsistent.


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## owain (Dec 26, 2015)




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## owain (Dec 26, 2015)

twotone said:


> Great site this below and should provide all of the info that you need and look for the link to Dr Pavoni which is also very good, I think that's the pressure stat (off to the left) that you are adjusting swain.
> 
> Tony
> 
> ...


Thank you for that, after the descaling and adjustment it's working pretty well it was all over the place prior


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## owain (Dec 26, 2015)

So I thought my machine would have a brass piston but it's plastic is it worth changing?


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## jtldurnall (Mar 16, 2015)

You mentioned earlier that it's working well. As the old saying goes, if it ain't broke... I'd keep it and if it breaks at a later date, change it.


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## owain (Dec 26, 2015)

jtldurnall said:


> You mentioned earlier that it's working well. As the old saying goes, if it ain't broke... I'd keep it and if it breaks at a later date, change it.


Well it's working a lot better than it did I think clearing out the scale helped a lot, it's not as good as my professional, the seal around the shower plate doesn't look to bad, that thing was filthy when I pulled it out so was the piston, they have both had a good clean, the seals on the piston do look a little worn though


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## jtldurnall (Mar 16, 2015)

I've just finished refurbishing an early 90s europiccola. That was in a shocking state too. It's amazing how filthy some people let them get!

It'd be interesting to compare the two machines side by side. I recently read a home barista thread in which it was claimed that rather than a cost saving exercise, la pavoni introduced the plastic piston to aid thermal stability. The plastic is supposedly an expensive material which doesn't conduct heat. This either didn't work however, or the negative press drove them to revert to the brass. As you have both, you could experiment a bit.


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## owain (Dec 26, 2015)

Brass sleeve plastic piston


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## owain (Dec 26, 2015)

Looking pretty good in there tiny film of scale on a small section of the base, literally looked like stalagmite city when I had it


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## owain (Dec 26, 2015)

Bean is Rwanda Simbi.

Ok so I completed my grouphead seal change. Upstroke is so much better, firm and purposeful, u can now hear the water enter the group and there is a consistent volume of water on the preinfusion, down stroke much firmer nice and consistent, shower screen no longer dripping and the shot tastes great. The only thing I still have to tackle is the boiler turns slightly on the base so I need to figure out how to tighten it.


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## owain (Dec 26, 2015)

Slightly finer grind nice stable crema and good fruit notes, I might've got a bit of a bargain on this machine


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## twotone (Jan 13, 2015)

The boiler turning seems to be pretty common on the La Pavs, mine does this too, according to Francesco Ceccarelli the only way to tighten the boiler to the base is to give the securing ring underneath the boiler/base a belt with a hammer and screwdriver/chisel so I never bothered.

Think there's two fibre washers between the boiler and the base on each face so you would have to remove the boiler to replace those, not worth the hassle in my opinion as they would likely crack/fault again due to the heat from the boiler.

Tony

"One of the enduring problems afflicting lever models and never solved is the fixing system of the boiler at the base, that is via a threaded ring."

"To be able to make integral with the base with the boiler, the ring must be tightened with a special key, to be able to tighten with sufficient force to not to move the boiler, when it insert or removes the filter holder. In the absence of the key you just have to use a chisel and a hammer."

http://www.francescoceccarelli.eu/La_Pavoni/Faidate/fissaggio_base_eng.htm


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## calculon (Apr 1, 2016)

twotone said:


> "In the absence of the key you just have to use a chisel and a hammer."
> 
> http://www.francescoceccarelli.eu/La_Pavoni/Faidate/fissaggio_base_eng.htm


See the first pic in my post here!

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?31054-La-Pavoni-Pro-refurbishment-project&p=428441#post428441


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## owain (Dec 26, 2015)

calculon said:


> See the first pic in my post here!
> 
> http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?31054-La-Pavoni-Pro-refurbishment-project&p=428441#post428441


I see, I didn't really fancy stripping it down that much to be honest, I'll have a think about that. Thank you though


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## russe11 (May 12, 2012)

calculon said:


> See the first pic in my post here!
> 
> http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?31054-La-Pavoni-Pro-refurbishment-project&p=428441#post428441


Hi Leigh, problem is owain has the plastic boiler ring which is a different kettle of fish to the brass ring. The plastic rings are glued to the underside of the base and if you want to remove the boiler you keep hold of the base and unscrew the boiler. There were a lot of problems with loose boilers with the plastic rings and they went back to the brass rings after a short while. You can buy the brass rings but I'm not sure they are a direct replacement for the plastic which are now unobtainable? I'm sure @coffeechap will know if you can replace the plastic with the brass ring?


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## calculon (Apr 1, 2016)

Seems LaPav made a couple of dodgy decisions invoving plastic parts! Just a guess, but wouldn't it make sense for the brass and plastic rings to be interchangeable? It seems odd that they would change the boiler thread.


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## owain (Dec 26, 2015)

New boiler gasket and seals, boiler tightened and new sight glass


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## owain (Dec 26, 2015)

Dr. Strangelove from extract coffee same grind first on 8 cup, second on 16 cup professional, more fruits on the 16 cup I think you could go with a ever so slightly finer grind on the 8 cup


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## owain (Dec 26, 2015)

Slightly finer grind and fruits coming through very smooth nice mouth feel, lovely


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