# Nuova Simonelli Aurelia



## Awoogah (Nov 10, 2013)

Hey Guys,

So for probably the first time in my life I had a case of "right place right time" and the result is that I now have in my possession a three group Nuova Simonelli Aurelia.

I've always liked the idea of a kind of clean up, exploratory, restoration project, but having got this machine home (which wasn't particularly easy) I'm not sure if I've bitten off more than I can chew.

The machine was filthy externally, coffee grinds everywhere, muck all over, even the milk wand was still cheesily encrusted. This suggests that it may of not had the greatest care and attention over it lifetime? however the shop that I rescued it from says it was still working fine when she unplugged it so maybe theres a silver lining?

So far I've done nothing but give it a good aesthetic clean and it looks a lot nicer already, and I'm also no longer scared to touch it for fear of never being able to escape its sticky grasp. Its industrial so can be wired for three phase but can also run single phase and is wired as such so first stage I think is get it powered up and check what she said, that it at least turns on?

Been reading through some of the other restoration projects on here, and most seem a bit smaller, and performed by people who know a lot more than me, so this is putting doubt in my head. Should I just offload this machine to someone who wants/needs it more than I and use any funds to try something more manageable (if its even worth anything)? Strip it down for parts? or just save myself a lot of time and effort and bin the whole thing sooner rather than later?

Thanks for your guys time and advice attached see a couple of pictures


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Its a beast of a machine ill say that.

Me, i would stick with it and see what happens, nice little project and maybe you can make a couple of quid..

First thing would be to get it fired up and try all three heads, steam and water to check if everything is working as it should be!


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

Beast. I'll have it!


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## Awoogah (Nov 10, 2013)

funinacup said:


> Beast. I'll have it!


Haha, like froggy style suggested, I'm probably going to try and do something with it myself, internally it seems in pretty good condition, now if I could just work out how to actually get it powered up?!?!

Think I may need a few more days google crash course on electrics and wiring


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

What rating is the element? Should tell you on a serial plate somewhere. This will determine how big a supply you need got it. I suspect 5-6kvw meaning a 30amp supply.

Chances are you'll be able to disconnect one or two of the loops in the element and run it on 13 or 20amp though.

Edit: just saw the pic of the serial. It's 5200w meaning you could disconnect 2 loops of the element and run it on 1700w on a regular 13a plug, or be cheeky and run it on 3400w on a 13a plug. Your wire/plug may get a little warm tho!


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

5200 watts.


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## CallumT (Aug 23, 2013)

Run it on full power and hard wire it up to a garage RCD unit, it's the setup I run in the roastery and the full box unit was cheaper than a switch that is rated for 32a.

And I fully agree, get it stripped and rebuilt my Adonis (aurelia basically) looked fine externally but it's not the external surfaces that effect the coffee!

P.s I'll take it off your hands if you'd like haha


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## espressotechno (Apr 11, 2011)

You need to fire it up & check that the electronics (touchpads, flowmeters, etc) all work OK.

If the the ECU (main cotrol board) turns out to be faulty - then you're in for £300++ for a new one. Touchpads are around £100++ each.


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## Awoogah (Nov 10, 2013)

Seriously, thank you to everyone who has contributed to this thread, I'm quickly starting to realise how in over my head I am. The prices of those parts being quite a big turn off, but I don't really have the space to do a full strip down, I've also only had it less than a week and the housemates are starting to complain about it still being sat on the dining room table, they have a very fair point.

I guess I'll put it in the "for sale" section in the next couple of days. Again, not sure how much its worth, but would far rather see someone on this bored make a real lady out of her for a very fair price than see her take her chances with the pirates on ebay (having referred to her in the feminine I now feel bad about posting pictures from under her hood on a forum like this)


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## Awoogah (Nov 10, 2013)

So I took the sides and top off the machine again, primarily to take some pictures of the insides and was reading through the manual just to get an idea of what did what and trying to follow the connections through the machine to get a better understanding of what was going on. Previously i had wired a plug to the power cable to try and power it up, 13A fuse so I pretty expected to turn it on and the fuse to blow. Well I had tried that and nothing powered up at all. Being back in the machine and reading back through the manual, I only just realised theres an on/off switch! Now I now this sounds ridiculous, but it being on the underneath of the machine I hadn't noticed it, so I plugged it back in and flicked this switch, and kapowey:









The things fires up and makes all sorts of "on" noises and the lights turn on. Im sure many of you understand my excitement at this point, the triumph over a stubborn machine in finally making it do what you want, yet the awkward realisation that it was your own stupidity holding you back in the first place.

Now I'm pretty sure I should be ok running it off the mains, if it pulls too much power then the fuse will be the first thing to go right? No fear of blowing the board or anything?

I also don't have it plumbed into a water supply, the boiler is appropriately full at the moment but running the thing without water going through could do some damage, so I was going to try a temporary setup with buckets for inflow and out, does this seem reasonable?


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

I may be corrected here but I think you need mains pressure on the inlet.


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## Awoogah (Nov 10, 2013)

D_Evans said:


> I may be corrected here but I think you need mains pressure on the inlet.


This I think as well, but the chances of me actually being able to get it plumbed in are slim to none, so I'm basically seeing if I can work around this issue to get the machine up and running properly without damaging it

Thanks


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## jjprestidge (Oct 11, 2012)

You need something like this:

http://www.coffeehit.co.uk/flojet-plus-bottled-water-pump

I'm pretty sure you need a dedicated power supply for a machine of that power rating - my Kees Va Der Westen is 6500 watts and runs off a 30A dedicated supply.

JP


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

You get a little pressure if you could get your water bottle above the machine.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

You should NOT be running that off a 13 amp socket without having disabled a few of the loops as mentioned earlier on the thread, I bet the plug is very hot if the boiler is powering up.

If you want to run it off a tank you need a flojet as suggested above.

Id want to open it up and clean the groups and boiler fully before trying to make a coffee with it, as well as checking that the chassis is properly earthed to prevent electrical shock.


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## espressotechno (Apr 11, 2011)

It's OK for test purposes, to use a bucket of water for the water supply, provided that the bucket is either on the same level as the machine , or preferably above the machine level. The rotary pump, if it works, has enough power to suck water into the system.

You'll hear the pump running & sense it by touching the pump head (brass lump on end of motor).

YOU MUST disconnect 2 of the boiler loops if you want to use 13amp mains power ! Use a plug-in "power breaker" for safety.


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## Awoogah (Nov 10, 2013)

Hey guys,

thanks for the concern, I have disconnected two loops of the heating element so now runs comfortably on a 13 amp fuse. powers up and heats the water, and even produces steam, after a fair wait. Next step is to check the pump, as pretty sure its not running at all. This is all kind of pre-empting a big strip down and clean of the boiler etc.

I have the inlet in a bucket of filtered water above the machine, again this is just to test and would not be a final setup if I decided to run this as my primary machine.

I've checked all the earth based wiring myself and it seems kosher


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

Looking forward to receiving this machine and beginning the project









Thanks Paul!


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## espressotechno (Apr 11, 2011)

If the pump head is stuck, you may be able to free it by turning the motor shaft - look for a slot on the shaft' end & use a large screwdriver to turn it a few times. (machine switched off first !!)

(You'll probably need a new pump head if you proceed with the total refurb.....)


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

So the machine is now with me, and after some inspection there is no power going to the pump at all, which suggests a problem with the board. I have identified the relevant relay which operates the pump and have ordered a new one. It'll arrive while I'm on holiday so we will see if this cures the problem when I get back in around two weeks!









From a brief look I think it may need a new hot water touchpad & potentially a new front panel. There is scale in the machine so a descale is necessary.

I'll update this thread when I get back & start my own if I decide to go ahead with a strip-down & rebuild.


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## coffeechops (Dec 23, 2013)

Very much looking forward to seeing this get stripped and rebuilt - lots o' pics please!

Colin


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

Just returned from holidays in the states. Haven't started the rebuild yet as had a bigger issue to tackle first before investing time in the machine. The pump didn't work at all. No power getting to it, so narrowed it down to a PCB fault. Was going to order a new board but thought I'd try the cheaper option of replacing the pump relay first of all. Thankfully that worked, but now two of the lights on each touchpad don't illuminated, although the buttons dispense as normal. Hoping it's a loose connection somewhere when putting the board back in. Will check it out this afternoon.

Next job is to strip and descale the machine, then a full service before running any shots through it as it's filthy. At that point I'll most likely put it up for sale as it's bigger than I have needs for. Will be looking for a 2 group replacement.


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

Few pics of the scale discovered today;


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Boak


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

I dont know why it always surprises me so much, but...

Woah.


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## coffeechops (Dec 23, 2013)

Yum. Looks familiar! 'Phos' descaler all the way, much more effective than citric for that level of scale (a tip from espressotechno of this forum, and he was right). Can you get into the HX to look in there?

I have to mention, you have a mighty long element there. Most impressive.

Colin


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

Why thank you! It's not all about the size though... It's running on 1 loop at the minute so takes about a week to come up to pressure...

Currently using Calcinet which isn't citric apparently. Will see how it goes and whether I need something more effective or not. Haven't opened the HX's yet, bit scared!

Will inspect tomorrow morning. Need to flip it as my bucket wasn't tall enough.


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

Few pics from this morning;














































Flipped the boiler in fresh descale solution, removed the groups & descaling them along with the flow meters and other pipes etc. More tomorrow.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Got your work cut out there, Michael.


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

Struggled to get the screws out of the groups, but a bit of persuasion [read: large hammer] helped!


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## DannyMontez (May 19, 2014)

Wow. What a cool project. How much did you pay for it out of interest?


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## Beanosaurus (Jun 4, 2014)

That's a lovely lump of brass!

It'll all be worth it once the beast is up and running, the steam power on those things is insane.


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## CallumT (Aug 23, 2013)

You needed a hammer driver Micheal. Same story on the Adonis as what I suspect will also happen on my 2 group. Restoration looking great though!

Edit : impact driver not hammer driver


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## CallumT (Aug 23, 2013)

Full day at work then 5 hours down in the Roastery getting this ready to bench test next time I'm in, can't wait to have it up and running


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

Nice ? can't wait to see it finished!


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

Bit of reassembly progress on this today:


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

Bit more progress. Been super busy so it's been a slow build. Having some problems now too which I'll list in case anyone can offer some ideas;





































I get intermittent illumination on the touch pads, and now it doesn't want to go into program mode to let me set the volumetrics. I suspected a faulty ribbon cable so replaced that to no avail. These problems have not changed even when replacing the main control board, albeit with a used one, but to my memory this worked in the machine it's originally from.

I think I will now have to disconnected each component to identify the fault, and probably spend a few hours with a multimeter checking continuity looking for broken connections etc.

It is doing my head in now because it actually makes wicked coffee, but just has little electrical gremlins!


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