# Gaggia Tell/LL 2 Group Restoration



## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

This is a little dated (~month) in terms of when some of this occurred, but I like sharing my stuff on multiple forums and I know some chaps do not check out HB!

To setup what happened: This February I purchased a Gaggia Tell (or LL. I never know which is which) for a grand total of €175. The catch for this was a missing piece of unobtanium: the drip tray assembly. It is also shipped with my other machines and will thus arrive mid July. The machine itself is in decent condition, notwithstanding the missing drip tray. I will try to be as thorough as possible during this thread, and it will be my very first full restoration of an espresso machine!

Here is the machine as I received it: the panels are actually in pretty good condition and I already decided to keep it original after I finish repairing the machine. All of the knobs are accounted for as is the gas system and electrical wiring. All of it needs a good cleaning. The portafilters are an unusual type that I have seen online once or twice before, which I think are pretty cool in its design. They utilize an open style spout similar to a fountain pen.















'

I started with the groups, as I did not want to too deep before the move and can reassemble them if needed. I unscrewed the left group first to check the inside, and it was what I expected: a grimy and decaying gasket stack and a rusted/very dirty shower screen. It was when I unscrewed the right group that I ran into my first unexpected find: clogged SOMETHING everywhere inside with the consistency of fine powder. My suspicion (though I do not want it to be true) is the former owner never cleaned this group, and as a result coffee continuously built up over time, to the point the piston itself, which is meant to wobble a bit, is stuck in one position! The good news is this powder easily falls out, so I have been just gently tapping the group assembly to get most of it out.
























Next I worked on the body panels. I will not fully go into what I did, but it was very painful compared to something like a Faema President, including a seized nut, stuck panels, and very inconveniently placed nuts needed to be unscrewed. The biggest reason for my pain was the cup tray was not detacheable due to the cup holder heating element being screwed to the boiler, which would have allowed me easier access. If you are truly a sadist you can see my sufferings on the HB forum https://www.home-barista.com/repairs/2-group-gaggia-tell-restoration-t58606.html

Nonetheless I managed to yank the panels off, here is how they are attached to the machine and the order you should take them off:

1)The side panels
This panel has two parts, one aluminum and one painted. For the side panel there are four chromed nuts that attach on the outside of the machine and are visible on this exterior. There is one bolt with a washer and security washer, and the nut itself is 10mm. Where the rear panel turns 90 degrees there is a u-shaped lip that attaches to the orange frame on the rear of the machine. You take off all the other nuts and pull this section out to take off the panel. You need to take off both side panels to properly accecss the rear panel nuts easily.









*2)The rear panel *
The rear panel is comprised of three parts, one aluminum and two painted. With the side panels off there are three bolts on each side that connect to the painted panels. Starting on the bottom you take off two nuts to take off the lower painted panel. The upper two rows of bolts (four total) will allow you to take off the upper painted panel. Finally you jostle the remaining aluminum panel up then outward to fully dissassmble the rear panels.









*3)The cup holder and metal flaired parts on top*
When you remove the right side panel you can take off the cup holder tray by loosening the water connection between the cup holder heating element and the boiler. Taking off the cup holder will also allow you to take off the remaining exterior aluminum parts via a screwdriver and wrench. All bolts loosened during this process require a 10mm wrench.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

This was the extent I tore down the machine before I moved out (reassembled of course). This was mostly to ensure I had everything accounted for and determine what possible new parts I would need. This is where my other thread on this forum comes in when I visited Franco at Luigi Forte in Salerno. I got some pretty unobtanium replacement parts for the groups, specifically old new stock pinion racks and brass shims.

























Even in 1979 they used mercury pressurestats, shown here with the bakelight top off. Looks dusty but I intend to keep it to ensure the machine is as original as possible, provided it works. I also tested the heating elements, which are 2.5kW factory but I measured a little higher.

Left heating element 38 Ω 1274W
Right heating element 36.8 Ω 1315W


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

The machine is both gas and electrical, which I believe is fairely rare on what I've seen online (usually they are electric, and thus the two center front knobs are plugged up). The knobs are: Steam (top two), Cup heating element (middle right), and the bottom row from left to right, water inlet, gas control, power switch, hot water.









Here is my current parts supply for the machine (with a few Faema President parts thrown in). Primarily I purchased from Nuova Ricambi through caffericambi, but the bottom stuff including the boiler gasket and group parts were purchased from Franco for a price I can't find elsewhere, or even find the original parts like the shower screens or brass shims.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

Here's how the lever and portafilters are assembled.

















And finally just for the kicks I took off a group and weighed it, which approaches 10.5kg, or 23lb, in weight!


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

HA! 10.5kg is quite some metal...
Fair enough, back in the days they would should across the streets of Robecco, "chiudi il becco, or I'll kill you with a... with a group!!"


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

After nearly half a year of searching I have made the unobtainium obtainium. A complete 2 group Gaggia LL drip tray assembly with the drain cup. This would only have happened through two things: I contacted Doctor Espresso (Russel Kerr) directly and he kindly pointed me to a seller who had it. The second part of the key was my Italian Bar friend Manuel, who will let me use his address to receive the package as the seller only ships in the EU, and then finally it will be sent to me! The price I paid for was totally worth it (though will likely slightly be more than what I paid for the whole machine with shipping costs).

This may be a minor thing but it has been ticking me off this whole time I did not have a complete machine and would possibly have to attempt to create a shoddy shadow of the original design from photos.


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

aaah great find 
Patience finally pays off, congrats mate!

Looking fwd very much to seeing this come back to life - good luck


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

A few updates: I got a sonic cleaner and began cleaning all the knobs, which I will describe how to dissasemble below.

*Taking off the Knobs*
There are up to six plastic knobs plus the water inlet valve on a Gaggia Tell. There are two for steam arms, one for hot water, one for the cup heater, one for the power switch, and finally one for the gas control. They are a little painful to properly remove them without breaking the original OEM parts.

First you must obtain a very small flathead screwdriver set. I used a 0.5mm, 1mm, and 2mm thickness screwdriver for what I did. The 0.5mm is used to take out the outer black cap on the knob. There is a small horizontal inlet that allows the screwdriver or shim to be inserted and bring it out through pushing up the cap.









Once the cap is removed there is a second black part that covers the part of the knob that connects to the worm gear screw. To take this off you use the 1mm screwdriver and then the 2mm screwdriver when loose to VERY LIGHTLY tap from the inside of the knob this part with a mallet. It will scoot outwards and eventually pop off if done properly. Doing it with force may dig into the soft plastic and while not completely make it useless this is generally not the best outcome from maintenance. The image shown has the knob on top of my vice for support as I gently rap the part off.








The final step is removing the c-clip with some security ring pliers and finally you have a disassembled knob.








The gas and power knobs are different in that they have a screw you can undo with a flathead to take them off. At this time I was only able to remove the gas knob as the power knob is stuck onto something I cannot figure out (any advice would be helpful!)








Here are five knobs and the water inlet (which simply unscrews) together and what I threw in the cleaner today. 








To make sure I did not damage anything from cleaners I simply put in a little dish detergent for the first cycles. The amount of glorp that came off in the first two 8 minute cycles was pretty disturbing to say the least. I am pretty satisfied so far with how the cleaner does but I am not sure how many cycles it would take to fully take off the brown crust from the knobs. Just in case I limited the amount of cycles for each part to three. If I know I can do more then I will proceed further.








Unfortunately the original black caps are pretty worn and am not sure how to clean up the white texture on the fronts. This was why I purchased replacement caps if I really needed to. Any pointers on sprucing up the original ones would be appreciated


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

Some other things I did: I got the boiler cap and heating elements off followed by taking the boiler off the whole frame.

*Taking off the cap and heating elements*

The first thing I did to prepare for the removal is disconnect the wiring. I took photos and labelled them prior to remember how to set up the electrical circuit when putting the Gaggia Back together. I then removed the mercury pressurestat. This is the same design used in the Gaggia Orione as well and I was very surprised it was still used for my machine considering it is newer. In the future I will go into more detail on how it is wired and its assembly but overall it is in very decent condition. I will try to use it over a Sirai if possible.

















After that this is when I took a heat gun and cranked up the heat on each boiler bolt for about a minute each. Then I applied PB blaster to loosen any stuck bolts that would be a hassle to deal with if not treated. I took the heating elements off before all the bolts came off as well. The brass nuts could be unscrewed by hand and I took the heating elements out. They need a decent cleaning in the future but they both work.
























I waited a day and took a 17mm wrench and a rubber mallet to the bolts. As OldNuc suggested I held the wrench a little under tension and hit the open end of the wrench pretty hard. Every nut eventually yielded to my whacks without hassle and I am pretty happy no bolts snapped off.

Once all of them were taken off I took a chisel and the mallet and from the top pointing into the old gasket I whacked it in which resulted in the face plate coming off. Presuming the gasket to be asbestos I took precaution prior and misted the gasket while wearing a safety mask. I also had an air filter fan and a regular fan running that blew the air away from me. The scale accumulated at the bottom is likely from when I was hitting stuff with the mallet and forced it off the boiler wall.

















*Removing the Boiler*
This is the last thing I did before going to college. First though I also got the dippers off the groups with some more whacking. What is interesting to note is that on one group I only got the dipper out while the other I got the dipper AND the inner collar that connects the dipper to the group. I am not sure if it will really make a difference when cleaning but I thought it was neat to see the shut off valve from the bottom rather than from the top.

















Taking off the boiler (after removing all pipe and wire connections) involves unscrewing six 13mm bolts, two in the back that connects the boiler to the rear frame and two bolts to each group that connect to the front. Once they are off you pull the boiler back and manuever it through the frame. To access the front bolts you must take off the collars that cover the group necks and hold the group gasket in place. removing the bolts that connect to the Groups will likely not be too difficult and will just need a clean up. I do intend to replace the boiler cap bolts as they are quite rusty. Note that the nuts themselves are made of brass rather than the material of the bolt. They do this with all other nuts as well on the machine which if I remember correctly is to prevent fusing of the metals from rust (?).

































Now that the boiler is off I can wrap up dissasembly of the frame and determine how much work needs to be done to it outside of cleaning. I will also eventually begin descaling once I obtain a big enough bucket and citric acid. Overall I was pretty happy with the outcome and cannot wait to begin the reassembly. I currently have most of the boiler pipes and the boiler itself on one table and exterior parts and groups on another. In the background I have the Faema President waiting for its time to shine after I finish the Gaggia...


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

whoa, that's so nice 

Quick, get this big bucket and keep on posting - we all here need our daily fix!!!


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I've made progress on the groups which I will document more fully once at least one group is fully in pieces. I've run into a situation where my spring is quite stuck to the inside of the piston. I was able to take off the piston and spring easily enough with my fashioned spring compressor tool, but in this particular group there is the infamous brown powder inside. I am not sure what exactly happened but it appears to be very old coffee grounds or residue that somehow gummed up the piston and spring. The spring itself is very rusted and weak, and is absolutely stuck to the piston, perhaps even fused. I have taken the heat gun a few times to heat it up and nothing happens besides more powder coming out smoking a little. Are there any ideas on how to wrestle out the spring so I can have a replacement placed when I am assmebling the groups post-cleaning?


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

aww dislike... can you soak it in a rust removing agent? maybe@jimbojohn55 has an idea!


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

Nevermind, I figured it out! I asked Russell Kerr what he does and he said to rap the spring with a hammer on all sides to knock loose the grime/rust while laying the piston on its side. It came out after about a minute of doing this and nothing was damaged! To be sure I did not use too much force I used a half-sized hammer. Looking at the piston shaft I noticed it appears different than what I expected. Instead of the traditional rack design it is something slightly different! I will need to check that out more.


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

The inner spring sleeve should come out as well if it hasn't all ready


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

You can unscrew the stem as well, but its not essential - as long as the central spring valve moves ok it shouldn't be needed


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

Yes. For me it popped out as soon as I took out the piston from the group! I do not intend to unscrew the piston as I already checked my piston valves, which open after some tugging as expected. The next question is how to properly clean the chrome piston and rack assembly!


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

The original finish was just blacked carbon finish, not surprising they rust, I would be tempted to sand and wire brush - then rub in high temp silicon grease, in theory they never get wet until the piston seals go


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

So would you not recommend some liquid bath for cleaning purposes like white vinegar?


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

IamOiman said:


> So would you not recommend some liquid bath for cleaning purposes like white vinegar?


It won't do any harm, what I'm cautious about it the piston and if it's plated brass, don't want to start lifting chrome etc, I'm not sure what it!

Having said that turning the whole thing upside down and soaking it in whatever should be ok, I've been using a rust eater made by Rustin's lately, much better than the ones that claim to turn rust into black oxide.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk


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## Nicknak (Aug 10, 2018)

The chap at a local secondhand tool shop recommends something like evapo-rust .. Non acidic doesn't react with metals . Never tried it ,but reads well .


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

Probably one of the most notorious parts of wrestling apart a lever machine is the group disassembly. I will document here how to do it and overcome this stigma so if you ever need to do it you have a general idea of how to do it!

The tools you will need are shown in the following photo, but listed they are:
10mm socket with socket extender
Hammer or mallet
Two wrenches to hold the spring tool
Heat gun
5mm allen key
3mm spigot tool
Flathead screwdriver
Bearing Extractor
Spring Compression Tool 








Some suggested tools but not necessarily needed for this procedure:

7mm wrench for the shutoff valve
An extra pair of hands if the group is already off the machine

The first thing you will need to do is lock the lever into the preinfusion setting, so that the top nuts are not holding the rack system. Take off these two top nuts and insert the spring compression tool with an appropriate washer and padding (I used a ¾" washer with paper towels). 








Unlock the lever and allow the spring tool to rest on the top of the group. Take off the lever itself using a wrench. This may require some force if you have already not loosened or taken off the lever in the past. I used a flathead screwdriver with rubber padding and leveraged it off between the group and the lever cam. Take off the locking mechanism as well.

There are two spigot screws you will need to take off. It is likely gunked with coffee oils and be stuck. Simply take a heat gun and use it for 30-60 seconds and it will cause the oils to become liquid and even may act as a lubricant when unscrewing. I had to file down my spigot as it was originally 4mm, a far more common size than the 3mm diameter for the ones on the group.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

*Disassembling the Gaggia Group*

Taking off the spigot caps will reveal two bearings inside, most likely covered in grease. You will take the 10mm socket attached to the socket extender and with a hammer whack the pinion rack on the left side of the group when facing the front. Sometimes a normal hammer will not be enough, even after applying the heating gun multiple times. This is where you get a bigger hammer (within reason. You do not want to shatter the mechanism with TOO much force). I used a hammer whose head is lead. Group 0 me 1. The cam as you can see is quite jammed up with grease and was why I had so much resistance.
















Take the same 10mm socket w/extender and rap the left bearing from the inside with a mallet. The right bearing will come off with the pinion rack and require a bearing exractor to remove.

















The reason you need to take out the pinion gear is the rack teeth do not go all the way up to the top of the rack. If it did you could simply unscrew the top and the piston would be able to be taken out afterwards. A downside to this is that you would have no control in how rapidly the pisting would come and could go flying due to the spring force. Hence the teeth end. Unscrewing the piston while keeping the rack in place would simply stop decompressing the spring once you reached the final tooth, and may put strain on the pinion gear teeth.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

Now you can start decompressing the piston the entire length. You may need another wrench or a pair of pliers to keep the M18 bolt from moving with the nut you are unscrewing as well. In this process you may need to put the group on its side as the piston will eventually start supporting the group from its height as the spring relaxes. When you are able to unscrew the nut by hand you can take off the spring tool and pull the piston out of the group








The remaining steps involve taking off the 80mm nut that compresses the gasket stack inside. You need to unscrew three worm threads with a 5mm allen key to loosen them from the threads. If they are stuck apply some heat and wait a bit. I was fortunate in that the hex nut unscrewed easily enough but I needed some leverage to separate the top of the group from the hex nut. I used padding and copper teeth in the vice to prevent my metal stock or the vice from damaging the parts.








The gasket stack is the lasting thing you remove. You may have the worm thread block the shimmies and brass sections of the stack, so you would need to tap it from the inside to make it flush with the sleeve. Presuming anything is asbestos either mist the stack or wear a proper mask with a fan blowing away from you. I think the fibrous gaskets are cotton but I like to take precautions. Bag up the stack afterwards. 








And you have a disassembled group. You may still need to take off the shut off valve but for me they are both absolutely fused to the group on my machine, so I will need to address that in a different manner.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

The groups are mostly in pieces right now excluding the bearings on the cams, the safety valve (which are pretty fused right now), the lever, and the three parts that attach to the top of the group for the preinfusion locking mechanism. I was able to observe what parts I needed to replace or switch out, and I made my (hopefully) final parts order. Some parts may have been reseusable like the bearings but they do not cost much to buy new so I may just end up with some extra parts, which is not a bad thing!








Nothing crazy has happened so far, so it will be time for the cleaning process. At a minimum I want to clean the inside group sleeve and have the gasket stack placed with the locking 80mm nut before finishing school. At best I want the groups ready to be placed on the machine. I want to almost say I've nearly reached the halfway point for this machine. I do not intend to rechrome partially due to cost and partially due to the lack of needing to do it. There is very slight flaking on one of the levers but that's about it. There are some dings on the group but I will try to polish them out and are not very visible without being close up anyways.









When I get back from break the last few parts to the frame will come off and I will start the cleaning process for the boiler. I intend to use citric acid and keep the water warm in a bucket big enough to hold it. I will also need to take off all of the boiler flange and heating element rods, but they are not very rusted and I do not anticipate any nightmare scenario after some heat, PB blaster, and the double nut technique.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I cleaned the group sleeves and exterior chrome of the groups today. This involved a fair amount of Joe Glo to get rid of the coffee oils accumulated over its previous use. Removing the portafilter gaskets were nasty as they were extremelly fused and brittle. I had to take a small flat screwdriver, whack it into the rubber gasket, and leverage it to pop out the old gasket. I had to make sure I was not hitting any brass but in the end they both yielded to my efforts. For the sleeves I used 360 grit scotch brite with soapy water to get off the accumulated stuff. If it was cleaner I would have used the 600 grit.
























My next task is cleaning the piston racks and cams. I am a little lost in terms of the best method of cleaning off the gunk as Joe Glo will not take off that much gunk easily. What would be the best approach to degreasing these parts? I am not sure if the prior suggested methods would still work with this much grease.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

To think in your initial post you said, 'all it needs is a good cleaning'!!!!!!!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## 9719 (Mar 29, 2015)

Hopefully without upsetting others@jimbojohn55 is probably your go to person for advice with this project.
Great work, always love a good strip down & buff up thread to follow


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

here is a tasting for you with a clean group sleeve


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

********** said:


> Hopefully without upsetting others@jimbojohn55 is probably your go to person for advice with this project.
> Great work, always love a good strip down & buff up thread to follow


whoa can't tell you how upset me is!!!



while not being totally food safe, brake cleaner works really well on all sorts of grease and grime. if it's just metal underneath I wouldn't be worried about cleaner residue.


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Tricky its a combination of rust and grease - best bet is is something to dissolve the grease and set to with wire wool - I used carb cleaner as it doesn't damage the metal, but engine block cleaner would do. Once all the parts are clean a quick dunk in Caffeza give them a coat of food safe grease, just an idea


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

I used to have a nice little pocket money earner when I was a kid car cleaning with a mate by offering to restore rusty chrome bumpers as well using a special chrome cleaner by dad got for me. It was a mix of vim, water and detergent. I did it because I knew it worked. Went well until a "customer" smelled what was in the bottle and said that's got vim in it. People often used it for cleaning chrome taps etc and as chrome is hard doesn't scratch. CIF might be suitable as well. And  the finest easily available abrasive happens to be toothpaste.

For rust removal I would be tempted to try electrolysis. I've tried all sort of methods and going on certain videos that looks to be a better method. Archaeologists seem to have been using it at times as it results least base metal removal. Might be best to see if they have come up with improvements. Many videos show setups that could probably be better. It's maybe like anodising at home or plating. It''s best to have the anode or what ever it happens to be evenly spaced around the part being done.

For grease removal I would use Gunk from a motor factors. That can be washed off with soap and water but a following good wipe with IPA might be a good idea.

John

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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I have lots of vinegar on me so I will be doing a mix of vinegar and boiling water followed by rinsing and repeating this if necessary. If that does not work I will try one of your many suggestions!


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

Today I discovered why my bottom spring retainer was so stuck in one of my groups. I also have been slowly cleaning all my group parts, which are looking pretty good at this point. The vinegar and water solution seems to be working well after a 4 hour soak.
















Inside the piston, there was about a half inch of solidified coffee gunk. I am talking so hard I had to take a small pick and hammer to dislodge it from the piston. In this process I did not scratch anything, just broke off more and more gunk. Here is a photo comparing the amount of gunk that came out of the one group. I weighed it and it was about 2 oz!!! I am starting to become pretty tempted to use that GUNK engine cleaner to finish the job.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I went out today to get some GUNK original engine degreaser to see how it would fare. I found out trough trial and error that it works well to soften the grease if not remove it. Afterwards I rinsed the pistons vigorously and placed them in a vinegar bath. In tandem I took my spatula pick to gently scrape off the surface gunk. I used a little scotch bright for the upper portion. These tools allowed me to nicely clean up my pistons and am pretty satisfied with the outcome.

Probably the most interesting thing was the color of the GUNK being pink!


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

To clean the inner part of the piston I used some evaporust to good effect, and the only thing I have left to do with the pistons is the inlet holes where the water goes into the pistons. On one of my pistons all holes are blocked with grime (tested by trying to blow air through each of the six holes while holding open the piston valve). What would be a good way of approaching this blockage?


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

at this stage, I'd suggest (careful) mechanical action using rear end of a darning needle or a small crochet hook if it fits in. Also, you might get lucky with a piece of (coated) florist wire that you twirl into a looped end. Something like this to let you pull the grime out rather than pushing it in...


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I was able to clean them out using some very small drill bits. I initially used a 57 AWG drill bit to make the initial hole through the crud, twisting by hand, followed by a 55 AWG bit to clean up the hole even more. Finally I took an air compressor nozzle and sprayed out the remaining loose gunk. The photos attached show how deep I had to go to clear out the gunk.

















At this point I am pretty satisfied with my cleaning of the groups and internals besides replacing the gasket stack and acquiring the correct grease for the racks/pinions. Based off of a member's suggestion over in Home Barista, I will try his suggestion since that grease is not terribly expensive. https://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-product/grease/x-treme-synthetic-food-grade-grease/?code=GXCCR-EA

The member (named Old Nuc) has been supremely helpful in my restoration and I need to thank him in some manner at some point. To directly quote him:



> The problem is that the oil used was unique to each producer in detail and is way out of style except for specialized applications characterized by sustained high temperature, moisture and/or water proof, very tacky so it stays put, rust and oxidation inhibited, high film strength. There is a bit more but generally it has various names that it was listed under such as: Steam cylinder oil, cylinder oil, open worm gear drive oil, open gear drive oil, closed low rpm gear and worm drive oil,and automotive transmission and rear end oil.
> 
> Side note modern GL-4 or GL-5 oil is not the same thing in any way. Silicone anything meets none of the original criteria.
> 
> ...


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

If this helps - ive seem threads on Home Barista of someone using a small syringe to inject descaler into the holes to help remove any limescale

I would be tempted to block all the holes on the side with a spot of food safe grease or a rubber plug / piece of tape so you could invert the piston and add descaler with a syringe through the valve on the base. just an idea


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I am home for fall break and I finally got the frame stripped of everything. Taking a look at it there is some light rust in portions but there is no pitting or serious damage to it, just soot covering portions of the frame. Would I still need to sandblast and powder coat it in this case? 
















I also started the descale/derust process with the copper pipes, boiler face, and heating elements along with the boiler bolts in a bath of citric acid and evaporust respectively. I will need a bigger bucket for the boiler as it is just too tall to fully fit in the orange bucket.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I have a recommended metal shop I will be going to tomorrow for the media blasting of the frame after some thought and advice. I considered doing the boiler but it is not dirty/scaled enough to warrant a media blasting as well. For the colour that will remain a secret for now...

I got the boiler flange bolts off without any trouble. I used the double nut technique and using a 13mm wrench and mallet I whacked them off one by one without requiring any heat or penetrator oil. People driving by were probably thinking what the heck I was doing but I did not scrape the boiler gasket off until after, and the wind outside helped me avoid asbestos inhalation (I wear a mask but I like to be paranoid). This is probably the best condition I have seen flange bolts in a Gaggia group restoration so far compared to some of the nightmares I have seen other people deal with...These only needed a quick evaporust bath and after a little clean up.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

Frame is dropped off for the media blasting and powder coating. It is a little pricey to have the powder coating done (more than what I paid for the machine) but it gives me peace of mind that it will be done correctly rather than me doing it myself.

I am finishing up descaling the copper pipes and other accesories and I got a container big enough for the boiler, so that is also beginning its soak. It will probably take a few days to clean it well. I presume to get rid of the pinkish coating I use brass bristles to scrub the copper and brass right?


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

aaahh so satisfying 
what do you mean, pinkish coating?


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Hasi said:


> aaahh so satisfying
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 As Hasi said, what do you mean pinkish coating ???= joking ? no.

The pink is the natural colour of a cleaned/ de-scaled copper boiler.

If brass items turn pink it is the zinc component of the brass being removed =dezincification, often seen on plumbing and tap fittings where lesser quality components have been used.


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

As above it is a by product of rescaling and simply polishing the boiler afterwards with brassiere it some other mild polish will bring it up lovely


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

It was definitely the brass bristles. I was figuring out how to polish the pipes with only a brass bristle toothbrush when I remembered the grinder given to me by my grandfather had a brass bristle disk already attached. I tried the grinder (an Omega) out with a pipe fitting and the difference is pretty visible. I did all the other pipes to similar satisfaction after the citric acid bath but not the heating elements. I also tried the grinder on the gas burner to pretty good results. Other parts of the machine will also undergo the brass bristle treatment if they are brass or copper. I am considering purchasing a brass bristle drill attachment for the boiler and face plate as I am pretty happy with how the pipes turned out and want a similar finish for the boiler.
















































I am still deciding if I want to put the gas system back on the machine or keep off but available if I ever sell the machine. I would use the extra hole for the vacuum breaker that would be put on the flange.

I intend to use a 2kW 110V element because even with my 20A circuit I cannot power 2.6kW with that (normally it is 2.5W but I measured a little higher with my ohmmeter). One of the original elements will go back in the machine but not be used to plug the heating element hole.


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

I see your point re polishing. But, sadly enough, it won't stay that way for long anyways. A fellow forum member just recently showed me images of a boiler treated with Copperbrill - there it kept its pinkish colour, while weld seams turned brass/golden.
Hope he doesn't mind me showing it 









(work in progress pic)

Not sure about your goal or outcome as certainly you're looking at a different material/alloy for pipes, fittings, boiler, elements and everything else. I'd be happy with a clean and pinkish boiler


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Hasi said:


> I see your point re polishing. But, sadly enough, it won't stay that way for long anyways. A fellow forum member just recently showed me images of a boiler treated with Copperbrill - there it kept its pinkish colour, while weld seams turned brass/golden.
> Hope he doesn't mind me showing it
> 
> 
> ...


 The end plates and other fittings are bronze welded together (an alloy) This is an adhesion weld as distinct from a fusion weld if it was copper.

The bronze weld is more easily accomplished at a lower temperature than the fusion copper weld which requires the copper components to be at melting point


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I tried polishing the plastic knobs with the jeweler's rouge and polishing wheel. It was PBC from Dico for the buffing compound. I did not push too hard on the grinder as I did not want the plastic to melt away, but it is miles better than what they originally were.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I have given some thought to my electrical part of the machine. In the US my measured 2.6kW from the heating elements are too much for my 110V 20A circuit in my house (which is rated for 2.4kW). I have therefore decided to replace one of the two 1.25kW (give or take) elements with a 750W element I purchased from an online italian parts company called chisko.com. I can use them through my bar friend as I am not certain they ship outside of Italy. With 2kW I can hook up the Gaggia to my house wiring with a step up transformer without issues in exchange for a slightly longer heating time. Their pricing was very good as well!


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

The boiler is mostly clean at this point. I put it back in its tub after the following pics. On the boiler face there is still some slight gasket residue after some polishing and brushing with 360 grit then 600 grit sandpaper. This is also the case for the boiler cap/plate. I will probably need a dremel with a brass wire brush to get all of it, including the gunk on the heating element bolts.









































I cleaned up my inner brass pieces for the gasket stack, and I noticed my top brass pieces are smaller than the new old stock pieces I purchased earlier this year and they also have a lip for the v-gasket. Is there a reason for this design difference?








I found out the 750W heating element was actually out of stock from that parts supplier. I guess they are starting become unobtanium at this rate and I will need to look elsewhere or do convert to 110V!

If I switch to 110V I will need to purchase a new switch. I will run though my analysis of the original circuit and compare it to what I need for the new one and see if it makes sense or not. If I am doubtful I will get an electrician's opinion on the matter as well.
















The original circuit, starting from the plug, uses four wires: Ground (green/yellow), Black (Phase 1), Blue (Phase 2), and Brown (Phase 3). However, Blue and Black are on the same line, so one can be considered a Neutral Phase. Going into the switch Blue and Black will separate into their own poles. The switch itself is a 3-pole + ground switch with a 500V 16A rating. Going from the switch, Black and Blue will run into the pressurestat while Brown will connect directly to the heating elements. Black will then run from the Pstat to one terminal of the heating elements and Blue will run to the end. If I simplified this correctly, this is an unbalanced Wye circuit, which is not a true 3-phase and allows the machine to run on 220V.








To fulfil 110V single phase, I would need a 2-pole switch w/ground (3 pole if the ground is not included) that is able to run 20A. As a single phase, I simply need to wire the Hot and Neutral in series with the Pstat and 2kW heating element. This would make it easier for me to wire the circuit and I would not require a transformer for the machine. I think I am correct on this but everybody makes mistakes. Hence why I will likely check with the electrician on this as well.


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

Ha!
Great to see your thoughts evolve...

when you say 750W elements are unavailable, this means you cannot convert to 2kW total, right? How about a built-in dimmer you set up once then leave it alone?

like one of these...:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=scr+dimmer+5000w+110v&_from=R40&_trksid=m4084.l1313&_nkw=scr+dimmer+5000w

I use one in my 1kg roaster (2.2kW) to control heat input. Works a treat!


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I think I would actually prefer the 110V and bypass the step up transformer all together! I actually did manage to find another website that actually had the 750W element from Bulgaria. I will actually get it and then I can assess what I can do. I would not mind being able to do both 2kW 220V and 2kW 110V.

That is a nice find nonetheless and something to keep into consideration for other projects!

I also found out my switch even though it is technically not rated for 20A can actually do it. Old Nuc informed me from Home Barista he has kept his original switch even though he converted to 110V and it works perfectly fine with his Gaggia Orione.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

Got some stuff done today, buckle in!

I am still cleaning away coffee gunk from various parts. The sonic cleaner and Joe-Glo work well together.
















*Cleaning the Mercury Pstat and How it Works*
I was always excited to get to this, which was today! It is an ingenious solution to regulate the pressure which I will go into below. But first I will describe the cleaning process.

Looking at the Pstat it is quite dirty and there is some rust on some of the grade 8 metal. Here is how I took it apart. Looking at the top you can see the four electrical connections with the two mercury ampules. This is the Sirai equivalent of the switch breaker with the mercury. They are connected to two ceramic bricks that allows you to connect the pstat to the rest of the circuit. It can hold two phases, one for each ampule.
















Taking off the ceramic blocks is first, followed by the ampules by unscrewing three screws in total (two for the blocks and one for the ampule).
















Next you unscrew three screws connecting the upper assembly to the bellows base. You can then unscrew the pstat adjustment gear afterwards. You can see how dirty the bellows is.
















With the assembly off you can simply take out the pin and remove the metal block. Looking from the top you can see in the middle left the number 79 inscribed on the plate, the year this machine was made. It indicates the pstat is original with the machine and I personally like the little touch they placed onto the pstat. There are two 7mm bolts you unscrew to get to the final part: the flexed metal.
















Here are all the pieces laid out, in order of disassembly from right to left.








You can see some bluish coppery stuff comes out of the inlet from the base.








I cleaned all of the parts in vinegar except for the main assembly plate and the piece holding the stainless steel flexed metal piece. I used 600 grit sandpaper for everything. I ensured anything copper/brass was not in the same tub with steel pieces as I found out unfortunately the steel will corrode in the solution (my casualties were washers, so they can be replaced. I think an earlier Faema Urania resto thread mentioned this as well).

I also cleaned and polished the cap. I used soapy water to get rid of coffee residue (the ceramic blocks were also cleaned this way) and then used some more jeweler's rouge and the string buff for the polishing. It turned out pretty good but I know I can always improve.

























Here is the reassembled pstat. It looks pretty good now after buffing the base a bit.
















Here's how it works

On the bottom is the inlet for the connection between the pstat and the boiler. In the brass base there is a copper bellows that rises with the pressure. A circular gear with a pin screws onto the bellows and rests against a metal block with a pin that goes through one end. It in turn pushes against another pin that rests against a flexed piece of metal on top that controls the angle of the ampules. When the machine is below the set pressure cut off the ampules will be in rest position. This means there is an electrical connection, where the mercury acts as a conduit between the two poles. 








As the pressure increases, the bellows will rise and push the flexed metal. Eventually a threshold is reached and the ampules will be pushed like a seesaw by the bent metal piece. The mercury will form a blob on one end of the ampules and cut the electrical connection. As the pressure decreases the ampules will slowly bend back and eventually turn on again. It is quite cool how this mechanism was designed and how much attention was given to it. For example to ensure the ampules do not bend so far they can not be bent back, there is a hook piece seen on the right that holds the ampules while bent. There is also a small copper piece that holds the adjustable pstat gear in place when you reached a desired pressure.








Here it is covered with the cap.








One question I have is if this will be safe to use with 20A on 110V, as it can be seen the ceramic blocks say no more than 10A. Would that simply mean I change out the wiring?

I also took a look at the manometer. It was dirty but it works. Any idea on how to clean the face? I tried soapy water already to no avail. Perhaps it will stay to show the age of the machine.


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## Jollybean (May 19, 2013)

Fantastic restoration. I am loving following your progress and attention to detail. Thanks for explaining about the mercury switch - really ingenious device.


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

re cleaning the gauge face - for me the answer was with caution - concern was if what ever I cleaned it with either removed the white background or the numbers!! - in the end I used cotton buds with some weak Cafizza and just dabbed at it one small area at a time till it was clean then went over the same area with just some water to neutralise anything left on the surface.

Love the detail on the pressurestat - always wanted to have a go at a mercury tilt switch - makes sense they put a cover on it to protect it but nice to see inside


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I'll take a gander with some Joe-Glo on that manometer at some point and see what happens!

Today I primarily did the gas assembly. It was pretty straightforward but I saw some parts I know absolutely I would not be able to source if I lost/broke them...

*Taking Apart the Gas Assembly and How it Works*
The gas assembly is probably not used as often now in bars but they have their uses in portable setups (ie in vans). This machine definitely was gas powered from the soot markings on the boiler. I will probably not use it but that does not give me the excuse to leave it dirty.








Taking off the copper pipes using a 17mm wrench is easy enough. Getting the the regulator there are hex grips to allow the part to be held by a vice and loosened with a 22mm wrench.
















Taking the nipple apart also required a vice but nothing was stuck for long.








The inlet valve was the last thing to come apart and I took all the parts and cleaned them first in Joe-Glo then descaled some of the brass parts where the boiler water touched the regulator.








Here is the cleaned up assembly after polishing stuff up.








Here is how the gas assembly works:
The inlet is where you hook up the gas line and where you control the flow level of the gas. When first turning on the gas you take a lighter to the burner below the boiler to ignite the gas.








Once the machine is warmed up from the gas, the pressure must be regulated. The regulator is a nifty device where it controls the burn level when a certain pressure is reached. This is done by the copper pipe connected from the top of the boiler (the long vertical one). The pressure from the boiler will press against a rubber bellows that is connected to a spring and piston. When a certain pressure is reached the spring will compress the piston such that the gas flow will reduce and cause the pressure to drop from the low burn level. This pressure point can be adjusted with the screw nut on the left part of the regulator. One thing I did not figure out was the flathead screw in the regulator. I think it is a cutoff valve but I do not know for certain.








Finally the nipple is placed into the T-shaped burner that rests under the boiler. The nipple has a cap so no gas will escape outside while burning.








I started cleaning the exterior panels, which are Inox steel, and I am having a difficult time getting the aged coffee grime off. I started with soapy water but I want to get the nice shiny look. First, what is a good method of getting that grime off without seriously scratching the metal? I have some Noxon cleaner/polisher; would that work once I get the grime off?
















Finally, I have run into the issue of an ordered part estimating a long time to reach me. The 110V 2kW heating element will take an estimated 12-16 weeks for it to arrive on my doorstep

?

The good news is I will not be rushing to complete the machine at olympic speeds so I will likely be more attentive to my work as I put everything else together again. Guess it will be close to a year after I first bought the machine before it will be functioning again in February!


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

aww that gas assembly looks ace!
Love your lively tech descriptions btw 

Polishing paste is somewhat abrasive, so if you don't have a good polishing wheel/machine and neat cloth you'll likely scratch stuff buffing it up. It's always a good idea to polish outdoors or with a strong light source - some imperfections such as slight brushed effects or swirl marks wouldn't come to notice otherwise. Also, buffing up large surfaces is tiring as you need to apply a certain steady pressure - now that we've learned how much time you have on your hands, you can take it very slowly


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I simply just want to get out any large scratches and clean up any rust/coffee-crete off the panels. I know what it takes to get to that mirror polish and I really do not want to spend 100+ hours for that perfection...

At that point I might as well just chrome all the pieces in place of that time!


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

IamOiman said:


> I simply just want to get out any large scratches and clean up any rust/coffee-crete off the panels. I know what it takes to get to that mirror polish and I really do not want to spend 100+ hours for that perfection...
> At that point I might as well just chrome all the pieces in place of that time!


Any metal polish will do fine here. I've successfully used Autosol on different stainless espressso machine body parts and even baskets.
In any case be careful to completely remove residues as these compounds aren't food safe.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I'll take a gander with the Noxon and see what happens!

Cleaning up my bench as I return to college tomorrow for my last classes! The frame will probably be ready later this week but I will not begin finally assembly until Thanksgiving.

I cleaned up the water level. It uses the same o-113 gasket as I will use for the steam and hot water wands.








The old glass was chipped at one end and had no paint. The new glass is much better looking. The gaskets are held in placed and compressed by two hex nuts. One side of the water gauge ends is chromed while the other is brass.

























My knobs are all set and have their new black caps. They are much looser than the original ones so they do not have the slight notch on the edge to take them out.








I am taking back my groups to college as the parts I ordered for the gasket stack were shipped there and I have more resources at the machine shop if I need them while reassembling the groups safely. I am also bringing the boiler face place to gain access to a dremel to clean off the remaining gasket and clean the heating element bolts.








Finally I figured out how to clean up the manometer. Hasi's suggestion was spot on, though I used Joe-Glo instead.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I got my package of shims and gaskets for the groups and began assembling the first group. Here is the stack laid out, where the bottom of the stack is the bottom right row and goes up from right to left and up along with the resulting stack. A shim is used between brass-brass contact. For the medium shim with the three holes it will not matter if the hole is not aligned with the group inlet hole as it is concave in shape, meaning water will enter it regardless of orientation of the piston and the shim.

An interesting thing I noted is the height difference between my original top shim and the old new stock shim is such that you could remove one brass v-ring and gasket in your stack, so you have two v-rings and gaskets below and one v-ring and gasket above.
















When inserting the piston some lubricant is required to slip the piston throught the gaskets. I found the easiest way was pushing the piston from the top towards the bottom and adjust until the piston is flush with the sleeve. I also saw that the piston depth happen to be just where the top brass shim would begin if you rest the piston flush with the sleeve on the bottom.
























Now as I wait for the cam grease to arrive, I am trying to figure out how I would compress the spring without moving the piston from its initial position after tightening the large 80mm nut. If I look at it right I would need to start compressing the spring with the top part of the group not screwed into the hex nut initially and only do it when I reach it after compressing the spring part way. Quick note there was another grease that was found that will work with the Gaggia Group Cams that can be found on Amazon and is slightly cheaper than the original selection due to prime shipping. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079LH7P1B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1








Finally I was able to snag IMS 200 shower screens and silicone gaskets for the back up group setup if (and probably indubitably) I get sick of the original shower screens.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

It was just a matter of screwing the spring compressor to have the top of the group reach the nut. Before that I tightened the large nut by holding it in a vice while I turned the bottom group until I felt fair resistance. The top gasket will also squish a bit inwards when you do this as well.

I slathered on the grease (I cleaned up the rack after the pic to something more appropriate) on the cam and a little in the shaft of the group top/bearing area.

Once the top group touched the nut I could turn the top group with the spring compressor, where I would tighten the spring then tighten the group top. Eventually when I had enough threads I aligned the teeth of the rack with the group top and I could put in the bearings and cam. Note if your cam has a few worn teeth (not necessarily chipped/broken) you can adjust the cam such that those teeth will not be used as the cam will not turn 360 degrees when you pull the lever, more like 180 degrees.

The group itself is not flawless, but it is better than when I originally received it. There are a few scratches here and there but I will just use a light cleaning/polishing compound like autosol. I am personally pretty happy with it and can't wait to assemble the other group once my missing bearings arrive (two of them fell out of the battered box that held my other group parts).


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I've been cleaning up the flanges on the group and the boiler face. I first used a small chisel to scrape as much gasket as I could, then switched to a brass brush and scrubbed the flanges. Finally I took a flat razor blade and scraped off remaining gasket. It is not immaculate to look at but it is getting quite flush at this time. Most of the remaining black stuff is that same black coating seen inside the boiler that tends to accumulate over time.

View attachment 32855
















One small issue I've been having is disassembling a steam wand valve. It is awkward to hold in a vice to where I can leverage a wrench to unscrew it, and the size is something odd between 25mm and one inch (25.4mm), so there is no perfect fit. How should I approach this?


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

I presume you want to hold the central body and undo the left and R/hand sections ?

Rotate the central nut until the flats are parralel with the body of the valve, use 2 small pieces of softwood vertically on either side of the body and nut, then insert this in the vice leaving access to the ends alternately. Use a ring or socket on the hex/ nut and an adjustable on the two flats OR use an open ended spanner with some thin steel packing in the jaws if the spanner is not correct size. (metal banding of packing cases is useful ) cut into strips. Alternately use a strap wrench on the circular part !!

A leather or webbing strap wrapped around several times, then gripped with moles or water pump pliers works well.

Reference nut sizes,often on brass components, when they have been cast/ polished or plated they are not the precise size.


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

can you screw on some other bit where steam arm connets? Like a thick nut? You could then place it in a vice without touching the plating...


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I decided all negotiations were off the table and implemented no quarter against the stuck valve. What I did was take two adjustable wrenches. I placed on in a vice and placed the valve in it. This freed a hand for me to use the other adjustable wrench and a mallet. However, the trump card was a MAPP torch. That thing heated the valve to near 400 C temperatures pretty quick, and with the mallet I finally whacked the thread open. It was stuck due to a buildup of scale and some gunked on hemp.

















My university has a media blaster, and currently is loaded with aluminum oxide. Could I use this to clean my boiler flange and get all remaining gasket off?


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

Congrats to the divorce 

I'd be very careful with metallic media. Especially soft metals (aluminium, copper and their likes) will happily accept particles stuck in their surface.

I just know from blasting aluminium wheels that you should always go for glass media. With aluminium oxide (corundum) it'll lead to corrosion under the drying paint - subsequently not bonding and flaking off.

Get some glass in there if you can


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

^^^ OUCH!!!


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I got the second group assembled today. When placed side by side the height of the upper group is identical when the piston is flush with the group sleeve, but the height of the 80mm spanner is different. When I assembled the gasket stack it was a little higher than the other group. I believe this may be because the brass shims I used were a mix of the original ones and the reproduction ones I ordered (I just wanted to see what the difference would be). I already checked if the threads were busted but removing the top gasket allowed me to screw in the 80mm hex almost all the way in. The stack still compresses but I found it a little interesting. This second group has a few extra scratches on the spanner pieces and some chrome is peeled in some small nooks but there are no major flaws (besides maybe the error mentioned below).








I put a Cafelat order to good use for the groups. I may have one with the Cafelat showerhead/silicone gasket and keep the traditional showerhead and do a side by side comparison once I am up and running.














I accidently misplaced some of the grub screws, which gives me the excuse to find some stainless steel replacements. Measuring them they appear to be M10 x 8mm Grub/Hollow lock screws. Can anybody else confirm these measurements? I presume the thread is a standard 1.5 pitch as well.

Finally I will show a mistake I made when assembling the group. When I was placing the new bearing in I used the socket wrench technique where the diameter of the socket hex was the same as the bearing (give or take 1") I was negligent in paying attention while using a mallet and I accidently struck the group itself, leaving a ding. It is not very big but I am chastizing myself heavily for making an error like that. On the first group I used a smaller socket that touched the inner ring with success and did not run into issues.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I found my old ones and got a pitch measuring tool. They are M10 x 8mm with a 1.0 pitch (fine). I'll look around for some new ones but it is not high on my priority list.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

Found the original grub screws (placed in a wrong droor)

Frame got picked up today. I consider this the true half-way point in the restoration, although with the group reassembly perhaps a little beyond that! I tried to stick with the original colour but with a grey on grey hammertone texture. I used the Metal Doctors in Seekonk MA and they did a fantastic job. Once Thanksgiving arrives I can begin final assembly and then wait for the new heating element to come in.


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

Looks superb mate! Can't wait to see it in action!


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I am home for Thanksgiving and have begun assembling the machine back together. I first started with some new feet I bought to replace the grungy old ones. They are a perfect fit! I had to then put in the boiler while making sure the group flange bolts can properly fit through the frame.
















The flange bolts were inserted using the double brass locking method (but not very tight). I applied some nickel anti seize compound so the person who services this in the future will have a smaller likelihood of headaches from fuzed bolts. I also put this on the boiler lid bolts (which replaced the old ones). In this process any washers that were rusty were replaced by new stainless steel ones.
























In terms of order for assembling the machine there is no linear path to take outside of putting the boiler on first. I have some various pipes and valves fitting but not fully tightened and am just putting on what is closest reach to me on the bench. Even if I assemble the whole machine I will not be able to test it fully until the new heating element arrives. Perhaps if I am hasty I can wire up the 220V elements and directly plug them into 110V and get a reduced load just to test boiler pressure/fittings.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Fabulous! This photo has so much impact . . . With nothing really to scale it, it could be 6' high! Love seeing your restoration thread


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## mctrials23 (May 8, 2017)

There is something beautiful about these massive, simple lever machines that I love.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I have nothing to say other than the excitement is building as more parts are added. I did a final clean up of the group flanges before placing the groups themselves on the frame. All valves are also installed. The chrome on the groups is in such good condition in my opinion though other bits like the valves and pre-infusion mechanisim show wear. This is not enough to justify rechroming it all.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

*The Switch*

Summary: if you do not need to, do not open the switch up. Only do this if you absolutely know something is wrong with it or needs a very serious cleaning. Springs will fly away from you and cause headaches.

The rotary switch for the machine is housed on the frame via two screws. On the back of the switch there are two more screws, one of which holds the ground terminal. Taking these two long screws off will allow you to disassemble the switch. Be very careful in the whole process as there are a lot of springs that will go flying if you even look at them. 








The grey part is the front of the switch, and is where the locking mechanism for the switch is housed. It is a teethed washer that has two parts sticking out from the center. When the switch is turned one of these two parts will prevent you from turning the switch beyond 45 degrees. There is a green toothed gear that holds the mechanism in place

































The terminals are segmented, in this case there are two blocks. The bottom one has two poles and the top one has one pole. If this were a 4 pole switch the empty half of the top terminal would be filled as well. For each pole there are two connections that are held in place by a spring loaded bar. These springs rest against a green disk with two dents on the circumference. This is when the switch is 'on' and allows the bar to create a connection between the poles.






















The blocks lock together via the poles, and when you are putting them back together it can be very tedious as compressing these springs and inadvertantly releasing them will cause them to go flying, and may take some time to find them with a flashlight. It was not fun doing this and took me an hour to do it properly.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

This is the extant the rebuild will go until the heating element arrives. Then the testing can begin. Everything has gone smoothly so far but I will not be able to confirm any leaks/tightening adjustments untill then. Total time spent assembling was ~6-7 hours, most of it double checking I put it on right/adjustments. The only thing I regret is not being able to figure out to fix up the scuffed Gaggia tag on the front panel. I am also keeping the sticker of the company that the machine was serviced by at some point as it is a piece of the machine's history and I think makes it unique while reminding me of its origins. The groups both have the 8.5 E61 cafelat silicon gaskets and IMS showerscreens. It took a little probing but the portafilters fit perfectly now. One other thing I will definitely need to adjust is the preinfusion mechanism on the left group. It still feels a little sticky even with a new spring and ball, so I will clean that out again probably. Finally it is the question if the mercury pressurestat will not leak. If it does I will need to fashion a gasket while getting a C-spanner to unscrew it.


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

holy... this must be a Gaggia speciality! If you've ever disassembled a Classic switch block, you'll know how complicated simple spring loaded things appear all of a sudden when trying to reassemble 

Great progress mate! I can literally feel your urge to put it all back together. Yesterday!


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## Jollybean (May 19, 2013)

Great job. I am loving seeing your progress


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

Thank you!

I guess I lied and simply could not resist putting the panels on. I'd say among the worst things to do when working on this machine is aligning the panels, being up there with the electrical switch. There is no single hole for a bolt to go through but slots that can really take a while to get the panels to all fit evenly...

It looks complete and is the first time the whole machine is together with the drip tray (YES!) but I am still waiting on that element. In the meanwhile it will sport the boxy 70's look on my bench. This is not a perfect repair, whether it was me scratching some parts or other goofs, but I think it turned out alright.

For wiring I intend to order the 12 AWG cable for the inside and SJEOOW 12-3 wiring for the power cable on McMaster.


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

that's just such a lovely machine  and all the care and attention and effort that went into it so far  stunning!!


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## Deidre (Aug 13, 2019)

You are a very, very talented lad! Well done!


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## Mattius2 (Aug 28, 2016)

Just beautiful. Lovely work!


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I think I'll make this a thing now. For every machine I own I will put my Pavoni Professional, my first machine, on the cup tray (if possible) to show how big these machines can get. What I find pretty funny is with the portafilter a single Gaggia group is the same if not more than the Pavoni in mass!


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Hear, hear!, to all the above comments - it looks absolutely superb and has been a pleasure to see your photos ? well done you ? ? ?


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

The wiring I ordered from McMaster came in tonight (really quick shipping, like less than 48 hours after I ordered ON CHRISTMAS). The colouring I selected internally for the machine is the same as my Bosco (as well as EU standards), yellow/green for ground, blue for neutral, and brown for hot/phase. 








I only setup the wiring from the outlet to the switch, and will wait for the heating element to arrive before doing the internals. The insulation for the power cable is pretty thick, and I used an extremelly sharp carpet knife to take it off so I could access the three cables inside. The NEMA 5-20 plug I bought is very handy as it colour codes each prong (I often forget which is hot and which is neutral) when connecting it to my wires. It was pretty straight forward to assemble; I just needed to check the stripped wires had a good contact then tighten the securing screws on the plug.
































I played around with how I wanted to arrange the terminals I crimped with the rotary switch while being able to fit the plastic sheathing. I specifically want it on so I do not risk the switch becoming damaged from water while the machine is in use, so I will need to adjust it.


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

ah good old wiring hassle... lots of time and efforts go in for no real visible gain  only if in the end everything works as it's supposed to 

good job!


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

It is approaching 15 weeks since I ordered that heating element. I was told 16 weeks was likely when it will be ready so I will see what happens in the coming week!

I ordered and received a standard Sirai p-stat to use for the machine. I did this because there is a chance this machine could be used for a business as a complimentary coffee provider at a relative's business. I am now going to be adding modern safety features like a thermostat as well when I find one I like. I was orignally going to use the La Marzocco 2-pronged thermostat, but it appears to be limited to 16A. Are there any suggestions for a thermostat that can be on 20A or more?








I set up the wiring for the semi-permanent arrangement in the machine. Whenever I select and receive the thermostat I will add that in addition. Literally the only portion missing is the wiring to and from the heating element. Whether I keep the p-stat in its orientation remains to be seen, but it is supported by the old bracket.








It also remains to be seen if I only want a zip tie holding the power cable from tugging at the switch.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

After nearly 17 weeks, the element arrived today! I finished the wiring with that and tightened the bolts on the element. Be careful if you use brass nuts as in my vigor I stripped 2 accidentaly and needed to use some new ones. I would prefer my nut to be stripped over the flange bolt anytime.








It came as advertised, though it says 110V on the element. I cannot confirm right now if it draws the calculated current of 16.67 amps or a higher current right now.








Everything was ready for the first test. I brought some towels and had a drain line + bucket if I got that far. I selected 5/8" ID tubing to fit the drain tub snugly. I turned on the machine after presumably a decade or two of storage, and it heated up without issue! I tightened some pipe fittings as it heated up but nothing leaked from the boiler fittings, groups, or heating elements. In fact the only leaks I had were a loose safety valve as I filled the boiler from there and the manometer 90 degree fitting, both of which can be easily fixed.

























Now to whether the machine is functional, let me just show these two vids and you make the call 






Please do not mind my grunts as I pull the levers down...

The next things to do are fixing the small sputtering on the manometer piping and testing the machine out with coffee!


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

This is what it has all been for.


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## jj-x-ray (Dec 31, 2017)

Have loved every minute of this resto.... Congrats she's a beaut

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk


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## Jollybean (May 19, 2013)

Must be so satisfying to pull that first shot after all your hard work. Great job. Looks a superb restoration.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

I pulled two more shots yesterday with a little more coffee and finer grind, yielding me very paletable results. I was so excited I let it run a little overextracted but it still tasted good!








I have the right panel and cup holder taken off when testing the machine. I do put the cup holder on when I want to pull a shot, and the cups warm up quickly. If I had my normal towels covering them it would take maybe 5 minutes to get that nice, hot temperature. I noticed after the first heatup the boiler changed from a rosy pink to a full copper sheen, probably reacting from the heat. The pipes had this effect a little bit as well. I changed out the safety valve as the old one appeared weak and I want to be safe. The new one is much smaller (I used a 25mm wrench for the old one and a 20mm wrench for the new one) but still uses the odd M19 thread seen on Gaggia machines. Aparantly some La Carimali machines have this thread as well.
























The manometer piping has been fixed up and no leaks are apparant right now. I tightened some boiler bolts but they were still pretty snug even after cooling down completely. At this point the only thing sputtering is the safety valve since the copper washer is normally a one time use part but I am using it until I hook the machine up to a pump. It emits a little steam from the threads very slightly but does not impact machine operation.








The single portafilter was missing a plastic ring towards the base, and as a result it was loose on the handle. I temporarily fixed this by grabbing a used gasket that originally held a Faema steam valve to the machine. It was a perfect fit to keep the portafilter snug!
















The heating element resistance was measured, and I got 7.5Ω on my readings. At 120V I calculated the power to be 1920W. I am pretty ok with this slight difference in power and the machine heats up to pressure in 25 minutes at just under half full in the boiler and reaching operating temperature in about 70-80 minutes, a similar time frame for my Bosco. It also might mean I could squeak by with a 16A thermofuse but I will need to wait for that when it arrives with my Ascaso order. I am ordering the same one Paul Pratt uses for his machines, branded under La Marzocco.

The last thing on my mind is how the p-stat is held. In its current position there are two issues: it will be tedious to alter the pressure setting once the panels are on as the adjusting screw is only accessible when a specific panel is taken off. This may not be bad for me as for my other machines I have never altered their settings once I have it set during initial setup. The other issue is the bracket that originally came with the machine will not fit the thread connector on the p-stat. It is too narrow on the slot. For now I have the whole p-stat resting on the nut of the pipe, but I do not want to keep it like that. I am probably going to fashion or acquire a different bracket to answer this at some point but I do not believe it will damage the pipe over time.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

More testing today! I sealed up the safety valve with some teflon tape and as of now there are no visible leaks. The pressurstat cycles on and off every 2 minutes and 15 seconds on average, which seems a little low in duration. My Bosco cycles every 5 minutes idle for comparison, and the deadband in pressure on the Gaggia is about 0.1 bar. There may be a very small steam leak somewhere so I will need to keep my open.

I cleared a bench off to throw the coffee accessories on when pulling shots. I cycle between groups with the same portafilter to check they behave similarly even with the slightly different 80mm hex spanner height. I have not really noted a difference so far.

















I tried the steam wands today. The left one was full of black crud so I used a pitcher with soap and water to clean it up but the right wand was ready for use. It froths very quickly like my Bosco 4-hole steam wand.
















Some general notes about the Gaggia group. It seems to run hotter than the CMA/Astoria group on the Bosco, though the groups are more directly connected to the boiler with the Gaggia. I reduced the pressure as a result to about .9 bar. I do not need to do warming flushes either with the coffee I am using. It is just walk up and pull. One big difference between the Gaggia group and the CMA/Astoria group is the amount of time I need to leave the portafilter in the group to prevent sneezing. I can take out the portafilter about 2 minutes after the shot finishes while Gaggia takes about double that time. The puck is still a little wet even then, but it has not dampened the quality of the shot at all. 








The machine itself is a heat sink. I would not really want to run this in the summer time at home competing against my AC unit as the large copper boiler and massive groups are quite toasty. Perhaps I could insulate the boiler to mitigate this and also reduce electricity consumption. No serious issues have cropped up and I am almost ready to start using my mineralized water used for my other machines. The tap water here works in a pinch but can scale up the boilers after prolonged use. Pretty giddy and cafeinated right now so I need stop myself for today!


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

Well, it is finally time to use the cabinet for the original reason I ordered it. I switched out the President for the Gaggia LL tonight and did a test heat up. It had been a while since I turned it on so I brought to pressure, drained some water, experimentally pulled a shot without really drinking it, and tightened or sealed any slight steam leaks, mostly from a steam wand I had to adjust. This was also the first time it turned on with the new wiring, as the old wiring was suffering from loose crimps since it was before I bought my current ratcheting crimping tool.

























I also adjusted the piston height a little, so that the bottom could get as close to the shower screen as possible without touching it. This resulted in removing one of the cap nuts. I had to do this as with the 4 v-ring and gasket stack the upper group sticks out higher than the original configuration, and to achieve the low height for the piston the lower nut had to go. It involves some tinkering with the preinfusion mechanism so that it resets after pulling the shot and returning to resting position.

































Outside of the small stuff I am just hoping the gasket stack is still good to go. It is not that difficult to change out but I have none on hand. I also figured out the drain tray actually takes a 3/8" BSP fitting so I just hooked up a SS hose rather than the big tubing.


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## Rincewind (Aug 25, 2020)

Hi Ryan, .....i can't believe i missed this thread (started before i joined) and here i thought i'd searched out everything.....WOW just WOW 😎

Sent from my Dell E6220 using TapaNoTalk​


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

This is as far back as you can go with my threads, as this was my first project! I am not sure if I can ever let go of this one as I was aided along by a friend who passed away this year, OldNuc. Really helpful and nice guy.


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## IamOiman (Nov 13, 2018)

Gaggia is all tuned up now! It needed some adjusting with the piston height but now I can get a full volume shot while still being able to engage the preinfusion mechanism. The offset lever is just so cool I think. Cat tax included.


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