# Introducing Rufus



## carbonkid85 (Jan 19, 2011)

He's definitely a boy. The massive, slightly odd looking machine that the shiny new chrome things won't talk to.

Rufus is a 1999 model Rancilio S24. He is tank fed (plumbing anything in was a conversation I definitely didn't want to have with my partner...) and definitely as big as he looks in this photo.

I have been working on this machine for about a month. There's something I particularly enjoy about taking a neglected, filthy machine and bringing it back to life. The first shot yesterday was very satisfying indeed. Just made my first latte, and WOW MICROFOAM IN 3 SECONDS. That's going to take a bit of getting used to I think...

Apologies for the slightly odd looking pictures. The light is mental in my kitchen and I can't be bothered editing


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Lovely. I really like the functional look of those machines.


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## lookseehear (Jul 16, 2010)

Dude - you got it working! Looks awesome if a little industrial. How big is the boiler?


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## carbonkid85 (Jan 19, 2011)

Oh it's totally utilitarian. Love it.

It has a 3.9 litre boiler. Had some friends round for dinner last night and put Rufus to use. It's great not having to wait between shots and for the machine to come up to temp to steam.

Yes, I think we are going to get along just fine.


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## jimrobo (Aug 5, 2011)

Looks a beast!!!!


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## carbonkid85 (Jan 19, 2011)

Yep. It's deeper than it is wide


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## Monkey_Devil (Jul 11, 2011)

what a beast ! lovely







wish i could have a commercial machine









was the solenoid the problem in the end or something else?


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## carbonkid85 (Jan 19, 2011)

Water inlet valve was blocked. Tiniest hole which was impossible to see. Had it drilled out and everything kicked into life.

It took me a long time to figure out how the case fit back together. I had four attempts getting part way each time before realising I'd missed a step. Spacial awareness definitely not my thing...


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## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

It looks like a face! Knobs are eyes, PF is nose and bottom of drip tray is mouth.

Did you take the boiler apart? Was it easy to do?

Also love the industrial look.


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## carbonkid85 (Jan 19, 2011)

Yeah I split the boiler and I am very glad I did. You can see the pictures here...

It would be a lot easier to do a second time. Once I had stripped the case down to the bare frame, I used box spanners to unbolt the boiler from its top cover. I then had to lift the whole frame up, leaving the boiler on the floor and taking the HX and element with me









I removed the element and gave it a citric bath and took a dremel to the emergency cut out thingy. I didn't have a wrench big enough to get into the HX, so I manually filled it with citric acid and it all came out clean eventually.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Reminds me of cimbali single group machines , good work ! Is it a vibe pump ?


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## carbonkid85 (Jan 19, 2011)

It is yeah. The original wasn't pumping too well and was a bit worn and gummed up inside when I took it apart so I swapped it for a spare I had. At least vibe pumps are cheap to replace!


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

They are indeed, I suspect on Brewtus the vibe replacement will be the first major servicing Ill need to do.

Try and get some footage of Rufus in action!


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