# Classic gold



## ttwlr (May 6, 2015)

Hi

just bought a classic gaggia gold edition, I've never used a gaggia before and have only read good things about them, I didn't know they made a gold plated one until I see this one online.

im picking it up Wednesday, it's a 90 mile round trip, but it's worth it as only paying £75 for it, looks very clean from the photos, been trying to find information on the good version, but found nothing, did they cost a lot more and is £75 a good price if all works ok.

any information appreciated


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## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

hard to say if it's a good price without seeing it or knowing its background. But even one in a fairly poor state, as long as its working would get just shy of £100 I would have thought. The gold ones are fairly rare, no idea whether they are worth more though


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## ttwlr (May 6, 2015)

strange there's not much info on that model, thought there would be on gaggia site


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## Macca (Aug 29, 2016)

Like my charming, 19yr old cousin says "Pics, or it ain't true"


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## ttwlr (May 6, 2015)

Macca said:


> Like my charming, 19yr old cousin says "Pics, or it ain't true"


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## marcuswar (Aug 19, 2013)

As far as I know they were just a special edition and aren't any different internally. Unless you like your bling then I wouldn't say they are worth more than the standard model. One possible disadvantage is the fact mine (and I assume all) came with a square handled portafilter that has the two spouts (nipples) moulded directly into it rather than being one central exit with a screw on double spout attached. This means you can't take the spout off and attach a pressure gauge to do the OPV mod so you need access to another (screw on type) portafilter to do this.

£75 for a working Gaggia Classic is a good price in my book


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## ttwlr (May 6, 2015)

Picked it up looks ok, but I'm sure there's a bit of pipe missing in the water tank, I'll post pix

been stripping it down and cleaning up as sat for ages,


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## ttwlr (May 6, 2015)

Inside looks ok, but never owning one I don't no if it's all good.

Once cleaned up I'll run water through it,


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

Nothing missing there... some have two pipes, other have one pipe and that small black nipple bit that you can just about see.

If you take the lid off, you'll see the two pipes heading towards the tank. (Ah, you've posted a pic now - so one 'clear' pipe and one black pipe from the OPV (to the black nipple).

Looks like it needs a good external clean at the very least!


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## ttwlr (May 6, 2015)

State of that, soaking it in hot water help most of it, then sort brushed the rest off and all removed, nice and clean again, wasn't sure how the rubber ring comes off so didn't try, cleaned around it.

Soon as it's all back together and cleaned it I'll post a pic


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## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

puly caff is great, get some and soak it in that, you'll massively notice a difference. Replace the rubber gasket, there are numerous ways to get it off, nearly all involve damage, but I'm sure it will need replacing.


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## ttwlr (May 6, 2015)

Test it out I notice water spray from portafiller, on inspection I noticed the round rubber that sits in the bottom with a washer on the back has a split, see pic, can I get new one or can it be used with out it


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## ttwlr (May 6, 2015)

Made my 1st coffee, didn't get no creama at all, it's this because I didnt have the rubber thing in picture above in the portafilter? Talk of that, what's it called I can't see it on the spares list


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

1 buy a silicon cafelat gasket for the grouphead - and watch some of the many vids on youtube





 this will rule out any leaks past the portafilter basket

2 the rubber thing in the pic is part of the Gaggia fake crema basket device - cast it into the fires of mordor and buy a normal 14g basket preferably one from VST

3 What grinder are you using?

4 The gold edition is great, I got my daughter one (by accident) for her birthday - its a cross between Mr T and Burt Reynolds - they are also often slightly more powerfull than the standard ones at 1425 Watts not the usual 1300.

5 You will probably need to replace the two thermostats - cheap easy fix £4 each and 5 mins to fit

Hope this helps - cheers Jim


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## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

The rubber bit is part of a pressurised basket, its designed to take preground coffee and slow down the flow enough to extract enough coffee to not taste of pure water. By forcing it through the hole it also acts as what some companies call a 'crema enhancer'. It creates a fake crema essentially.

If you are using preground or haven't got a grinder that will grind fine enough then you would need it. The coffee through pressurised filters is notoriously unpleasant for several reasons.

What baskets do you have with it? That rubber bit should come with one that has a cluster of holes in the middle. An unpressurised one will almost completely be full of holes in the bottom.

Using the unpressurised basket (without the rubber bit) is what you need to do. You will need a fine enough grind that the coffee effectively 'trickles' out. You are aiming roughly for 2oz in around 27 seconds as a starting point.

Once we've sorted the baskets/filters out then you can start looking on the forum for guidelines on grinding, dosing, tamping etc.


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## ttwlr (May 6, 2015)

Hi Jim

thank for the info, I'll get the gasket and do that, I'm only using a grinder I got in Tesco, it's not bad and it don't get hot, and grinds it fine, can I post video on here ? I'll take a short vid of water coming out and you could tell me if this look normal


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## ttwlr (May 6, 2015)

Hi seeq,

heres what I got with it






im out of beans so been using Costa ready done coffee


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## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

top left is a single (for about 7g) top right is double (14g)/ The two at the bottom are a bit dark, left looks like a pressurised filter, right just looks really dirty (but I think its a double again).

Do you have a grinder? If not, do you have a budget for one?

The costa coffee wont get you anything half decent. You will need to use the pressurised one, but with a split in the rubber it wont help at all and you will be massively under extracting. At the very least, look in the beans section of this forum and try some proper coffee roasters. For now you can get most in preground. It will be better than the costa stuff, but a grinder is going to have to be your priority.


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## ttwlr (May 6, 2015)

I have a grinder, and will get some beans tomorrow, the rubber at the bottom of the portafilter, I've look online but don't mention them, not even in parts list, someone said chuck it as not needed,

also was told to use oust to clean it through, I was getting some puly caff but if oust works I'll use that.

I'll get better pic of the dirty baskets


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## ttwlr (May 6, 2015)




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## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

Oust is a descaler (I think) where as puly caff is a cleaner, and an excellent one for coffee.

You probably wont find that rubber bit easily as I think they changed the pressurised basket system a while back. You wont need it when we get you grinding decent coffee!

What grinder have you got? Also on your must have list is a tamper and some scales. Get some cheap Jewellery scales off ebay for around £5, as long as they measure in increments of at least 0.1g


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## ttwlr (May 6, 2015)

My grinder has no name on it, but seems ok, I see a gaggia bur grinder last week on a site for £12

but read there not good, mine is a steel blade


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## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

You will definitely need to upgrade the grinder if you are looking for decent coffee. Have a think about it, look on the for sale forum on here and see the kind of prices grinders are going for.


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## ttwlr (May 6, 2015)

What's a good grinder that don't cost the earth


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## Dorian (Sep 5, 2016)

That is a Gaggia Classic Coffee just like mine... but apparently in gold colour. As far as I know it was a special edition for UK and German market. Frother is different from the Classic, it is 1 whole piece... had to saw it in order to get the nut for the Silvia s swap. I didn t know about the difference in wattage, tomorrow I ll take a look at mine


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## ttwlr (May 6, 2015)

Ordered some puly Caff and new rubber, someone mentioned getting new thermostats, how do I know if I need them or if mine are ok ?


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## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

ttwlr said:


> Ordered some puly Caff and new rubber, someone mentioned getting new thermostats, how do I know if I need them or if mine are ok ?


If it doesn't steam then you need a new steam thermostat and if it doesn't heat up at all you need a new boiler one.


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Re testing the thermostats - read this link particularly section 3b - the Styrofoam cup test - its about measuring the temperature of water from the two different thermostats, with time they loose accuracy causing either poor steaming or poor extraction at the wrong temperature, I needed to replace both on a Gold classic I got my daughter - when I tested them they were way out.

http://www.coffeecrew.com/learning/255-gaggia-classic-step-by-step

Re a grinder - blade grinders don't provide a consistent particle size - your best bet is to purchase a second hand commercial grinder of ebay that uses flat burrs - its often said that you should spend as much on the grinder as you do on the machine - some believe more - its down to consistent particle size and adjustment of the grinder to get good and consistent extraction times, typically 15g of coffee in the basket and 30g of wet coffee in the cup in 25-45 seconds.

buying a decent grinder will be the greatest improvement you will make in the taste and quality of your coffee.


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

jimbojohn55 said:


> Re testing the thermostats - read this link particularly section 3b - the Styrofoam cup test - its about measuring the temperature of water from the two different thermostats, with time they loose accuracy causing either poor steaming or poor extraction at the wrong temperature, I needed to replace both on a Gold classic I got my daughter - when I tested them they were way out.
> 
> http://www.coffeecrew.com/learning/255-gaggia-classic-step-by-step
> 
> ...


Thanks for the link. Makes interesting reading.


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## gaggiamanualservice.com (Dec 22, 2009)

Seal will likely be hard. To remove you can screw a screw into it to prize it out. The gold was a limited edition 24 ct plated. They are prone to rusting however.


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## ttwlr (May 6, 2015)

Thanks guys for all the info, I just replaced rubber, portafilter handle lot tighter now and stops in the middle now as to 5 o'clock position, ordered a new wand (rancilio) still waiting on the cleaner,

been looking at grinders on eBay, like the SJ so far.

also and have a video of how the water should look coming out of the machine with out the portafilter on, just want to make sure mines all good.

milk art is hard work with the standard wand, hope my new Silvia one helps,


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## Macca (Aug 29, 2016)

ttwlr said:


> milk art is hard work with the standard wand, hope my new Silvia one helps,


My Gaggia has been looking for a user upgrade since it's had it's steam wand mod 2yrs ago. The milk art out of it is still a shower of s*** and I swear it grumbles at me every time I flick the steam switch on.

However, I like to think that I have mastered what I like to call "The Globe" and also "The Abstract". The Globe is a large round mass, capable of sustaining life and The Abstract is latte art that Picasso would be proud of.

Maybe if I grew a hipster beard and dressed like a well groomed lumberjack I'd have more luck...


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## ttwlr (May 6, 2015)

Ha ha like the way you describe your art work, mine is aero art, lots of bubbles, a mug of froth, not even close to getting it, as I pore it just stays white , done 4 pints of milk today,


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## ttwlr (May 6, 2015)

Put my new rancilio wand on, and gone from getting to much froth to getting none lol

guess there's a knack to using them.


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