# Gaggia Classic Lay-up



## StuartS (Jan 2, 2015)

Hi,

Any advice welcome - I need to put my Gaggia Classic into storage and I'm not sure how long it will be unused. I'm thinking it needs to be completely drained, so partial disassembly required?

What is the best way to lay it up for a while?

Thanks


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

You can drain it by laying on its back, open the steam valve and briefly switch on steam and brew, this will eject the water in the boiler.


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## StuartS (Jan 2, 2015)

OK thanks - so tank out, switch on and pump water out through the steam/water wand. Is it worth draining the pump and internal lines too. It might be stored for several months.


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

Might be worth descaling just before draining too so it's ready to go as soon as you unpack.

Store the pf in the water tank too so you #1 don't lose it & #2 don't kill the grouphead seal.


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## StuartS (Jan 2, 2015)

Ended up stripping it down, drying everything out and re-assembling. Should be fine for a while till I decide what to do with it.


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## m4lcs67 (Mar 16, 2014)

For what it's worth I was in the same situation 2 years ago. We moved house and didn't have anywhere to set my coffee gear up. Well last week my wife and I did some DIY in the corner of our kitchen and put a worktop in over the dishwasher and washing machine in order to bring my Gaggia and Grinder out of hibernation. Set the machine up, loaded it with water, flushed the steam wand and set the pump going. Nothing happened. Took the shower screen and shower screen holder out and gave then a good clean. Put it all back together and ran it again. Still absolutely nothing coming out of the portafilter. Hmmm. Well I have some Caviza cleaning powder and a blank basket so I tried backflushing it. Still nothing. At this point I admitted defeat. Luckily there is a Gaggia service centre 20 min drive away, so I took it over. The following day I received a phone call saying it had been fixed. Went to pick it up. Turns out the solenoid was blocked with scale and they also did a full service on the machine. Dismantled the boiler and de scaled it, new seals etc. I live in a good water area, so I find it strange that scale has built up, but i'll be investing in a water filter now just to be sure. I was told that if you are storing it fo a long time purging all the water out can be tricky. Lay it on it's side/back and also purge the steam arm too. This little excercise cost me £85 in having it serviced. Bah. If I had done it properly in the first place I wouldn't have had to shell out. Lesson learned.


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

m4lcs67 said:


> For what it's worth I was in the same situation 2 years ago. We moved house and didn't have anywhere to set my coffee gear up. Well last week my wife and I did some DIY in the corner of our kitchen and put a worktop in over the dishwasher and washing machine in order to bring my Gaggia and Grinder out of hibernation. Set the machine up, loaded it with water, flushed the steam wand and set the pump going. Nothing happened. Took the shower screen and shower screen holder out and gave then a good clean. Put it all back together and ran it again. Still absolutely nothing coming out of the portafilter. Hmmm. Well I have some Caviza cleaning powder and a blank basket so I tried backflushing it. Still nothing. At this point I admitted defeat. Luckily there is a Gaggia service centre 20 min drive away, so I took it over. The following day I received a phone call saying it had been fixed. Went to pick it up. Turns out the solenoid was blocked with scale and they also did a full service on the machine. Dismantled the boiler and de scaled it, new seals etc. I live in a good water area, so I find it strange that scale has built up, but i'll be investing in a water filter now just to be sure. I was told that if you are storing it fo a long time purging all the water out can be tricky. Lay it on it's side/back and also purge the steam arm too. This little excercise cost me £85 in having it serviced. Bah. If I had done it properly in the first place I wouldn't have had to shell out. Lesson learned.


That was the main reason I was suggesting a descale prior to laying up. Any water evaporating inside the machine is going to leave minerals behind to potentially block it.


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## clockity (Mar 26, 2018)

StuartS said:


> OK thanks - so tank out, switch on and pump water out through the steam/water wand. Is it worth draining the pump and internal lines too. It might be stored for several months.


That is good to know, I need to descale mine after it's six month break.


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## xpresso (Jan 16, 2018)

StuartS said:


> Hi,
> 
> Any advice welcome - I need to put my Gaggia Classic into storage and I'm not sure how long it will be unused. I'm thinking it needs to be completely drained, so partial disassembly required?
> 
> ...


Me'thinks Stuart now you are with a new machine and having invested in it I assume you intend keeping it ?.

No matter what you do with a machine that has been in use any lengthy lay up will not be good, unlike a brand new unused machine, it can stop in stock for quite a while and not really suffer but the machine that has been in use and then stored MAY suffer from 'O' rings hardening or sticking to any moveable parts, fibre washers if any can harden.

My advice would be to move it on if practicable and fits with your circumstances and you can also offer to demonstrate it knowing you have very recently had it in use.

My two shekels worth.

Jon.


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## StuartS (Jan 2, 2015)

Yes, I am happy with the Technika and I agree with what you say. I have actually taken out the boiler, steam valve, solenoid and OPV 'o' rings (I only replaced them last year) and just loosely re-assembled everything. It should be fine for a while.

I may use it at work. If not, I'll sell it.


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