# L1 gasket



## SimonB (Sep 12, 2013)

Any ideas where I can cheaply source a gasket to fit an L1 group head?

The only two places I know are Londinium where it only seems to come as a kit for £30 and from an American supplier where shipping makes it cost about £40. Either option seems like a lot when I just 1 piddly little gasket...


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Bella barista do them


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

I think they are just a standard size, though may be wrong. You an get either an 8mm or 8.5mm size, perhaps someone else can explain


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

No they are quite specific to that group


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

The 'bosco' group?


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

jeebsy said:


> The 'bosco' group?


Don't let Reiss hear you saying that It's the group used *by* Bosco - Bosco don't make them.


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## No big name! (Oct 25, 2012)

What kind of gasket is it? I mean is it paper/rubber/composite?


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## SimonB (Sep 12, 2013)

coffeechap said:


> Bella barista do them


Is it the E61 8mm/8.5mm? I couldn't seem to fit those when I tried.


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

No contact Claudette the quickmill has the same group so she should have them


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Might be worth popping Reiss an email, last time I got 3 and a shower screen for much less than £30


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## CamV6 (Feb 7, 2012)

If it help anyone to know I just called BB about one of these. They are out of stock for 2-3 weeks


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## NickR (Jul 1, 2011)

Helps, me. Thankyou for posting.


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## TonyW (Jul 17, 2012)

I got one of these from Happy Donkey and its working fine on my L1 - must be 8.5 thick because the portafilter doesn't want to go all the way to 6 o'clock, but fits OK otherwise.

SKU2997. Astoria CMA Lever Group Seals £3.68**

Maybe worth a try if you can't wait 2-3 weeks.


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## CallumT (Aug 23, 2013)

The official L1 seals are 5.5mm thick and around 3.50 each you can get 6mm thick versions that are cheaper but portafilter doesn't lock in as nice.

One of the problems at the moment I'm finding is in the manufacturing inconsistency of the rolled edge on the IMS showers it's causing me to struggle to keep any group seal / screen secure in the group. I've been meaning to contact IMS as I'm not best pleased


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

When I complained to IMS about the shoddy basket I got from Espresso Services they promised to investigate and never got back to me, so I wouldn't hold your breath


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## espressotechno (Apr 11, 2011)

The CMA seal for their lever group is a "square" one (CMA part no. 12219), dimensions 6 x 66 x 56mm. and readily available in the UK


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## TonyW (Jul 17, 2012)

CallumT said:


> The official L1 seals are 5.5mm thick and around 3.50 each you can get 6mm thick versions that are cheaper but portafilter doesn't lock in as nice.


Ooops. You're 100% right Callum.

I posted 8.5mm from memory, and got that seriously wrong.

The "Astoria CMA Lever Group Seal" I got is actually ~6mm thick, and it doesn't lock as nice as the original. OD ~67mm, ID ~56mm, measured using my old school ruler. 

It's OK as a stop-gap though.


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## CamV6 (Feb 7, 2012)

just spoke to Jordan @ BB who says these are anticipated with the next shipment of machines and parts from QM which appears to have been delayed by about another three weeks


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## sjenner (Nov 8, 2012)

The Systemic Kid said:


> Don't let Reiss hear you saying that It's the group used *by* Bosco - Bosco don't make them.


It's the "Londinium" group!

There are far more of them in the wild than Bosco's, I saw two in Napoli, and I have heard that a shop in the city of London had one.

Reiss did agree to offer the seal in a pack of five a few months back but I note he hasn't put that into the shop yet, so you might drop him a mail.


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## SimonB (Sep 12, 2013)

Finally got the new gasket fitted and not a moment too soon as the old one had split which had water shooting out the side of the portafilter every other shot (which was as fun as it sounds).

It's a pity I had to stump up £30 for it and I never want to remove another shower basket, for whatever reason it felt like it was glued in place and the ridges on the IMS precision baskets are frankly shit but the results are greatly improved, the old gasket was probably due replacing months ago...


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

I honestly found it worst the first time when I didn't really have a good idea how it fitted.

I pry my IMS one off with ease regularly now for a deep clean.

There are some issues with quality on some IMS stuff, if yours is coming away around the bottom and it is still fairly new might have a fault?


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## SimonB (Sep 12, 2013)

aaronb said:


> I honestly found it worst the first time when I didn't really have a good idea how it fitted.
> 
> I pry my IMS one off with ease regularly now for a deep clean.
> 
> There are some issues with quality on some IMS stuff, if yours is coming away around the bottom and it is still fairly new might have a fault?


I don't know why I found it so hard to remove it this time round as it wasn't that long ago I removed it to try some other types of gasket, I've not noticed a problem with the basket in general it's just the ridge is very smooth and much easier to slip compared to the stock L1 basket. Very frustrating for something so simple but I'm really surprised by how much the coffee has improved since it's been fitted (the gasket I mean but not to take anything away from the IMS basket, it was worth it just for how much easier it is to clean).


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