# Decalcifying and cleaning a Gaggia Evolution



## gossamer (Oct 26, 2014)

Hi,

A friend of mine gave me their Gaggia Evolution espresso maker. I'm in the US, but it looks like you've got a great forum here, and I hoped someone could help. I've never made espresso before, so not even sure how it works. However, after read a bit of instruction and giving it a try, a little water came out of the group head, and now there's hardly a trickle.

When I first got it, no water came out at all. I found some instructions on priming it using a turkey baster to force water through the reservoir tubes. Now water comes out of the steam wand.

I took the filter out and cleaned it with vinegar until it looked clean, and reassembled everything and tried again. I'm still having a problem with getting water through the group head. I'd imagine the gasket probably needs to be replaced, but I'd like to at least get water through it to make sure it actually works.

I've taken out the two allen screws that hold the shower holding plate off, but I can't get the plate off. Do I use a flat-head screwdriver to pry it off? Is it even necessary to take off? When I removed the two allen screws, they were covered in white powder, assumingly that was calcium deposits.

I'd like to decalcify it by putting some of the decalcifier or vinegar into the reservoir, but I can't get any water to flow through it to even try to do that.

Any ideas greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Dave


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## gaggiamanualservice.com (Dec 22, 2009)

DONT USE VINEGAR, buy some specific liquid descaler, gaggia, saeco, delonghi etc. you need to remove the outlet valve and clean it too. 13mm socket


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## gossamer (Oct 26, 2014)

gaggiamanualservice.com said:


> DONT USE VINEGAR, buy some specific liquid descaler, gaggia, saeco, delonghi etc. you need to remove the outlet valve and clean it too. 13mm socket


I'm curious why you can't use vinegar?

Where is the outlet valve? Do you have a picture, or can you provide a description?


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## gaggiamanualservice.com (Dec 22, 2009)

first its too corrosive but mainly you can never get the taste out of the boiler. remove the shower disc then the holding plate , you see the outlet valve in middle of brewhead


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## gossamer (Oct 26, 2014)

gaggiamanualservice.com said:


> first its too corrosive but mainly you can never get the taste out of the boiler. remove the shower disc then the holding plate , you see the outlet valve in middle of brewhead


I've removed the two allen screws. Do I need to pry the plate off with a screwdriver? In other words, it doesn't appear to come off easily, even though I've removed all the screws.


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

gossamer said:


> I've removed the two allen screws. Do I need to pry the plate off with a screwdriver? In other words, it doesn't appear to come off easily, even though I've removed all the screws.


Yes- and it's not unusual if it hasn't been taken off before. There is a helpful Whole Latte Love clip on YouTube with Kathy showing how to clean the brew group. Although it's for a classic, the general approach is probably the same.


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## gaggiamanualservice.com (Dec 22, 2009)

yes, strong flat head screwdriver


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## gossamer (Oct 26, 2014)

Phil104 said:


> Yes- and it's not unusual if it hasn't been taken off before. There is a helpful Whole Latte Love clip on YouTube with Kathy showing how to clean the brew group. Although it's for a classic, the general approach is probably the same.


Okay, got it apart. After turning it upside down and letting it soak with some of the decalcifier, it came up much more easily.

However, now it's terribly pitted and shows some signs of rust. I'll almost certainly have to order the rubber parts, and possibly the brew group disc thing. Where can I go to order parts? Is Whole Latte Love where everyone goes?


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

I assume the pitted part is the holding plate and, again, that's normal and why some people change them for a brass plate. I'm not sure where you would buy parts from in the USA - there will be someone on the forum that could advise although it might help to start a new thread with the subject heading something like: 'Where to buy Gaggia parts in the US?'. If Whole Latte Love do parts it would be a good place to start to give you an idea about costs -and then have a hunt on Google or ebay.


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## gossamer (Oct 26, 2014)

Phil104 said:


> I assume the pitted part is the holding plate and, again, that's normal and why some people change them for a brass plate. I'm not sure where you would buy parts from in the USA - there will be someone on the forum that could advise although it might help to start a new thread with the subject heading something like: 'Where to buy Gaggia parts in the US?'. If Whole Latte Love do parts it would be a good place to start to give you an idea about costs -and then have a hunt on Google or ebay.


I've found a place in the US that looks like it has what I need, but the parts are crazy expensive!

Would old rubber seals cause a slow water output from the group head, or could that be something else? I just want to make sure before I put a lot of money into it that there isn't something else wrong.

I also read that RO Filtered water doesn't get rid of scale. Is that correct? I was planning on using reverse-osmosis filtered water, because I have a filter here, and hopefully prolong or avoid having to use a descaler so frequently. Is that not the case?


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

There will be someone in here with greater technical knowledge about your machine than me but I wouldn't have thought slow water output would be to do with the seals. If you were getting leaks that would be more like seals. A lot of people on the forum use bottled water with a ph of 7 (volvic) or around 7 ( cheaper supermarket alternatives) and once you have decalcified and use bottled water that prevents scale. If you search the forum for filtered water you will (or should)get an authorative answer to your plan to use filtered water - if not post it as a specific question. Sorry to hear that parts are very expensive - have you looked on UK sites for a price comparison.


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## gossamer (Oct 26, 2014)

Phil104 said:


> There will be someone in here with greater technical knowledge about your machine than me but I wouldn't have thought slow water output would be to do with the seals. If you were getting leaks that would be more like seals.


It does indeed also leak. I was thinking the pressure that would normally go towards producing a faster flow is instead being lost through the leaky seals. Does this sound correct? I'm not even sure if this is worth investing any money towards fixing.



> A lot of people on the forum use bottled water with a ph of 7 (volvic) or around 7 ( cheaper supermarket alternatives) and once you have decalcified and use bottled water that prevents scale. If you search the forum for filtered water you will (or should)get an authorative answer to your plan to use filtered water - if not post it as a specific question. Sorry to hear that parts are very expensive - have you looked on UK sites for a price comparison.


It would be great to hear people's comments on whether filtered water is sufficient...


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

gossamer said:


> It does indeed also leak. I was thinking the pressure that would normally go towards producing a faster flow is instead being lost through the leaky seals. Does this sound correct? I'm not even sure if this is worth investing any money towards fixing.


So, yes does sound like the seals need replacing. It would be worth sending a message to Mark, who posted earlier from gaggiamanualservices to ask him about the implications for fixing it. He was a great help to me when the solenoid went on my gaggia classic.


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## gossamer (Oct 26, 2014)

Phil104 said:


> So, yes does sound like the seals need replacing. It would be worth sending a message to Mark, who posted earlier from gaggiamanualservices to ask him about the implications for fixing it. He was a great help to me when the solenoid went on my gaggia classic.


Thanks so much for taking the time to help. I'll pursue it with him.


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