With emery that fine you would have to use a LOT of elbow grease to remove enough metal to get past the pitting.
For this job P80 will be coarse enough for fairly fast sanding to get past the pitting, and P180 will give a smooth enough surface for the gasket to seal against.
I have never used filtered water in any of my machines, but I descale regularly. and will strip, clean and rebuild when necessary.
As for "food safe" - it certainly doesn't bother me, but you will have to make up your own mind about that.
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Trying to clean an old gaggia
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So the boiler is food safe in this condition, if fed only filtered water? Otherwise will use the machine for parts.
I will try with some emery paper, assume medium would be about 600, coarse 400?
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Get a sheet or two each of fine medium and coarse emery paper, and sand the bottom until it is smooth and flat where it contacts the gasket.
I find the best way is to pin or clamp the sheets to a flat smooth surface such as plywood or masonite then rub the bottom of the boiler against the emery to sand it off. To keep the new surface square, you can use a figure 8 motion, or just push it to and fro, rotating the boiler 90° every "X" number of strokes. It's not critical, but you don't want to end up with a nice smooth flat surface that's way off parallel with the original.
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You can’t use them like that as you won’t get a seal. The one on the left looks slightly better and could possibly be used, but you’ll need to grind the face down so that it’s flat. Are they food safe? Who knows really. As safe as Alu ever is I guess.Originally posted by iampivot View PostThis is what the two boilers look like now, with a bit of help of the Dremel. Are they really food safe in this condition, or are new boilers required?
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Another link that might be helpful. No videos just pictures and instructions. Gaggia Classic Disassembly and Cleaning | [protofusion]
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Originally posted by CafeLotta View PostMight be worth a look. 34min long and these guys usually have something useful to say.
How To Clean and Rebuild a Gaggia Aluminum Boiler - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9i-EH7qXOc
Agreed. That's why I posted the same link in the first reply to the OP
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Dremel tool is the go to solution when the GAGGIA aluminium boiler is scaled up that badly.
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I prefer cold water. Some calcium compounds are less soluble in hot water than cold..
Heat will however accelerate other reactions you don't want such as the dezincification of brass.
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Ok, thx. Isn't it faster to use hot water as well, or is that too much for the aluminium? I usually use hot water when I do a copper boiler.
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I buy it in 25 kg sacks from a chemical supply company* but it will be easier for you to go to your local home brew shop. One near me charges $12.50 per kg.Originally posted by iampivot View Post500g? Where do you get those quantities?
* Citric is the standard rinse agent used in wineries after cleaning stainless tanks and equipment with caustic, it reforms the oxide layer and prevents sulphide carryover. I'm a bit fanatical about cleaning so I use a lot of citric.
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I think I'd pay the $89 + postage and replace the boiler - https://www.jetblackespresso.com.au/...lassic-boiler/
Aluminium isn't the greatest thing to use for preparing consumables (food or drink) at the best of times but using one in that state, even after a clean-up........
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500g? Where do you get those quantities?
So the black aluminium staining is not a concern, food safety wise?
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With that level of scale the citrate will saturate quite quickly so you need to change it frequently. The warning of not to use acetic acid on aluminium is because it will etch the surface causing permanent staining, you are long past caring about that.
I'd make up a decent sized batch of DIYscale (tm) : dissolve 500 g of citric acid in 10 litres cold water, add 2 litres cheap supermarket vinegar. Place part in bucket, add as much solution as required to cover. After a couple of hours, brush vigorously then tip out solution and replace. Repeat until solution is exhausted or part clean.
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