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This thing is going to burn my great beans"I KNOW"

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  • #16
    Re: This thing is going to burn my great beans"I K

    OK today after some mechanical descaling we put the element back in and put a heap of Citric acid in and turned her on. took a fair while to heat up being only 1000 watts, started to drawer off the hot water and have it replaced via the boiler refill......but nothing was happening, no refill. th ecitric acid and the heat made the boiler fill probe inactive. If I de-powered the thing and removed the lead to the boiler refill and repowered it, the boiler refill stareted. De-power again and replace the lead repower and the thing didnt autofill.

    I think whats happening is that the presence of the acid was not allowing enough resistance to open the valve. I flushed the boiler and away she went...magic eh

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    • #17
      Re: This thing is going to burn my great beans"I K

      Ohh Dear...I wish we could go back to day 1 and start again...at least we got a couple of "better then we could have ever hoped for" shots........

      made some fairly nasty discoveries today >..and maybe some good ones :

      I went to the shed that is the temp setting-up home for the Aging Boema gave her a full boiler flush not get rid of any bits that were still showing up in the Hot water, I filled a 20 litre container with flushed water so thought that should do. Then I filled the boiler to safely above the boiler and let the "autofill" finish it, I then applied the power. Auto fill toped up the boiler and the element started it long job at 1000 watts to get her "up to steam", a full 35 minutes. I went and got our Nemox Lux grinder and with about 200 grams of Brown bay espresso WOW left and in hand time to try some more extractions.....

      Ive been reading up on some of the other forums about the "Wet puck blues" gave me some hope or at least made me not worry about it.....but it was leaving the shower screen very dirty



      Dirty eh



      Now...
      I think there is a very good reason for this, I removed the shower screen for cleaning...


      and as you can see there is a broken screw holding the shower head in place ...."alarm bells"....right whats going on here?... >
      that whole thing looks a little small, measuring the diameter of the shower head/screen is 53mm o/d and the filter baskets are 59.5mm (or so)...me thinks thats a tad sloppy so there is like a gap of 3mm all the way around the outside of the filter basket...time to regroup (no pun intended)

      local ex-cafe has a newer 2 group machine still in place so we went to visit it, we found that its filter baskets just fit with maybe 1mm to spare not over 6...this can not be right. the owner was with us and said to take her grinder to better trouble shoot the probs (a boema grinder) which we did. It gives a way more even grind than the Nemox but we could not nail the grind for our beans before we ran out of beans (note to ones self). Ive been doing some looking on coffeeparts and found some interesting things.

      I think our group head is the same as the one that is shown on Coffeeparts for the Aurora http://www.coffeeparts.com/aurora/aurora1.html
      and Brugnetti if its not the same its the same design but may be different on the inside.



      Seeing as our machine could be as much as 35 or so years old there have been many hands laid upon her and some may not have been so kind as to care about such things...I just wonder if there is a solution to this state she is in? We really want to get her going! well get her going better anyway...on that first day after she had lay Idle for all that time she came good with a few GREAT shots....I really can not see how she was able to now!

      just perplexing
      in a bit of a gutter here

      SnoZ

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      • #18
        Re: This thing is going to burn my great beans"I K

        You are really speculating too much IMO. Do you really think the size of the plate/shower screen is responsible for bad shots when you have really done little to no work on a machine you yourself say may be up to 35 years old? I can tell you right now the size of the shower screen on my Carimali Uno is no bigger than 53mm, and it uses full 58mm baskets and pulls fantastic shots.

        I think a full strip down should be done on this machine, and replace ALL seals while youre at it. At least get the group off and give that and all its parts (minus seals etc) a day or twos soak in backflushing detergent and then follow that up by a few days citric acid (the warmer you keep your solution or the more often you change it, the less time you will need however).

        Best of luck with the restoration, Im sure you will find it a very fulfilling and educational experience

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        • #19
          Re: This thing is going to burn my great beans"I K

          As posted Andy it was not a good day I think we were chasing our tails with the grind and missing the "Spot" very bad technique I know. As for not doing little or no work...hmm I think you should talk to my partner about that or her father, who has been helping me for the last week working on it basically full time. I may not have pulled the group off yet but that decision was made under recommendations from Greg at Boema saying there may not be seals available (we would probably be able to make them) But more importantly that "if you have got some good shots and done a heap of back-flushing then do not pull the head off, and look after that 3 way valve we cant supply you with replacement one" I have been looking on CoffeeParts for a non genuine one but untill Pedro gets back on the 7th I cant ask the questions that I need answered before I decide to pull the G/H off the boiler manifold and strip, clean, rebuild. I "think" (more speculation) there maybe a problem with the 3 way valve because today on my 2nd breakfast shot I got a small sneeze from the group as I was removing the handle (reminiscent of the Pavoni lever sneeze). I hope the Marzocco "Parker" 3 way is compatible (http://www.coffeeparts.com/mar/mar1.html).

          The Machine is installed now tho we are still waiting for the element. I needed to get the plumbing done before i go back to work or it will be easter time before I get another chance to get to a task that size .

          As always all advice is welcomed thanks AndyNZ

          Pete

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: This thing is going to burn my great beans"I K

            I wouldnt get too down about possible eventualities snooooze, with commercial machines (even old ones) it is always possible to find parts that are a close replacement should this ever become necessary. Id just go about the resto process in as logical and progressive a manner as possible and should any components require replacement/repair at some point then concentrate on resolving that as each challenge pops its head up.

            When its all said and done, there are a lot of similarities between the vast majority of commercial machines and it should always be possible to work around anything that tries to spoil it for you. After all, in the end it is but a machine and if anyone can help you out, Pedro is definitely that man..... 8-)

            Cheers mate,
            Mal.

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: This thing is going to burn my great beans"I K

              Originally posted by Mal link=1198311311/15#19 date=1199170288

              ......Snip....

              When its all said and done, there are a lot of similarities between the vast majority of commercial machines and it should always be possible to work around anything that tries to spoil it for you. After all, in the end it is but a machine and if anyone can help you out, Pedro is definitely that man..... 8-)

              Cheers mate,
              Mal.
              Thanks Mal

              I just tried a few shots this was the last. First ones were not so good...even after about a litre of water through the Group after the Pressuresat cut off the love juice.
              The Camera wouldnt shoot the first few






              SnoZ

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: This thing is going to burn my great beans"I K

                OK time for an Update here.
                New element Finaly here and installed.
                now have the loaned Boema grinder inuse.
                A few days of "getting used too" adjusting, tuning, and we have more reliable coffee.
                Been using Atillios "Rio Gold" and thats about all gone..about to start on the "Blue Blend" and my better half cant wait to try the "Mocca-Java".
                Greg at Beoma has been a great help he has provided guidance all the way. Very helpfull and Nice guy.
                Partners dad turned us up a Tamper out of "Gidgy" (sp) thats a pretty good fit for the double basket.

                Have to keep an eye out for a doserless grinder now...unless we can tame the Nemox :S

                Pete

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                • #23
                  Re: This thing is going to burn my great beans"I K

                  onya Pete

                  smart old machines never die ....

                  they just train new owners.

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                  • #24
                    Re: This thing is going to burn my great beans"I K

                    Ta slowdown now she has a smart much younger partner and they look great together

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                    • #25
                      Re: This thing is going to burn my great beans"I K

                      Looks good.
                      So too does the view.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: This thing is going to burn my great beans"I K

                        View is ...yes very nice, we are lucky...todays coffee on the other hand...hmm.


                        I have some work to do

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: This thing is going to burn my great beans"I K

                          hi
                          the machine you have is approx 25 -30 years old
                          the timer was available from new
                          the RL40 level control is not the original.
                          it is blue tacked on because it wouldnt fit in the original hole,(some technicians are lazy)

                          as to parts
                          when i need to replace a group solenoid on these early boemas i use the Aurora Base 703533 and a stardard group valve (3way) 700301.
                          this is not a straight forward remove and replace,you will need to fiddle with the adjoining pipe work a bit.
                          doing it this way makes it easier to service later on


                          when you remove the group from the boiler you will find that the bolts are rusted and will break when you try to undo them. you will then need to drill them out.
                          replace the gasket with Astoria Group Flange Gasket 700727 T

                          Replace the element pressure switch with a Sirai 616597. this gives you more control over the temp.

                          replace the element gasket with Brazilia Teflon gasket 400826 T

                          replace the Boiler safety valve with a Astoria 700217

                          fit a Astoria anti vaccuum valve 618968
                          we do these last three changes are needed to all Boema machines

                          the numbers quoted are coffee parts numbers.

                          if you want to replace the timer or need any parts boema cant help with email me and ill check my stock

                          graham

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                          • #28
                            Re: This thing is going to burn my great beans"I K

                            WoW

                            you seem to these machines very well !!

                            Thanks Graham

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                            • #29
                              Re: This thing is going to burn my great beans"I KNOW"

                              I thought Id revive this for an update and poke my head back in even tho Ive been here for the beanbays and all, Ive not been on the forums!
                              back on topic.

                              Well the old dear has been making some truly wonderful coffees! Im about to buy filter basket and tamper from Greg, but the best new is that as of about 3 weeks ago the auto fill just started to work 100% of the time (not just at startup and stop when the machine it hot) Very happy about this. it like it just woke up, dusted off and got to work. I know thats a tad dreamy.

                              I wonder if its just because of the colder weather, I guess time will tell.

                              We so <3 this machine.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: This thing is going to burn my great beans"I KNOW"

                                Loved reading this thread Pete.

                                The old girl(?) appears to be getting better with age. Im curious - with such a large element, do you leave it on all the time or switch on when needed? I imagine it wouldnt be too friendly to the power bill.

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