Here she is in all her glory. Ive pulled a few things off and it looks pretty good inside. Theres definitely scale, but the level is pretty low, consistent with running with filtered water. Ive seen far worse. In fact I drained the boiler and the boiler drain absolutely gushed out. This means that the scale build-up is reasonably light. The water from the boiler smelled like wet carpet, but was completely clear. I also drained some water from the heat exchangers and it too was clear and tasted completely neutral... This is a good sign that the machine hasnt been too abused in its past life. The groups are great. They are La Pavonis version of an E61 group, but the shower screen is held in with a screw and is easily removable. The water dispersion block is a two part affair. There is a large amount of empty space in the head of the group. This is very different from the Bezzera group, which has very little empty space. The most unexpected thing about this group is that when I worked the dispersion block loose, the group seal actually came out with one of them, it remained in the other, but was easily dislodeged with fingers. Now I have both group seals out without having to recourse to an icepick/screw driver type brute force and destruction. Ive been on the alert from one of these Pavoni groups for just this reason. Ive heard some stories about major struggles in getting the seal/shower screen out of a standard E61 group, and this was one of the reasons I avoided.
The photo is a collage of images, showing the front twin E61, the rear nickel plated 14l boiler, under the group heads with the gasket and dispersion blocks removed (not too dirty at all, but still in need of a clean) The insert in the red box is the rusted pump. Thats the one item that isnt in working condition. I suspect one of the E61 microswitches is also cactus, but thats minor. The motor does run, but there is a bit of bearing noise. I have another nearly identical motor which Ill probably use in its place, although Im sure itll run as is.
Ive popped the top of one of the E61 groups and its pretty clean inside. Some scale build-up but again rather minor. Im sure that I could get it up and running without a major descale, but it might be worth getting it back to spotless condition before running it. Im still debating this one.
Anyway, Im pretty happy with the machine. The seller has agreed to reimburse me a large portion of the cost for a new pump, so the machine will have cost me $520 plus pump. Restoration costs might not be too high, but the E61 groups are rather expensive groups to refurb. Ill see how it goes.
I cant wait till I pull my first shot on the beast.
On a sad note: The BZ35 has pulled its last shot. Im going to clean it up and sell it off to finance the new machine and some of the refurb. The farewell was about as good as it can get. It was a tight ristretto with a light tamp. The espresso just dripped out with a beautiful red colour... just what I was after.
After about a year and a half, Ive really learned to drive this machine. With care, its shots are as good as anyything out there. Its solid as hell, easy to work on and is built with commercial quality components and it steams like a demon. I think Ive come full circle with the steaming as Im back on the 4-hole tip and happy as hell. Soft silky microfoam every time and only about 8-10 seconds required for a single cups worth....
Oh well, on with the Pav restoration... the lack of coffee will drive me... ;D
Cheers,
Mark

The photo is a collage of images, showing the front twin E61, the rear nickel plated 14l boiler, under the group heads with the gasket and dispersion blocks removed (not too dirty at all, but still in need of a clean) The insert in the red box is the rusted pump. Thats the one item that isnt in working condition. I suspect one of the E61 microswitches is also cactus, but thats minor. The motor does run, but there is a bit of bearing noise. I have another nearly identical motor which Ill probably use in its place, although Im sure itll run as is.
Ive popped the top of one of the E61 groups and its pretty clean inside. Some scale build-up but again rather minor. Im sure that I could get it up and running without a major descale, but it might be worth getting it back to spotless condition before running it. Im still debating this one.
Anyway, Im pretty happy with the machine. The seller has agreed to reimburse me a large portion of the cost for a new pump, so the machine will have cost me $520 plus pump. Restoration costs might not be too high, but the E61 groups are rather expensive groups to refurb. Ill see how it goes.
I cant wait till I pull my first shot on the beast.
On a sad note: The BZ35 has pulled its last shot. Im going to clean it up and sell it off to finance the new machine and some of the refurb. The farewell was about as good as it can get. It was a tight ristretto with a light tamp. The espresso just dripped out with a beautiful red colour... just what I was after.
After about a year and a half, Ive really learned to drive this machine. With care, its shots are as good as anyything out there. Its solid as hell, easy to work on and is built with commercial quality components and it steams like a demon. I think Ive come full circle with the steaming as Im back on the 4-hole tip and happy as hell. Soft silky microfoam every time and only about 8-10 seconds required for a single cups worth....
Oh well, on with the Pav restoration... the lack of coffee will drive me... ;D
Cheers,
Mark



Comment