Faema Due - $100

[greencardigan]

Hi,

I picked up a Faema Due - 2 Group for $100 off ebay recently and am wondering if it's worth repairing and restoring. I'd say it needs a full teardown and clean. It's history is largely unknown but was apparently working when it was retired from a cafe in Sydney.

It's looks quite used on the outside but okish internally?? I haven't had a chance yet to give it some water and power.

A few questions to start with.

1. What would be a reasonable amount to spend restoring it?

2. Is there a trick to removing the green steam/hot water knobs without breaking them?

3. Is it possible to reduce the boiler volume? Silly question?

4. Should it have a plate stating model numbers and power consumption etc?

5. Why is there different controls for each group? Does that suggest there's been a repair?

6. It looks like the plug has been changed to a 15A plug. Does that suggest it's already had one element disconnected to make it usable on a 15A circuit.

7. Does the water level sight glass look broken?

Thanks,
Brad

[greencardigan]

Some more pics

[260zman]

Hi,

I picked up a Faema Due - 2 Group for $100 off ebay recently and am wondering if it's worth repairing and restoring. I'd say it needs a full teardown and clean. It's history is largely unknown but was apparently working when it was retired from a cafe in Sydney.

It's looks quite used on the outside but okish internally?? I haven't had a chance yet to give it some water and power.

A few questions to start with.

1. What would be a reasonable amount to spend restoring it?

2. Is there a trick to removing the green steam/hot water knobs without breaking them?

3. Is it possible to reduce the boiler volume? Silly question?

4. Should it have a plate stating model numbers and power consumption etc?

5. Why is there different controls for each group? Does that suggest there's been a repair?

6. It looks like the plug has been changed to a 15A plug. Does that suggest it's already had one element disconnected to make it usable on a 15A circuit.

7. Does the water level sight glass look broken?

Thanks,
Brad

Hi Brad,

So to quickly run through some of your questions on your Faema (which looks like a real good clean will make the world of difference).
1: This will depend on the level of rebuild, but if the major components are functional (pump,element, autofill etc) I can see the parts cost being up to around $150 ish??? if the pressure gauge is faulty that would mean extra
2: The plastic knobs are hard. it best to unclip the stainless saddles which clip onto the valve and remove the whole front panel with the knobs still attached, then you can use a spanner to remove the green bits.
3: No.
4: Sometimes they do but often no!
5: Yes, one touch panel has been replaced.
6: Remove the left side panel and view the element/wiring, if all wires are attached theres a fair chance that its still going full noise. take care removing the panels. just loosen off the 2 screws on top and the panel will swing out.
7: The glass looks cracked, new ones are available or hit up a friendly NZ faema wrecker for a 2nd handy!

cheers, Justin

[greencardigan]

Hey Justin,

Thanks for the info.

2: The plastic knobs are hard. it best to unclip the stainless saddles which clip onto the valve and remove the whole front panel with the knobs still attached, then you can use a spanner to remove the green bits.

Excellent, I had a few moments this morning and got one side off.

I need to find some plumbing fittings to connect the braided water supply hose (3/8" BSP?) to a gravity fed reservoir.

[mulquemi]

greencardigan,

Welcome along the rocky road of commercial coffee machine refurbishment,I'm up to number six,wonderfully satisfying it is too.
3/8" British Standard Pipe (measures about 16.& bit mm) however 1/2" BSP was also in use in similar situations (about 20mm/ish).
Please remember to use a non return (check valve) to prevent possible damage to your rotary pump(they don't like to run dry).
I use bottled rain water (no calcium etc) and never connect to town water supply.
There's a "sticky" thread somewhere in the posts,real helpful information for just this exercise,I got lots of good guidance from it.
Have fun and watch you don't become slack/ silly and zap yourself in the process.
Cheers,
Mick.

Hey Justin,

Thanks for the info.


Excellent, I had a few moments this morning and got one side off.

I need to find some plumbing fittings to connect the braided water supply hose (3/8" BSP?) to a gravity fed reservoir.

[greencardigan]

Hi Mick,

I haven't been able to find the 'sticky' thread you're referring to.

Do you have your water supply hose inserted into the top of a water container?
I was thinking of attaching the hose to a tap at the bottom of a container and having it gravity fed. I don't think I'll need a non return valve in this case?

[greencardigan]

Is this an element protection probe going into the boiler between the element terminals? The orange wire.


Part of the insulation seems to be missing from this probe wire


Not sure if this will be useful for anyone. It shows what I think is the pinout for the button panels.

[mulquemi]

green cardiganHow to descale a HX machine properly

This is such a thorough explanation,covers so much of what you will need to consider.
There is a requirement to install a check valve ( non return valve) as discovered by another (recent) Rancillio S26 repairer,had a failing rotary pump sending boiling water in the wrong direction (back to the water supply),most unpleasant!
So unless you have water supply from plumbed service (mains pressure),I would never draw water without one fitted and correctly orientated,cheap PVC units from B........'s (in their plumbing section) for about $15.00 (including fittings),Four of my six rebuilt machines continue to use them,work so well ,with no problems.
Two of my HX machines ,draw their water from a 2500 rainwater tank,being fed via a 60 litre first flush header tank,followed by an inline basket filter.......no unexpected debris in my machines.
cheers,
Mick.
The commercial machines I have resurrected are situated at my work's staff room and rather then risk the machine running dry,I have fitted the check valves (non return valves) to the inline water supply hoses.


QUOTE=greencardigan;570687]Hi Mick,

I haven't been able to find the 'sticky' thread you're referring to.

Do you have your water supply hose inserted into the top of a water container?
I was thinking of attaching the hose to a tap at the bottom of a container and having it gravity fed. I don't think I'll need a non return valve in this case?[/QUOTE]

[MorganGT]

Hi Mick,

I haven't been able to find the 'sticky' thread you're referring to.

Do you have your water supply hose inserted into the top of a water container?
I was thinking of attaching the hose to a tap at the bottom of a container and having it gravity fed. I don't think I'll need a non return valve in this case?

I run my machine currently from a tank (was plumbed at the last house, but I need to build a new bar in this house before I can plumb it). It's a translucent plastic 'jerry can' style water bottle from Bunnings, the type that has a thread near the bottom for a plastic tap. I just swapped the plastic tap for a suitable brass fitting to convert from the large female thread in the water bottle to a 3/8" male thread so I could attach the braided hose that runs to the machine. The tank sits next to the machine and is refilled using a 2 litre plastic 'oil can' that also came from Bunnings whenever I see the water level getting low. I don't have a one way valve fitted and it's never been an issue.

[260zman]

Hey Brad,

The orange wire that has a bit of sheath missing- its an overtemp probe which is linked to the button on the left side of the control box. I guess its use is to try and save the element from killing itself if the water level is low. pretty much all of them have some of the orange sheath missing.

[greencardigan]

I connected a gravity fed water container but wasn't getting much flow through the pump with the pump off.


I disconnected the hose on the pump outlet and was getting very limited flow through the pump while it was off. Seems way too low?


At least the control board looks mint. I might try disconnecting the motor/heater plug and confirm that it's operational. Looks like my machine is around 1996 vintage based on the sticker on the main chip. Does anyone know what the DIP switches are for?


I cracked open the jet assembly on the left group. Should I be concerned about this level of scale? It seems the jet hole is essentially blocked.

[greencardigan]

Would an old Faema E91 2 group machine give me some spare parts compatible with a Faema Due?

[mulquemi]

Hello Greencardigan,
You should be fine with the flow image you provided,remember once your rotary pump starts up the boiler will fill quickly.
Despite some not using check valves,I would encourage any user of plumbed or gravity water supplied espresso coffee machines to research the why and justification of having them fitted.As stated previously can be as cheap as $15 (all up) or big $$$$$ is you are so inclined!
Once you've confirmed all the individual parts of your machine are operational,just plug it all on and fire it up.
good luck,
Cheers,
Mick.

[mulquemi]

Would an old Faema E91 2 group machine give me some spare parts compatible with a Faema Due?

Hello Greencardigan,
Yes, should be able to use some components, however, I'm interested in a operational water level controller, should you find you have no need of it yourself ,give me a call, please.
Thanks,
Mick.

[greencardigan]

I managed to get the pump working today. Initially it wasn't pumping at all and could have been seized I guess? After cycling power to the pump a few times using the front buttons it started working. It seems to be pumping OK but seems quite noisy!

The auto fill circuitry also seems to be working as the pump starts a few seconds after startup when the sensor is disconnected.

There seems to be water in my water level sight glass, but I was thinking the boiler was empty so I'll have to investigate that.

What do you think about the pump noise? The 3-way solenoid could be contributing too though I suppose.