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Portafilter and Lever Rod Availability Vintage Boema

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  • Portafilter and Lever Rod Availability Vintage Boema

    Hi all,

    I have run into something rather unexpected here in the United States. I was offered a Boema 2 group lever machine from the late 60's to early 70's for pretty cheap. The Caveat is the machine is missing a few bits and bobs, notably the portafilters and one of the lever rods w/handle that screws onto the lever fork. I sent an email to Boema about this directly, but in tandem I would also like to ask around here if there is a suitable modern portafilter that can fit the group, and perhaps a resource on the missing rod + handle rather than making a replica. I know there are many seals from Astoria/CMA and others that fit the machine otherwise.

    The biggest reason I am interested in this machine in the first place as it's the only one I have personally seen outside of Australia. I just hope it's not like the 3-ear Pavoni pf in terms of unobtanium.
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  • #2
    I got some more pictures today, and I got confirmation it is a Boema 110V machine (?!). I think my offer price just went lower after seeing them

    The boiler lid + heating element is missing, along with one half of the aluminum rings in addition to the other missing pieces. I think at this point I have found a challenge project machine that if I cannot complete now I can hopefully do it later. I will most certaintly try to save it from obscurity though once I have a final price worked out. It's a 3 hour drive to the guy who is in New York City.



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    • #3
      After an 8 hour trip and a nor'easter blowing through the drive the Boema is in my basement. The seller was very nice and he knew of me through some Facebook groups I am part of. We saw some cars that slipped in the storm but we managed to get back without issue. It was mine for $200, and I got a Gaggia Gx for free as well.

      I will state right now this machine will not be touched until I am done with the Mercurio at the minimum, but I want to show the initial state. The exterior is pretty dirty but I think it can be cleaned up. If I powdercoat the panels I will keep the colour as I like that hotrod red. What is immediately apparant is a steam wand is missing, there are no portafilters, and a lever rod is missing. The machine also appears to have no feet so the frame is resting directly on the wood crate below it.




      The rod itself has some damaged and rusted thread, and I would look at getting two reproduction rods made as a result. First I want to see if a modern lever would fit the thread first of the lever fork.

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      • #4
        The boiler is missing its lid but the aluminum ring and the bolts are still present. There are five connections on the lid that I would need to make on the new reproduction lid. They are the p-stat, water inlet, the steam wands, and hot water. The p-stat is an interesting design that is rated for 25A 125-250V, and is made in Japan. It is the only thing that I have potentially found a date for, September 1983.




        The groups are an interesting design. The boiler connection uses some enormous BSP compression fittings, must be at least an 1" in pipe diameter. The groups themselves remind me of a mix of various groups. It has aluminum caps held by three screws. Underneath are the bearings, bearing guides, and lever fork. I also noted that I can take off the upper group through two hex screws, which is nice. It appears the bearing guides are a mismatch as it seems one of them was repaired with a weld at some point.

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        • #5




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          • #6



            This is a cool machine I think as it is pretty obscure in the US and was made by an Australian company rather than the traditional Italian one.

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            • #7
              I had to take a peak inside the groups after hearing cruncy noises when I tried engaging the piston. Turns out the seals failed at some point and rust developed inside! The three allen bolts that hold the upper group came out, but both rear bolts were a little rusty and needed some persuasion to come out.

              What I find interesting is the size of the allen key is not metric but SAE, 7/32 inch. The last pic shows the rear of the upper group, and there is a small theaded bolt welded onto the bottom of the fork for when the group is at rest position. Also note there is a thread at the top of the lower group in the second pic. I am curious what the purpose of that thread is.



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              • #8
                Boema are still operating though I gather different ownership from when your machine was built. Could be worth contacting them.
                Last edited by Javaphile; 12 December 2020, 06:18 PM. Reason: Commercial link removed as per https://coffeesnobs.com.au/forum/news/general-news/31765-site-sales-and-posting-policy-the-rules

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                • #9
                  Sent two emails in 2 weeks, no response from them yet. I'll try a third time if needed.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by IamOiman View Post
                    Sent two emails in 2 weeks, no response from them yet. I'll try a third time if needed.
                    Unfortunately that's been my experience with most vintage lever enquiries including Boema. I just end up buying the parts from other suppliers

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                    • #11
                      I am not too surprised. Biggest thing I would need measurements for is the pf. The lid does not need to be perfect in the old measurements and I have a lever to make new ones with. I tried some Faema pf's, which have 7.2mm fins, but it was very loose. I think if I put some shims in I can fit one in the group.

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                      • #12
                        That is really interesting to know. If Boema switched over to Metric in that year then I have a minimum age for this machine.

                        I say I am not going to touch it but I keep ending up with more pieces off the frame. It's really weird to use SAE on a coffee machine. The only metric fittings I've seen are the compression nuts on the pipes, at 19mm. Everything else is SAE. I took off the lower groups to get a better look at them and to start cleaning them up. It's a weird combination of two hex bolts on the upper two fittings while the lower two fittings are threaded rods. The latter will need heat to take out as they are pretty rusty. The boiler itself is actually connected only to the flange fittings with no other support for it. If I undo the two group flange fittings and the other pipes I can yoink out the boiler.






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                        • #13
                          There is a shutoff valve behind the groups. One was very loose when I tried taking it off then there was no resistance at all. The bolt was either shearing or already sheared off. Fortunately I could take out the remaining bolt as it was connected to another fitting that can be taken off. Not sure if I ever want to shutoff the groups so it's not the worst thing to break. I suspect the scale buildup froze the bolt and resulted in too much force being exerted for the bolt to handle. I simply took out the whole fitting of the shutoff valve on the other group rather than attempt to loosen the bolt.



                          I threw the groups in my sonic cleaner and took out the shower screens. I had to flip the groups so I could soak the entire surface for a total of 2 cycles per group. They need whacking with a wood handle to pop out and the portafilter gaskets were pretty hard. I measured them to be 7mm in height so that explains why even my Faema portafilters did not really lock in. I can go for 8-9mm pf gaskets since they are standard e61 in OD and ID and hopefully adapt a modern pf to the groups. The group cylinders will need to be wire brushed to get the remaining rust off. They also accept an IMS shower screen but I'll see if I can salvage the originals.


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                          • #14
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                            • #15
                              So there was a change in events today. The seller found the missing bits from the guy he got the machine from, and now I see this Boema does have feet, but it is slotted like my missing Mercurio feet. There are probably two other ones missing but this is very interesting to see and I will take measurements of these feet for others to see. The lever is still missing so I will have two reproductions made. The element looks pretty knackered but hopefully it's an M32 x 1.5 like other modern elements. It looks very knackered.

                              I am working out a price as my original negotiations were based off the missing bits and will have them shipped to me this time.


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                              • Dimal
                                Dimal commented
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                                Nice Christmas pressie...
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