inspired by my possibly unnecessary pump replacement (maybe it was a simple pressure lock that opening the steam valve could have remedied, but too late, i'm not putting the "spare" back in), and having noted the crack in the group head rim, i bravely invested in a new part, and some gaskets, and ultimately even some silicone grease, and set to it
there was instruction with photos on the interweb for what appeared to be a very similar model, but of course, being an italian design, that didn't mean it was the same - i should have realised what i was in for when i read "Use the 15mm/17mm (it varies) spanner to undo the split nut holding in the shaft, then remove the nut."
still, i learned to build and then overclock computers almost 2 decades ago, and they aren't reliably the same between generations or even brands of motherboard, so what could possibly go wrong ?
armed with some trusty tools, i was off on an adventure
off with the top, and a look at the top of the boiler - what a work of art (and by art i mean akin to abstract modernism with wires) 😧

the group head had previously been replaced (due to the same damage from poor design leaving it vulnerable to shearing the lip if the portafilter is tightened too far), and conveniently, the connections had been marked for reattachment
this was the (recurrent) injury to the group head :

and thankfully, for the current replacement, lelit appear to have recognised their engineering mistake and substituted a new design that omits the rebate on the side, making the edge a continuous ring of metal with the rebate confined to the inner part, as shown below on the left, versus the old part on the right

sadly they don't appear to be ashamed enough to offer a recall on the defective design part 🤨 , even though they have eventually remedied a recurrent weakness
presumably my ability to repeat the prior damage will be lessened; that and changing the group gasket when i notice a leak, rather than attempting to push the handle anticlockwise without any regard for potential catastrophe
still, if they had made it more robust i would never have had the impetus to become an espresso mechanic-in-training, so there's that... 🤔
so, a question for those who have deconstructed a boiler - how to clean the inside effectively while i have the chance, noting i am leaving the coil in situ, because i have already detached enough pieces for the replacement grouphead to be fitted, but i am still obsessive enough to wish to make the older part of the boiler more akin to new
it's pretty grubby, and it may have been that way for a very long time, but still, i'd rather it was less "distressed":

so, let's have some suggestions that don't involve too much effort for return on investment, nor exotic chemicals or equipment
only one more day in the weekend, and these bits still need to be returned to their original home

anyway, thanks for joining me on my journey of discovery; it was less traumatic than i presumed, and i feel i am now capable of undertaking any other repairs
and more importantly, to service the machine a bit more diligently ☕
there was instruction with photos on the interweb for what appeared to be a very similar model, but of course, being an italian design, that didn't mean it was the same - i should have realised what i was in for when i read "Use the 15mm/17mm (it varies) spanner to undo the split nut holding in the shaft, then remove the nut."
still, i learned to build and then overclock computers almost 2 decades ago, and they aren't reliably the same between generations or even brands of motherboard, so what could possibly go wrong ?
armed with some trusty tools, i was off on an adventure
off with the top, and a look at the top of the boiler - what a work of art (and by art i mean akin to abstract modernism with wires) 😧
the group head had previously been replaced (due to the same damage from poor design leaving it vulnerable to shearing the lip if the portafilter is tightened too far), and conveniently, the connections had been marked for reattachment
this was the (recurrent) injury to the group head :
and thankfully, for the current replacement, lelit appear to have recognised their engineering mistake and substituted a new design that omits the rebate on the side, making the edge a continuous ring of metal with the rebate confined to the inner part, as shown below on the left, versus the old part on the right
sadly they don't appear to be ashamed enough to offer a recall on the defective design part 🤨 , even though they have eventually remedied a recurrent weakness
presumably my ability to repeat the prior damage will be lessened; that and changing the group gasket when i notice a leak, rather than attempting to push the handle anticlockwise without any regard for potential catastrophe
still, if they had made it more robust i would never have had the impetus to become an espresso mechanic-in-training, so there's that... 🤔
so, a question for those who have deconstructed a boiler - how to clean the inside effectively while i have the chance, noting i am leaving the coil in situ, because i have already detached enough pieces for the replacement grouphead to be fitted, but i am still obsessive enough to wish to make the older part of the boiler more akin to new
it's pretty grubby, and it may have been that way for a very long time, but still, i'd rather it was less "distressed":
so, let's have some suggestions that don't involve too much effort for return on investment, nor exotic chemicals or equipment
only one more day in the weekend, and these bits still need to be returned to their original home
anyway, thanks for joining me on my journey of discovery; it was less traumatic than i presumed, and i feel i am now capable of undertaking any other repairs
and more importantly, to service the machine a bit more diligently ☕


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