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Dual Pressure Gauge Repair

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  • Dual Pressure Gauge Repair

    My Grimac 2-group came with dual pressure gauge, but only the boiler pressure side was working. The water wasn't. I tried to jury rig repair it, but in the end bought a replacement really meant for Rancilio.

    Click image for larger version

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ID:	913272 The oval face Rancilio, left, and the old, broken down original on the right

    The Rancilio one has been happily working for 15 years. But I never liked it. The face is oval instead of round. Every few years I pull out the old broken original from the closet (I never chuck out anything) but when I pull off the cover and look at the internals, I see it's beyond repair.

    Last night I took it out again in vain hope. Inside it looks like an old fashioned wind up clock, with hairsprings, cogs, gears, and bimetals. But whereas a good clock has jewels in which gear shafts rotate, this has plain ole' brass holes, which have worn. And the key part, a link from the bimetal to the whole apparatus, was broken and I had made a piece from the wire of a twist tie.

    What's worse, one of the gears was almost entirely stripped. Yep, the whole mess is beyond repair. Try getting parts!!

    After some dismantling and reassembly, I gave up.

    Bust I did notice that when I simulated pressure by moving the bimetal coil, everything somehow seemed to work.

    So this morning I removed the Rancilio pressure gauge and re-installed this old piece of original rubbish.

    Well blow me down! It works. A nice, round gauge, the way it should be. For how long, I don't know, but I'm enjoying it while I can.

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