ECM Giotto Premium not working - restoration attempt

[vovo]

Hi all,

I have managed to pick up a second hand ECM Giotto Premium for not very much.

I have derived a lot of knowledge and enjoyment from this forum and others journey's restoring these wonderful machines. I hope to add this one to those success stories with your help.

So when I got it, I plugged it in, turned it on and the power light came on. When engaging the lever, the pump kicked in and water came through the grouphead. No heating, steam or hot water and the gauge was permanently stuck at 0.5bar. I figured at this point it was not going to be an easy fix so I parked it whilst I read as much as I could on this machine including the above mentioned restoration threads. Most of these were pointing to the controller, which I found, with disappointment, upon looking it up was the most expensive part to replace. However, I found a thread where a member of this forum had repaired the control board through information on Home Barista, so I have started a thread there for help with the controller diagnosis which can be found here at http://www.home-barista.com

A few days a go I decided to start the strip down, for a heat exchanger, it is not in terrible condition but definitely needs a clean and some TLC to get it looking good again. Here are some photos.

Not me in the reflection, notice gauge at 0.5bar


Internal


Boiler removed


Mushroom


Boiler internal


HX internal, this was hard to get a decent photo of.


Thanks for having a read, any tips or pointers you can pass on?

[storm]

Looking good

[dumiya]

Regarding the pressure meter. I think that either the pipe is blocked with scale or the actual guage is. I have replaced several of these. I would suggest a new updated controller and updated wiring. This is sort of the heart of the unit! I have replaced my controller and I am very happy with it. I am guessing that the ECM is similar to the Rocket premium in wiring.

[TC]

You will find this one to be a true "renovator's opportunity"

The pics provided so far indicate that you will need plenty of parts to get this one right.

FWIW, I'd be taking this back to the chassis and getting rid of the corrosion and having the powdercoat done again before commencing one like this.

[wattgn]

A 'renovator's delight', I like that one.

It makes you wonder how it got this bad and just how cruel the previous owner was. He probably beat his pet dog and pissed in the goldfish bowl as well. Lowlife.

PS. Hope he isn't your brother-in-law or something...

[TC]

A 'renovator's delight', I like that one.

Yes: New weatherboards, windows, stumps, floors, plaster, roof, wiring, water, electricity and gas. New bathroom, laundry and kitchen, paint and it needs an extension. Great old house though!

[vovo]

Thanks for popping in and helping out

FWIW, I'd be taking this back to the chassis and getting rid of the corrosion and having the powdercoat done again before commencing one like this.

Thats a fair idea, I was going to just touch it up where it is bad, but I will get a powder coat quote in the morning, something tells me it will be dear. Otherwise, I might brush it and use a spray on metal primer/paint system. It will definitely look nicer for it.

I am in the process of putting together a list of parts to grab, most seem acceptable so far, so it is mainly gaskets and o-rings. Speaking of which, does anyone know what the gasket is on the water level probe? Seems a fibre gasket of some sort, I thought it might have been copper, but i broke it trying to lever it up.

[wattgn]

Thanks for popping in and helping out



Thats a fair idea, I was going to just touch it up where it is bad, but I will get a powder coat quote in the morning, something tells me it will be dear. Otherwise, I might brush it and use a spray on metal primer/paint system. It will definitely look nicer for it.

I am in the process of putting together a list of parts to grab, most seem acceptable so far, so it is mainly gaskets and o-rings. Speaking of which, does anyone know what the gasket is on the water level probe? Seems a fibre gasket of some sort, I thought it might have been copper, but i broke it trying to lever it up.

You're in for a big job but you will learn a lot. Gaskets and o-rings are cheap enough and all the parts should be easy to get. I presume you have a schematic and parts list. If not just google it or ask one of the sponsors.

[vovo]

A 'renovator's delight', I like that one.

It makes you wonder how it got this bad and just how cruel the previous owner was. He probably beat his pet dog and pissed in the goldfish bowl as well. Lowlife.

PS. Hope he isn't your brother-in-law or something...

Haha, no one I know, the bloke I bought it off seemed like a good bloke, reckons he picked it up as a project and ran out of time. Benefit of the doubt I guess. He did say that it did work whilst he had it though.

[wattgn]

Haha, no one I know, the bloke I bought it off seemed like a good bloke, reckons he picked it up as a project and ran out of time. Benefit of the doubt I guess. He did say that it did work whilst he had it though.

Should make a complaint to the RSPCEM...

[artman]

I successfully got a gauge going by hooking up a hose to the gauge, raising it to give a metre or so of head and filling with descaling fluid to do its thing for a couple of days.

Cheers

[vovo]

Regarding the pressure meter. I think that either the pipe is blocked with scale or the actual guage is. I have replaced several of these. I would suggest a new updated controller and updated wiring. This is sort of the heart of the unit! I have replaced my controller and I am very happy with it. I am guessing that the ECM is similar to the Rocket premium in wiring.

I successfully got a gauge going by hooking up a hose to the gauge, raising it to give a metre or so of head and filling with descaling fluid to do its thing for a couple of days.

I got a 60ml syringe with a blunt fitting which I fired descaler into the gauge line and along with some thin copper wire managed to get the scale out and the gauge appears to be working again.

You're in for a big job but you will learn a lot. Gaskets and o-rings are cheap enough and all the parts should be easy to get. I presume you have a schematic and parts list. If not just google it or ask one of the sponsors.

Most fittings appear to be in good condition, but without applying pressure it is hard to know for sure. I will be ordering a few 1/4" copper and Teflon gaskets.

I am still not sure what gasket is required for the water probe (no diagrams list it specifically if at all), if I don't figure it out I'll just try a teflon gasket and see how that goes, it'll increase the water level in the boiler slightly, but I doubt it'll be enough to make a difference.

[vovo]

I opened up the gear on the front and it looks like it hasn't been back flushed in a while.

here is the hot water valve (the steam valve looked better but had heaps of thread tape, so perhaps there is a leak)


Top chamber


under shower screen


Drain Valve seat


Drain Chamber


Cam Shaft housing


Cam shaft


I have started cleaning it up and descaling most of the parts. I'll pop some photos up when I get a chance.

Cheers

[vovo]

While I have the machine in bits, I figured I should consider insulating the boiler. Has anyone done this on their machine and is there a recommended product for the insulation?

Cheers

[Dimal]

Plenty of discussion to be found here...
http://coffeesnobs.com.au/brewing-eq...dampening.html

Mal.