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Hi all,
I'm putting my La Cimbali Junior S1 (circa 1996) up for sale. It is the more desirable tank version with manual fill. So no expensive brainbox and very simple internal. Usually you will find the doser(D1) version that requires plumb in, with a lot more complicated internal and plastic doser prone to cracking. I've likened this Cimbali to the pump version of Cremina (worked on one before) - tough build quality, simple to work on and works a treat! Not much to go wrong when the time comes, it's easy.
So it started as my coffee project during the Christmas/New Year holiday. When I got it, it was in functional condition. There's some sign of age, but not too abused overall. All I did was to give it a refresh(sounds simple but god knows how much effort went into that) and makes it better (in my mind anyway). All components were stripped and refreshed. Parts which makes sense to change, I've changed all of them even though they're still working, to save you trouble down the road. Some upgrades I reckon that is nice to have as well.
Some of the highlight of La Cimbali S1:
- The famous La Cimbali grouphead - weighs a ton (more than E61)! Very temp stable once it's up to temp. You can read about it.
- Manual fill with sight glass
- Plumb-able drip tray
- 2.25 L boiler - perfect size for home use
- Huge cup warmer tray - stores all your espresso gadget up there
- Swivel Steam Wand & Hot Water Wand
- Sirai Pressurestat
The works that have been done:
*Complete tear down & check
*All gaskets were changed (many of them are still flexible which I kept as spare)
*Solenoids/valves were cleaned and descaled whereever neccessary
*Replaced the Ulka Pump and rubber mounting, as well as a new stainless steel hose for pump outlet
*Rust removed from frame and repainted with RustOleum (painted white so any imperfectness is easily seen and rescued for the future)
*Boiler, Hx, elements, grouphead were cleaned and descaled (not too much scale either)
*Replaced the heat insulation with butyl rubber based material (original was glass fiber which I didn't like due to the glass dust)
*New float ball
*Replaced the vacuum breaker valve (Old one is working as spare)
*Replaced the boiler safety valve (Old one is working as spare)
Some of the 'upgrades':
*Heating Element gasket is replaced with a Teflon one so it is reuseable(to a certain extent) and won't cake hard into the groove like rubber one
*Stainless steel screws & washers (you may not believe this, I didn't. This itself costs almost $50 total)
*VST 15g basket
*2 hole steam tip (Original one was a large single hole with two air injectors, works well if soap bubble milk is what you prefer ;p which is included as well )
*OPV adjusted to 9bar with flow
Comes with:
* Single spout Cimbali portafilter
* Double spout Cimbali portafilter
* SS Blind Filter Basket for backflushing
* Single & double Cimbali Filter Basket (57mm - original)
* VST 15g double Filter Basket
* 58mm Metal Tamper
* Spare grouphead gasket (one installed, one new spare & another old one from the machine)
* All the replaced old parts and majority are still functional - serves as an emergency spare
Note: The only imperfectness is that the previous owner has lost the water reservoir. I've been meaning to source or custom make the tank but is lacking on the time commitment. Sourcing a new one will add to the cost and does not make it a better machine. So I will just pass it in its current perfectly functional condition to the next user.
In fact, I felt it's a blessing to use the external tank because it's much easier to access the water tank - for both refill & cleaning. You want to clean them every other day anyway. Try touching the internal of your water tank after a while, you'll be surprised ;P - speaking from personal experience.
Usage wise it's rather simple. Currently it's set to about 1 bar boiler pressure. Flush until the flash boiling is gone (very easy to distinguish) and 3-5 more second. As long as you have a good grinder you're in for a treat.
I've been test running it for about 2 months since refurbishment (used for 1-4 times a week). Works perfectly without any hiccup. But as I'm staying in a rented house it's not the best long term machine for me (have a Rossa HC)
What's best about this machine is that all the parts are still available this day and probably will be available for at least another 20 years. The new Cimbali Junior is almost the same machine, but has the brain box etc which loses the charm IMO.
Asking price is only $1250 with all the accessories & spares.
I reckon that's a bargain price considering this is probably a machine that will outlast you with the amazing Cimbali shot quality. An unrefurbished machine without the accessories will cost around the same and close to $400 has been sunk into the machine. Labor is free (20+ hours there, truly labor of love for coffee, none other)!
Happy to demo and brew some coffees. Pickup in Fitzroy. Let me know if there's any question or more detail is required.
Also, can also package with a Compak K10 WBC version bought (new) last September for $1100 if interested - still have the box and hopper never used [mod if possible please add this to title, tq].
Cheers,
Sam
I'm putting my La Cimbali Junior S1 (circa 1996) up for sale. It is the more desirable tank version with manual fill. So no expensive brainbox and very simple internal. Usually you will find the doser(D1) version that requires plumb in, with a lot more complicated internal and plastic doser prone to cracking. I've likened this Cimbali to the pump version of Cremina (worked on one before) - tough build quality, simple to work on and works a treat! Not much to go wrong when the time comes, it's easy.
So it started as my coffee project during the Christmas/New Year holiday. When I got it, it was in functional condition. There's some sign of age, but not too abused overall. All I did was to give it a refresh(sounds simple but god knows how much effort went into that) and makes it better (in my mind anyway). All components were stripped and refreshed. Parts which makes sense to change, I've changed all of them even though they're still working, to save you trouble down the road. Some upgrades I reckon that is nice to have as well.
Some of the highlight of La Cimbali S1:
- The famous La Cimbali grouphead - weighs a ton (more than E61)! Very temp stable once it's up to temp. You can read about it.
- Manual fill with sight glass
- Plumb-able drip tray
- 2.25 L boiler - perfect size for home use
- Huge cup warmer tray - stores all your espresso gadget up there
- Swivel Steam Wand & Hot Water Wand
- Sirai Pressurestat
The works that have been done:
*Complete tear down & check
*All gaskets were changed (many of them are still flexible which I kept as spare)
*Solenoids/valves were cleaned and descaled whereever neccessary
*Replaced the Ulka Pump and rubber mounting, as well as a new stainless steel hose for pump outlet
*Rust removed from frame and repainted with RustOleum (painted white so any imperfectness is easily seen and rescued for the future)
*Boiler, Hx, elements, grouphead were cleaned and descaled (not too much scale either)
*Replaced the heat insulation with butyl rubber based material (original was glass fiber which I didn't like due to the glass dust)
*New float ball
*Replaced the vacuum breaker valve (Old one is working as spare)
*Replaced the boiler safety valve (Old one is working as spare)
Some of the 'upgrades':
*Heating Element gasket is replaced with a Teflon one so it is reuseable(to a certain extent) and won't cake hard into the groove like rubber one
*Stainless steel screws & washers (you may not believe this, I didn't. This itself costs almost $50 total)
*VST 15g basket
*2 hole steam tip (Original one was a large single hole with two air injectors, works well if soap bubble milk is what you prefer ;p which is included as well )
*OPV adjusted to 9bar with flow
Comes with:
* Single spout Cimbali portafilter
* Double spout Cimbali portafilter
* SS Blind Filter Basket for backflushing
* Single & double Cimbali Filter Basket (57mm - original)
* VST 15g double Filter Basket
* 58mm Metal Tamper
* Spare grouphead gasket (one installed, one new spare & another old one from the machine)
* All the replaced old parts and majority are still functional - serves as an emergency spare
Note: The only imperfectness is that the previous owner has lost the water reservoir. I've been meaning to source or custom make the tank but is lacking on the time commitment. Sourcing a new one will add to the cost and does not make it a better machine. So I will just pass it in its current perfectly functional condition to the next user.
In fact, I felt it's a blessing to use the external tank because it's much easier to access the water tank - for both refill & cleaning. You want to clean them every other day anyway. Try touching the internal of your water tank after a while, you'll be surprised ;P - speaking from personal experience.
Usage wise it's rather simple. Currently it's set to about 1 bar boiler pressure. Flush until the flash boiling is gone (very easy to distinguish) and 3-5 more second. As long as you have a good grinder you're in for a treat.
I've been test running it for about 2 months since refurbishment (used for 1-4 times a week). Works perfectly without any hiccup. But as I'm staying in a rented house it's not the best long term machine for me (have a Rossa HC)
What's best about this machine is that all the parts are still available this day and probably will be available for at least another 20 years. The new Cimbali Junior is almost the same machine, but has the brain box etc which loses the charm IMO.
Asking price is only $1250 with all the accessories & spares.
I reckon that's a bargain price considering this is probably a machine that will outlast you with the amazing Cimbali shot quality. An unrefurbished machine without the accessories will cost around the same and close to $400 has been sunk into the machine. Labor is free (20+ hours there, truly labor of love for coffee, none other)!
Happy to demo and brew some coffees. Pickup in Fitzroy. Let me know if there's any question or more detail is required.
Also, can also package with a Compak K10 WBC version bought (new) last September for $1100 if interested - still have the box and hopper never used [mod if possible please add this to title, tq].
Cheers,
Sam
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