sixtyten Senior Member Joined: 19 Jun 2005 Posts: 10 Location: NC Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: La Pavoni Europiccola Grinder: Solis Maestro Drip: Cuisinart Brew Central Roaster: Kitchen Gourmet air popper
Posted Tue Nov 13, 2007, 8:21pm Subject: How to remove La Pavoni Europiccola boiler from base??
I need to replace the heating element gasket on my Europiccola and while I'm at it I plan on replacing the boiler spacers. I noticed there is a little rust around the bottom of the boiler (under the base) so I figured I would clean up everything while I'm at it.
Well.. How the heck do you remove the boiler from the base. I have an older model (70s or 80s) with the 3 bolts holding the element. Once the element is off, you have to unscrew a large brass retaining ring to remove the boiler. I've tried using my hands, tapping on it a bit (softly), and it won't budge.
sixtyten Senior Member Joined: 19 Jun 2005 Posts: 10 Location: NC Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: La Pavoni Europiccola Grinder: Solis Maestro Drip: Cuisinart Brew Central Roaster: Kitchen Gourmet air popper
Posted Thu Nov 15, 2007, 7:40am Subject: Re: How to remove La Pavoni Europiccola boiler from base??
Well.. after CAREFULLY spraying some penetrating oil (avoiding the inside of the boiler), allowing it to sit for about 45min, tapping on it several times with a hammer and a block situated on one of the bolt mounts, it FINALLY came loose.
docnorris Senior Member Joined: 25 Jun 2007 Posts: 15 Location: pdx,or Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Livia 90, Europiccola,... Grinder: Super Jolly+Elvinator,... Vac Pot: Mini e-Santos Drip: Zojirushi
Posted Sun Dec 2, 2007, 1:31am Subject: Re: How to remove La Pavoni Europiccola boiler from base??
I have a 1996 model which has a stainless element and the rubber element gasket. I guess older models had a copper element and some sort of hard flat gasket.
Removing the boiler was not that difficult for me. I rotated the base left and right 1/8 turn each way to loosen it up, then was able to get enough torque on the retaining ring to loosen it. The hold technique I employed was upside down, gripping the boiler between my knees with the lever trapped behind my knee and in front of the leg of the chair, similar to how I get socks on my 2 1/2 year old toddler (just kidding).
Getting it back, and straight, was a challenge. My retaining ring is a large, possibly plastic ring that compresses the base to the boiler flange, with a spacer/gasket between. Matching the rotation of the 3 element mounting screws, and keeping the base straight relative to the boiler involved a bit of intuition. It helps to have the group head and lever on, so you can have some, well, leverage to rotate the boiler as you tighten it. Although, to be honest, one could truly replace the element without taking the boiler off the base, assuming you didn't want to replace that boiler flange->base gasket.
Getting all the bits of old gasket off the base was a lesson in patience, too, as it was just baked on there. I used a very light touch and a straight edged x-acto blade, finishing with a nylon Scotch scrubbing pad.
Taking this thing apart was a labor of love, and really rewarding. Each piece is solid, and feels bullet-proof-- except for that little metal retaining ring in the top of the group head. It had rusted out and actually broke as I removed it.
After testing to make sure there were no leaks, I made some coffee, and it was great. This will totally keep me happy until The Finance Committee allows me to get a GS/3.
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