Posted Fri May 2, 2008, 9:12am Subject: La Pavoni Europiccola Drip Tray Fit
I just got an Europpicola and the black plastic drip tray fits very poorly - it slops around in the base. Has anyone else experienced this? I don't have another machine nearby to compare it to, but it seems like something is wrong.
Posted Fri May 2, 2008, 9:54am Subject: Re: La Pavoni Europiccola Drip Tray Fit
I've got a Pavoni EuroP with the black plastic base, and my first impression was that the drip tray slides around too easily. I wouldn't say the fit is sloppy, but rather a combination of smooth slippery plastic-on-plastic plus a very small lightweight drip tray. The good news: it has not caused any problems in daily usage (i.e., no disasters caused by the drip tray sliding off while pulling a shot).
Doubt it. I've got a Gaggia Factory (Pavoni Pro clone) with the chrome base, and the drip tray fit is about the same. It also slides around fairly easily.
I don't believe these drip trays were designed to lock into the base. But if your drip tray fits badly enough to bother you, I'd contact the seller and see what (s)he has to say.
Posted Tue May 6, 2008, 7:35am Subject: Re: La Pavoni Europiccola Drip Tray Fit
Thanks for the replies.
The vendor had me contact technical service with the US distributor for La Pavoni (European Gifts and Houswares). Just in case anyone needs them, the phone # is 1-800-927-0277. x111 will get you Mike who was very helpful. He confirmed what was posted above - that the drip tray fits loosely. He said that he gets about one call a year about it. So I fired it up. The loose drip tray didn't pose a problem during operation. I usually have a saucer or tray on top of it, so any looseness isn't even noticed. Considering that these machined are listed from $600 - around $750 new, the drip tray fit is dissapointing but I don't think it should be considered a deal breaker. It is very easy to remove and clean...
Bill
Using this for the first time (in addition, my first time using any lever machine) was a pretty entertaining experience which I'll be glad to post separately if anyone is interested.
Posted Tue May 6, 2008, 7:56am Subject: Re: La Pavoni Europiccola Drip Tray Fit
BillR Said:
Considering that these machined are listed from $600 - around $750 new, the drip tray fit is dissapointing but I don't think it should be considered a deal breaker.
<rant> We all have our pet peeves. I'm far more outraged by the POS plastic tamper that comes standard with most espresso machines, even those costing over $1K. Even worse, they don't always get the size right. My 51mm Pavoni came with an ill-fitting 49mm plastic tamp, and my 51mm Gaggia came with a 55mm plastic tamp that doesn't fit at all. I've got a combination coffee scoop/55mm tamp that came (IIRC) with my 58mm Vetrano. Why oh why can't manufacturers add $10 to the price and include a decent tamp? </rant>
Do consider getting a "real" tamper for your Pavoni. I think you'll find it money well spent.
Posted Sun May 11, 2008, 5:50pm Subject: Re: La Pavoni Europiccola Drip Tray Fit
Yes, my Pavoni millenium, 51 mm, also came with the same ill-fitting plastic 49mm POS tamper that you got. I think they increased the basket and portafilter size but never changed the mold for the tamper. I immediately recognized this and ordered a correct tamper from espressoparts. Much better. You're so right.
I knew about this because my first machine was a low end Gaggia (58mm?) that came with an also too small plastic tamper. So my wife got a beautiful stainless bottom wood handle tamper for me (53 mm) that was still too small for the Gaggi - even smaller than the plastic one. The stock plastic one worked better! She didn't know and I didn't know (until fairly recently) that baskets and tampers came in different sizes. Nooby me thought - why would they be different? I made a lot of bad espresso with that machine using that nice tamper my wife got for me. The big bubbled steamed milk the turbo frother put out saved me. That and Peet's coffee.
It would really help first time users of machines to get correctly sized tampers and also have some information on how good quality tampers might help the process. By providing the cheap wrong sized ones, manufacturers are setting their customers up for failure (hey - it is hard enough with the right tamper...).
So, rant away - I fully support it.
In retrospect, the ill-fitting drip tray hasn't been a problem at all. It is very easy to remove and clean.
Posted Thu May 15, 2008, 10:05pm Subject: Re: La Pavoni Europiccola Drip Tray Fit
Since the original question seems to be answered, does anyone know if that plastic drip tray fits all Europiccolas both vintage and new? The design of them hasn't really changed over the years so I'd assume it does even fit the old ones but maybe someone has tried to fit one of these inexpensive plastic trays to their older Pavoni. Thanks for any help.
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