MyKindOfPlace Senior Member Joined: 30 Mar 2011 Posts: 5 Location: Sheridan, Oregon, USA Expertise: Just starting
Posted Sun May 20, 2012, 7:06pm Subject: Faema C85/1 sight glass failure - must need that ball in the upper tube?
Well, my first and only experience with rebuilding an espresso machine was a little over a year ago, after my wife brought home a Faema C85/1. Boiler and lines were cleaned, parts ordered, etc, and it's been doing a fine job at my wife's little café'.
Now, I haven't been paying as close attention to the machine as perhaps I should; nor has anyone else for that matter (apparently). A hole blew through the sight glass (plastic) window, approximately in line with the upper tube. I had noted steam in the sight glass early on, but thought not much about it.
Anyway, if I recall, upon rebuilding this unit, there were discussions to read, and exploded views to study, etc. Some of the exploded views showed a 'ball' being inserted in one of the tube fittings in the back of the sight glass housing. Issue was: some of the drawings showed the ball in the lower fitting, some (such as the exploded view on the EspressoParts site) show the ball belonging in the upper fitting.
Some online discussions indicated nobody was quite sure, and some went ahead installing no ball at all. (and no, I'm not talking about the red plastic bead, but rather a metal ball acting as a valve of sorts). I too found no good answer for myself, and thus omitted the ball, and went on.
So, my deduction at this point would be: the ball should have been placed in the upper location, where it's job would be to keep the super-heated steam off the plastic site glass...
I'm not really sure 'how' it's supposed to work, but if the ball in that location saves the plastic site glass, I'm a happy and better educated camper.
Your thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated!
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