Markarian Senior Member Joined: 27 Jun 2012 Posts: 475 Location: Seattle Area Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Modded Nuova Simonelli Oscar Grinder: Vario-W, Mazzer Super Jolly Drip: Moka, Aeropress, Melitta 102 Roaster: Wear-Ever Popcorn Pumper
Posted Tue Feb 12, 2013, 12:54pm Subject: Presenting the Ultimate Oscar Video
Hello, fellow Geeks! It is our tremendous pleasure to present to you over one hour and sixteen minutes of 1080p high definition video, in which two Oscars go under the knife for the modifications of a lifetime. Both will get vacuum breakers and flow restrictors from the Musica, as well as steam levers from the Aurelia. Along the way, we do a full teardown and descale, trying to address various pitfalls and issues that we know Oscar owners have had in the past and handing out whatever little tidbits of wisdom we can think of. We also go over descaling and some proper care and feeding of your boiler. Get ready for some stupid jokes, quiet oaths, and-poorly pronounced Italian.
This video is NOT comprehensive. It does NOT show every step. There are some audio problems, caused by a battery issue in the microphone and quick cuts because we wanted to get this out as soon as possible. Lots of you are talking about the Oscar and asking questions. While we know this video may not answer all of them, we still feel it can be informative and educational for all Oscar owners. This is also a companion piece to a forthcoming photo set, which shows much more of the incremental steps. Between this and the photos, we hope we have you covered.
Thank you are two words that are woefully inadequate to express our gratitude to Plindy, who opened his home and workshop to us and donated his time, parts, and expertise to making these machines come to life. If there ever was an example of the generosity and wisdom of our community, Plindy personifies it. We hope others will benefit from our mods and try them as well as new ones themselves.
Special thanks to Frank for pioneering the steam wand mod and inspiring us to do the same.
And finally thank you to all of you out there who encouraged us, gave us advice, and helped us all on a quest for better coffee. So without further ado we present this video to you with our thanks and humbly ask for your thoughts (aside from the editing and audio, which are obviously rough) on the video.
I am still adding text but you can see more of the images.
It was a crazy long day for Plindy and I personally am forever in his debt. The end of the tape was probably about midnight and poor guy had been working non stop for 12 hours.
UPDATED PARTS LIST
One part each of the list below unless noted 2.
The parts from espressoparts was about 86$ according to frank. I spent almost 50$ on the vacuum breakers and the Gigleur/restrictors are under 10$ I believe- I got them a while ago. Shipping and minimum purchase from NS sucks so try to find the parts local to you or from another source.
I could only find these at NS directly: 01000023 Musica vacuum breaker (can get a cheaper one from espresso parts that should work) 0300202 Musica cup 07300684 Musica GIGLEUR M8X8 F.3,2 07300225 Musica GIGLEUR M8X8 F.3
Not sure where he got these: 1/4 MMM T Joint 1/4 double female nipple 1/4 M F elbow
Espressoparts.com had these: Aurelia/Mac 2000/Program VIP/' Steam/water Piston Stem Nuova Simonelli 'Aurelia/Appia' Steam Valve Lever Nuova Simonelli 'Aurelia/Mac 2000' Steam Valve Body) Nuova Simonelli Appia/Aurelia/Mac/Premier/Program Steam Valve Rebuild Kit Nuova Simonelli New Style Steam Valve Fork Nuova Simonelli Steam Valve Lever Pin Nova Simonelli Steam Valve to Boiler Fitting 2- Nuova Simonelli Steam Valve Lever Pin C-clip
Markarian Senior Member Joined: 27 Jun 2012 Posts: 475 Location: Seattle Area Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Modded Nuova Simonelli Oscar Grinder: Vario-W, Mazzer Super Jolly Drip: Moka, Aeropress, Melitta 102 Roaster: Wear-Ever Popcorn Pumper
Posted Tue Feb 12, 2013, 8:09pm Subject: Re: Presenting the Ultimate Oscar Video
The Oscar was designed to be able to accommodate pods, but not necessarily around pods exclusively. Many Oscars ship with the pod kit--mine did. The pod kit is technically a $45 add-on for people to use ESE pods. But keep in mind, the ESE system was designed to go into existing espresso machines. So no, being able to take pods doesn't make it a lesser machine. You can put ESE pods into an Izzo Alex Duetto III or vintage Faema if you buy the right portafilter. It's an option, that's all.
Markarian Senior Member Joined: 27 Jun 2012 Posts: 475 Location: Seattle Area Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Modded Nuova Simonelli Oscar Grinder: Vario-W, Mazzer Super Jolly Drip: Moka, Aeropress, Melitta 102 Roaster: Wear-Ever Popcorn Pumper
Posted Tue Feb 12, 2013, 8:17pm Subject: Re: Presenting the Ultimate Oscar Video
I couldn't figure out for the life of my why I couldn't get the portafilter on! Came onto CG and was quickly educated. I was not even aware there was a pod kit for the machine. A short trip down to Simonelli and $36 out of my wallet and I was back on track.
johnny4lsu Senior Member Joined: 27 May 2011 Posts: 78 Location: The Sticks Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: NS Oscar Grinder: Mazzer Super Jolly Drip: Clever, Chemex Roaster: Behmor 1600
Posted Tue Feb 12, 2013, 9:23pm Subject: Re: Presenting the Ultimate Oscar Video
I wish that I had the luxury of going down the road to get parts. Took me a week to get mine.
I just finished watching the whole video...Extremely informative. I wish that I would've had this info weeks ago when I was taking it apart for the first time.
What are your thoughts on the upgrades?
I read from Helen that she was flushing 6 ozs and now only has to flush 2 ozs. (I've only been flushing about 2ozs with mine...Am I flushing enough for my first shot to get temp right?)
1 Corinthians 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.
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