'82 Olympia Cremina Lever...

[BoldJava]

Thoughts from the day:

^  Warrior is a lever-head if I have ever met one.  A second bedroom is a shrine to levers in a variety of levels of repair.  You have to stop if in Chi-town.
^  Warrior did a super job on the restoration of my machine ("my" being the operative word today).  Could not be more more pleased.
^  Three lever machines, all 3 going at once. Very, very different experiences.  Yikes, my head hurt.
^  Best shot?  Came from the Peppina.  We were using Red Bird (Bozeman, MT) -- the shot from the Peppina was a Snickers bomb.  Caramel, chocolates, syrupy, nuts.
^  Learning curve is going to be steep on the Swiss Miss.  (Reaching for ladder).  You can see the potential, realize what variable has been added, envision the curve ahead, and sip the pleasure on the way.  I pulled 3 shots; all OK.  None outstanding but none went to the sink.

[John F]

[exceptionally deep and intense voice] Take a look at the black mamba. [/exceptionally deep and intense voice]

[BoldJava]

Levers.

If I understand this correctly, boilers provide about 1 bar.
^  Semi-automatics' pumps add about 8 bars to deliver the espresso
^  Levers - whether straight hand lever or spring assisted, the lever adds the approx 8 bars, right?

With the Peppina, there is no boiler.  The entire 9 bars comes from that repeated pumping action, correct?

Delightful afternoon.  Thanks Mike and Bill.

B|Java

[milowebailey]

U N C L E . . . . .

My Lever is the next project...... Propane lever!!!!  How do you PID a propane boiler?

[John F]

 How do you PID a propane boiler?

Why would you PID a propane  ;Dboiler?

Doesn't a propane boiler beg for humongo flames lapping up over the sides of the machine?

[milowebailey]

 How do you PID a propane boiler?

Why would you PID a propane  ;Dboiler?

Doesn't a propane boiler beg for humongo flames lapping up over the sides of the machine?

Same reason you'd PID any espresso machine...... temperature control, could be a fun project!

[Warrior372]

Levers.

If I understand this correctly, boilers provide about 1 bar.
^  Semi-automatics' pumps add about 8 bars to deliver the espresso
^  Levers - whether straight hand lever or spring assisted, the lever adds the approx 8 bars, right?

With the Peppina, there is no boiler.  The entire 9 bars comes from that repeated pumping action, correct?

Delightful afternoon.  Thanks Mike and Bill.

B|Java

Most lever boilers are set to around 1 bar generally. Semi-Auto vibratory or rotary pumps are a linear 8-10 bars. Spring levers are generally geared to start at 9 bars and end at zero, but that will depend on the specific machines spring setup as well as the age / fatigue of that spring. The smooth pressure profile from 9 to 0 is one thing many people say adds to the uniqueness / clarity of a spring lever shot. With a manual lever you are the one producing the bars of pressure. You can pull really lightly and produce 2 or really really hard and produce 14 (I have no idea how many bars you would actually produce pulling extremely hard). The La Peppina simply relies on pressure from the spring, as I believe water just passively flows downward toward the puck when you pull the lever down and once you let go of the lever the spring takes over.

The Conti is a '91, which I believe was the last year they made them. It is unique in that it has a 2 piece group versus the majority of the other years they were produced where they had 3 piece groups.

Absolutely spectacular first picture of me there! The best part is that was how animated I was before all of the espresso . . . .

How many more shots did you pull after you got home?

I had absolutely no problem staying awake for the 5 hour drive to the Detroit suburbs. It is almost 3AM here and I am still pretty wide awake . . .

Thank you to Dave and Bill for stopping by! Also, thank you for the intro to Red Bird. I hope you love the lever. I look forward to following your transition from a pump machine to a lever as well as following you through the learning curve. The remaining 4 pounds or so or Red Bird should help. . . . .

[BoldJava]

...
Most lever boilers are set to around 1 bar generally... The smooth pressure profile from 9 to 0 is one thing many people say adds to the uniqueness / clarity of a spring lever shot. With a manual lever you are the one producing the bars of pressure. You can pull really lightly and produce 2 or really really hard and produce 14...

The variability of torque applied to that manual lever is going to be a ton of learning.  I varied each of the 3 pulls I did yesterday and it was immediately apparent in both the flow and the drink how different amounts of torque on the lever impact the espresso.

The Conti is a '91, which I believe was the last year they made them.

 Edited my orig post.  I have 'Conti healthy admiration kind of envy' after taking that machine in.  You did a spectacular job on that machine -- pulling it out of a barn!

How many more shots did you pull after you got home?

None.  I was 'spro'ed' out.  At my age, I realize all good things are marathons and sprints are best left to phone companies.

Thank you to Dave and Bill ...

Poor Bill.  He realizes that he is teetering on the edge of another hole and he was looking for me to pull him away from the edge.  Good luck with that.  Thank you Mike for your willingness to share your knowledge with me all along the steps of the rebuild.  I learned a ton and loved the ride.  It continues.

B|Java

[BoldJava]

Small footprint.  I forgot to add how small the unit is.  I like that it doesn't 'take over' a shelf or counter.  11.5x10.5x7.5. It weighs 18 lbs, empty (models from 2002 and more recent weigh 24 lbs - larger boiler and frame).

Pull it out to make a spro.  When finished, slides right back if you are a humble Midwesterner and don't want to over-do the bling for visitors.

[mp]

Very nice setup B|Lever!

Do enjoy your journey.  I do look forward to recounts of your adventure along the way.

 

[farmroast]

Homecoming day,Congrats BlLever
The thing that  will frustrate you at the start is all the   variability the Cremina offers. Later, the thing you will love about the Cremina is all the   variability it offers.

[BoldJava]

Learning as I go.

Bill and I were discussing pstats on levers on the way home last evening.  I asked aloud about safety valves as it seemed logical that if a pstat failed, you would want a safety valve so the little boiler didn't go boom.  Here it is:

[BoldJava]

Simplicity is the name of the game. It took me two minutes to disassemble the Cremina and find the safety valve.  Talk about cake-walks:

Take off the boiler cap - I believe I have read that is a British standard pipe thread.  As well, I think the vertical slit is so that it bleeds off incrementally in case you are half-asleep and try and take the cap off under pressure.  Not to worry - Warrior showed me how to bleed steam off appropriately.

[BoldJava]

Unscrew the retaining nut.  Only needs to be hand-tight.  I can see where some former owner went at it with a wrench.  No need for that amount of torque (word of the day).  And yes, that is the sheen it throws...

[BoldJava]

Take off stainless steel ring: