'82 Olympia Cremina Lever...

[Warrior372]

Ray is one dedicated powder coater. He said he just took the pieces out of the melt down unit, was going to media blast them and should have them sprayed and baked by tomorrow sometime. Apparently he works weekends too. . . .

[BoldJava]

Hoo-ray.  I have been prayin' for Sprayin' Ray as he blasts and powders the Cremin.'

Nothing on wood.  Conferring with Cannonfodder on wood availability,etc.  Expect to button something down this weekend.

B|Java

[farmroast]

Congrats!
Gloss black should look sharp! With ebony seems appropriate and has a nice weight to it. I started with a Cremina and have brought in a bunch of other lever machines but the Cremina still rules. It's not for everyone but for those who can appreciate it there's nothing better out there. It's nice to fire the Cremina up with no fears of black box brain damage or plastic cheapo pressurestat failures etc., etc., etc.. The only issue with the older models is the switch. The ceramic can become worn/brittle at the pivot and fail. Keep an eye on it and be gentle. Doug has tried to find something to match but no luck. There is an alternative but just won't look like the original. I look forward to you getting your hand on the lever and sharing some comments.
farm

[BoldJava]

Ed, while I have you, what temp band width <?> do you see on your Cremina?  I have read tons at HB but can't find anyone speaking to it.

[farmroast]

The pressurestat is not tight in width but I kind of like it that way, gives a bit of flexibility. Combined with the manual lever the combinations of temp. and profiled pressure are endless. Doug has spoke of this too. I generally have it set around .9 for the top end. You'll have to accept that it will take time to be one with your Cremina but the journey is thoroughly enjoyable.

[BoldJava]

The pressurestat is not tight in width but I kind of like it that way, gives a bit of flexibility. Combined with the manual lever the combinations of temp. and profiled pressure are endless. Doug has spoke of this too. I generally have it set around .9 for the top end. You'll have to accept that it will take time to be one with your Cremina but the journey is thoroughly enjoyable.

I am sure it won't be as challenging as the Silvia was before Milo Fuji-ied it out with a PID.

B|Java

[farmroast]

I see you'll have a boiler neck adapter for a pressure gauge. I use mine a lot. Not sure what tips you've gathered from reading threads but a few handy ones are:
As warming up after bleeding off false pressure through the steam valve, warm the group by lifting the lever just before water flows and do a few pumps the flush/heat the group without wasting water.
Lift the lever just before flow before locking in the pf to avoid disturbing the puck.
With the boiler cap gauge in use and you want to take some time between pulls and avoid the head from getting too hot(not nearly the issue as with a Pavoni) I put a mug under the steam tip, shut off the machine and slightly crack open the steam valve to avoid building up negative pressure that can actually lift the lever. Reheating when your ready again is quite fast.
I don't find any of the issues with a Cremina frustrating like I have with other machines. You just need to learn how to manage them.

[BoldJava]

I see you'll have a boiler neck adapter for a pressure gauge...

Mike (Warrior) has some Rube Goldberg set-up he is arranging to use to check boiler pressure.  I couldn't follow the discussion but trust his efforts.

Off of work for a bit so I have been able to plow thru a top of HB material on the Cremina.  Your post is a nice, clean, quick summary of what I have read.  Before, I didn't understat pressurestats -- pstats.  Learned after Warrior explained it to me offline.  Heat via pressure.  Got it.

Here is Doug describing adjustment -- it helped me understand as well.  Did you put a mater on yours?

Olympia Pstat Adjustment and Mod

[farmroast]

 Did you put a mater on yours?

Nope, I like the old style. With time I think you will like it too. Everything on a Cremina offers flexibility in a good way once you get use to it. It is a high tech. "Manual Machine" in the purest and best sense of the term.
PS I thought I should clarify the "switch" issue I mentioned above on the '70s and early'80 machines is the on/off power switch 

[Warrior372]

Olympia's proprietary pstat is definitely the way to go! Maters are finicky and break fairly often. I was going stir crazy today with the overcast weather in Chicago, so I came up with a polishing concoction inspired by some recipes in hot rodding forums. Here is the boiler before with asbestos, there is an original after somewhere in this thread already and here is the new after post polishing compound concoction.

If I can get all of the parts this shiny we might have to put a hinged 'hood' modification on the outer shell so you can prop it open and show off the inner workings of the machine.

[mp]

Great job Warrior.

You're refurbishing it into a beauty inside and out!

 

[BoldJava]

...

If I can get all of the parts this shiny we might have to put a hinged 'hood' modification on the outer shell so you can prop it open and show off the inner workings of the machine.

Man, you are bored <chuckles>.  Marine brass?

B|Java

[Warrior372]

No super weird combination of things (some I had heard of before last night and others I had not) plus a toothbrush. Apparently hot rod rebuilders are even more odd than espresso machine collectors . . .

[John F]

 It would wake John up and we would lose all control of this tread.

Preposterous!

And by the way when you keep saying cocobolo wood I can only think of one thing. Isn't this the reason cocobolo was invented?

[grinderz]

 It would wake John up and we would lose all control of this tread.

Preposterous!

And by the way when you keep saying cocobolo wood I can only think of one thing. Isn't this the reason cocobolo was invented?

Nope! Here's the real reason!