James’ San Marino

Posted on December 2nd, 2012

James’ San Marino

Commercial single-group machine

I can’t think of a machine with a worse reputation in the industry than the San Marino but I kind of like them, and machines made by CMA in general (wega, astoria etc). They’re solid, no-nonsense commercial workhorses that may not be sophisticated, but dangit they get the job done. James loves his, and it’s been on coffee duty at his studio for many years. When the element gave up, we decided a thorough overhaul was in order.

Predictably, I went a bit nuts and decided to see how well I could make it work. The main drawback with San Marinos is that they lack a thermosyphon – the group is bolted to the boiler and can drastically overheat. The solution in this case is to inject cold water deeper into the heat-exchanger to lessen the need for a hot flush right at the start of an extraction. I also wanted to control the flow rate from the group, which was way too high, by fitting a restrictor to the inlet side of the group solenoid. The finishing touch, apart from a thorough recondition of all valves, sight glass, boiler valves etc, was to add a dual rocker switch for the solenoid and pump – allowing manual pre-infusion control via mains pressure.

Summary of improvements:

Brew water temperature down from +98 degrees c. to 92-94 after a 30 ml flush
Flow rate down to 600 ml per min from the group for controlled extractions
variable mains pre-infusion time via independent switching of the solenoid and pump

I was pretty stoked, and James was too –

Many thanks for your all your efforts in resurrecting my San Marino. This machine is at its best and has never worked in this manner ever! As you can see by the lateness of this email – you may guess that I’ve had a couple of long blacks.

Job done!

Restoration projects

Posted on September 21st, 2012

Restoration projects

creating functional classics

It could be argued that espresso machine design reached it’s peak in the workshops and foundries of northern Italy in the mid 20th century, and everything since then has been a bit boring! There’s a certain character about machines of that era that just exude flair, passion and artistry. And while not many of us are lucky enough to own a Gaggia Esportazione, Cimbali GranLuce, La Pavoni Concorso, La San Marco Lollobrigida or Faema Urania, it’s certainly true that any vintage coffee machine is eminently restorable to perfect working condition given enough love and attention.
Whether you’ve got an older second hand machine that you want to bring up to scratch for domestic or cafe use, or you’ve uncovered a gem in a forgotten corner of the garage, I can help you with either a complete restoration from start to finish, or a particular aspect if you’re doing most of the work yourself. My aim with restorations is always function before aesthetics – what’s the point having a shiny beautiful machine if it makes rubbish coffee or no coffee at all. After that, anything is possible including installing modern electrical systems, re-plating or re-manufacturing worn parts, re-spraying paintwork and reproducing original factory artwork. My preference and advice is always to preserve original finishes where possible, as this preserves character and adds value to the machine in the long term.

Naturally these hands-on processes can be very time consuming, and I assess and quote each restoration project as a flat labour fee plus expenses, according to the result you want to achieve.

Repairs and servicing

Posted on September 21st, 2012

Repairs and servicing

Keeping you extracting – commercial or domestic

Repairs and servicing are what I spend most of my waking hours on. When things aren’t working as they should, you need the problem rectified quickly so you can keep enjoying your equipment. With many years of experience working on all brands of commercial and domestic espresso equipment, I’ll ensure that you’re back up and running with the minimum of fuss – whether it’s as simple as changing a filter or adjusting pump pressure, right through to a major breakdown.

You’ll also get the kind of personal service and attention to detail that you can only expect from a dedicated individual. I want you to be happy with my work, and I’ll take the time to make sure that you are. Crucial to that is that I don’t just know machines, I know coffee and I can have a conversation with you about how different parameters in the machine affect the results, and look at your whole system including the machine, grinder, coffee and water source to identify issues that may not have been readily apparent.

For domestic equipment, if you are dropping off at my Northcote workshop location I aim for a 48 hr turnaround. Otherwise, an on-site call may be required if the equipment is hard to move, or in commercial use. See the FAQ page for more details.

For commercial clients, if it’s not a breakdown I’ll work with you to attend at a time that suits your business. The last thing you want is to be turning customers away because your machine’s out of action.

Microcimbali restoration

Posted on September 21st, 2012

Microcimbali restoration

Vintage domestic lever machine

This was a good example of the sort of horrible condition that many vintage domestic machines imported from Italy are in. Plentiful rust, corrosion, scale, damaged chrome, perished insulation, seals, etc etc. Beware the optimistic eBay description! However, the appeal of these vintage lever machines is justified – once restored, they really are functioning design icons of a bygone era.

Luckily, the most important parts of the machine were fixable. The worst case scenario is that the element filament or insulation is damaged, meaning a costly one-off custom element has to be made. Luckily this was not the case and repairing the element just involved re-sealing the terminals with high-temperature insulation compound.

Further work included:

Repairing hole in cast aluminium boiler by drilling out and plugging internally with new material
Drilling out and re-threading damaged mounting points on boiler casting
Re-wiring with modern silicone insulated cable
Replacing all perished seals with OEM or custom made versions
Polishing exterior surfaces and fittings

These old lever machines fascinate me, and I love working on them. They are always a challenge, but there’s nothing more satisfying than getting a perfect shot out of a machine you’ve restored, and it’s now an asset the new owner will enjoy for many years to come.

Improvements and modifications

Posted on September 21st, 2012

Improvements and modifications

Getting the best from your gear

While most domestic and commercial espresso equipment on the market is capable of achieving excellent results, there are occasions where better performance can be gained from making a few simple internal modifications. Through monitoring how the machine is behaving, we’d be able to assess what, if anything, could be gained in terms of temperature stability at the group or other usability improvements eg. better steam pressure, quicker recovery time etc. If you’ve got something in mind, I can tell you whether it’s going to A. give you the result you want, and B. remain safe and cost effective.

Thermosyphon Restrictors

In most cases, excessive group temperatures in traditional heat-exchanger machines can be controlled through the addition of a thermosyphon restrictor (a small disc with a precisely sized opening, placed into the heat exchanger) that is tuned to the particular temperature that you want to achieve. This allows you to lower the temperature at the group without losing steam pressure, and negating the need for a cooling flush. It’s a very simple but significant upgrade for most domestic E61-group machines that run hot – associated with burnt or bitter flavours in espresso and steam/spluttering from the group when the pump is activated.

Temperature studies, PID control and boiler upgrades

For the ultimate temperature control, some machines may benefit from replacing stock thermostats or pressurestats with modern PID hardware. This often has a dual benefit in terms of easy temperature adjustability, and long term reliability as digital controllers and associated devices have no moving parts.

Usability improvements

The list of possibilities are almost endless. If you’d like to improve your existing machine rather than upgrading, give me a call and we’ll see what can be done. Some suggestions to get you thinking:

Swapping steam and hot water wand locations
Upgrade to lever-activated steam valve or cool-touch wands
Custom steam tips for more usable steaming
Two-stage pre-infusion switch for semi-automatic solenoid groups
Upgraded heating element control system incorporating solid state relays for greater reliability
Adding auto-fill controllers to older manual fill machines
Plumb-in conversions for tank machines