ACS Vesuvius Evo Leva

Cuprajake

But it destroyed the seal

MediumRoastSteam

Next time, a smear of silicone on the side which faces the group will do wonders to assist its removal without damage. 👍

DavecUK

Dental picks

LMSC

It’s more than a year since the Evo came to us. Opened the piston. Applied a thin coat of molykote (3rd time in a year) and changed the group seal to the red silicone. I used a sharp screw driver head to get the group seal out. No damages except a tiny pin hole on the face of the old gasket. Thanks to MRS, I did very lightly grease the seal. The PF locks in 6 0’ clock position. Firing the machine to pull a single shot.

LMSC

@Cuprajake You bought a silicone spray to alleviate the spring noise.

Would you post that link please?
Did you spray evenly at the double springs?

Thx

Cuprajake

Yeah I used this

Ambersil Food Grade Silicone Lubricant Fg Nsf H1 400ml https://amzn.eu/d/6OL18Qz

Cleaned everything then a light spray of that, mainly around the springs. But I did use it on the lever bit too

LMSC

Cuprajake Do you then only apply this silicone spray? Do you apply molykote as shown by Patrick’s video ? Thx

LMSC

Caste Iron Mandela Hybrid Washed - first dial

https://castironroasters.com/products/mandela-natural-colombia

Pulled a single dosing 12g at 93/99. This is medium light / medium and not a very light roast.

The pour over disappointed me as it was a lighter / weaker cup as they told me it makes a stunning filter. It was an ordinary cup. Any way, as an espresso, it was as light an espresso as the filter.

Right from opening the bag and drinking, I got the candy floss aroma (which was absent in filter), mild peach taste and a bit of tart (lemon/lemonade) after taste. The acidity was also very mild.

It was an ok cup and nothing stunning or extraordinary for the build up or the price.

CoyoteOldMan

LMSC Dental pick or very small screwdriver

**************
Oh well, never mind.

dfk41

I ended up (well, not actually me but Patrick!) screwing a self tapper into the seal since it was shot the tugging it out with pliers

Cuprajake

I’d already done as per his vid, I got this for the springs as I couldn’t get the nut off.

dfk41

A few weeks ago, I discovered my Evo had a leak. By switching boilers off and generally investigating, I discovered that it had to be from the steam boiler but only after it had been switched on for 2 hours or so. This morning, my good friend @ScotsFlyer (Al) came down from Edinburgh to help me! Getting the machine onto its side and removing the inspection hatch, soon revealed the issue. The leak was from the elbow joint on the copper pipe at the bottom of the boiler.
Al soon removed the joint and we dropped it into some citric acid where it fizzed suggesting calcium deposits. Al then cleaned the other deposits away, applied ptfe tape and re-inserted. The machine was left for 4 hours with no signs of the leak, so that is good news.
The Evo seems to be easy to work on with good access. A couple of photos to ex

plain this.

JahLaza

dfk41 what water do you use? Apologies if that seems an obvious question, just wondering if that’s the culprit?

MediumRoastSteam

I was going to ask the same. I think Dfk41 uses water from the Osmio Zero with remineralising cartridge - I think if memory serves me right.

dfk41

MediumRoastSteam Spot on…..I am going to buy a TDS to keep a check on things!

JahLaza

MediumRoastSteam I was also under the same impression

LMSC

That’s surprising then!

We also feed straight from remineralised filter Osmio Zero since getting the Evo in July 21. We steam mostly once a day or 2 at times and draw a large cup >= 350 ml before switching the machine off.

Once in 3 months, we do a full flesh from the drain valve. We did one this morning. Although, these are static tests, we test the drained water at room temperature. We have done 3 drains this year so far.

1 Jan 22 20 ml steam boiler sample per test standardised for 5 ml

GH 2 drops avg = 8.95

KH 4 drops to average 17.9 mg/l

TDS 31

Temp 19.

June 22 20 ml steam boiler sample per test standardised for 5 ml

GH 2 drops avg = 8.95 mg/l

KH 4 drops to average 44.75 mg/l

TDS 77

Temp 21+

End Aug 22 40 ml steam boiler sample per test standardised for 5 ml

GH avg = 6.71 mg/l - 40 ml sample

KH average 40.28 mg/l - 20 ml sample

TDS 66

Temp 24.4

I think the boiler is good, considering the reading.

DavecUK

LMSC David doesn’t do any drain downs!, but I am sure he will now and that leak has been going a very very long time.

LMSC

DavecUK Hmm. That’s a lot of scale in a little more than a year. They must be the accumulated minerals after steaming? He can easily draw a mug after steaming daily.

If I am steaming milk for 2-3 cups at times, I will definitely draw more than a cup, something like at least 500 ml out before the machine is off. Thx Dave

MediumRoastSteam

LMSC - one of the reasons I remineralise with sodium bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate. Can’t go wrong, as it won’t scale! 😊

Cuprajake

100% MediumRoastSteam

I’ve always done to, from the moment I bought the minima,.

LMSC

MediumRoastSteam Yeah!

One option is prep a concentrate, draw a couple of litres from Osmio without the remineralisation filter and add 10 ml of the concentrate for every litre of osmio. It’s a messy faff as one needs to remove the filter every time we need to fill the tank. Because, the mineralised water in the internal tank in osmio needs to removed first.
I do think the process I follow is good enough. May be, do a monthly flush than every 3 months May be, fill the OZ water without filter for a monthly flush. This seems a good compromise.
Another easy (perhaps the best) choice is get rid of the mineralisation filter altogether. This is what @Rob1 thought as the best outcome when I have had lots of chats in the other forum last year. Drink and use for cooking as before without the mineralisation filter. We will get used to it, as we don’t depend on the minerals from water for our daily recommended minerals intake!

It will be interesting what Dave thinks as he has been drinking RO and using it on his machine for more than 10 years.

The thing the Osmio Zero does not tell us what’s there in their remineralisation catridge.

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