Sometime ago I posted about a problem I was having with the basket being very firmly stuck on the filter head on my Elizabeth machines. It happened mostly on one I have in UK but also occasionally on the other in France. Both use VST 18G baskets.

It seems to happen mostly after the machine has heated up with the portafilter in place so I assume that differential expansion of the brass parts of the filter head and portafilter and the SS basket contribute to the problem.

Initially I thought the problem was caused by the inside of the basket binding on the brass diffuser plate which might have moved slightly off centre when refitted. After I got back here (France) in September I tried to improve the problem by gently rubbing down the brass disc (M5 bolt through the hole and fit into a drill) with 120 grit and then polishing with 600grit W&D. This didn’t help after a couple of goes so a further look at the portafilter with the basket in it revealed that the portafilter was just slightly out of alignment with the basket so one side of the basket edge was closer to the side of the portafilter. Checking the basket alone in the filter head suggested it was quite a close fit so I have now ground a little off the edge of the rim and this has improved the clearance a bit.

I will report back on the result.

PS Dave’s suggestion that it will usually release if the portafilter is wiggled as it is released didn’t work very well as the basket was very firmly stuck.

Lelit Elizabeth (2) , Eureka Oro Mignon Single Dose, Mignon Mk2 (converted to single dose), Aerolatte Mini grinders(2), cafetières, Bodum K1218 Vacuum

9 days later

After fiddling around with grinding off the edge of the basket a few times and further polishing off a little more from the brass disc it doesn’t look as if they are the problem. The basket still sticks and there is adequate clearance between it and the filter head.

I am sure now that the basket is sticking firmly to the black sealing gasket in the filter head and a little grease a couple of times a week seems to fix this.

Am I the only one who has ever had this problem?

Lelit Elizabeth (2) , Eureka Oro Mignon Single Dose, Mignon Mk2 (converted to single dose), Aerolatte Mini grinders(2), cafetières, Bodum K1218 Vacuum

    MBdoc Am I the only one who has ever had this problem?

    I have had it on various machines, depends on the coffee and grind. The “stick” is simply caused by a low pressure suction onto the shower screen. On an E61 if the lever is operated for a fraction of a second to open the vent it usually drops off. On the Liz, I think you can blip the shot button.

    Just one of those things that can happen with any machine (except levers), but it does seem a little more common on the Liz for some unknown reason to me?

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        Stuck pucks can be solved by a puck screen. In fact, the other day I forgot to add the puck screen, removed the PF and found the basket and the puck stuck to the screen. The basket was stuck with the puck only because the spring is not very tight. For me, a puck screen solved the problem. With another basket I have, only the puck gets stuck, the basket stays with the PF.

        Now, a stuck basket… The only time I got that without any coffee in it was if the gasket, or shower screen, or basket were wet before leaving the PF to warm up with the machine.

          DavecUK Hi Dave, You may be right but my problem is not the puck sticking to the screen but the rim of the basket sticking very strongly to the filter head. It is very firmly stuck and needs a lot of force to shift it. Wiggling the portafilter doesn’t come close to working. I have to grasp the hot basket with a cloth and force it off. Hasn’t happened since I used a bit more grease on the gasket.

          PS Noting your comment about Elizabeth could it be the type of gasket used in the filter head? Maybe changing this for a different type (?PTFE might be best) would help.

          Lelit Elizabeth (2) , Eureka Oro Mignon Single Dose, Mignon Mk2 (converted to single dose), Aerolatte Mini grinders(2), cafetières, Bodum K1218 Vacuum

            MediumRoastSteam Good point about the gasket being wet. Might be the case with me but hard to check. It mainly happens after the machine has been switched on for a while with the basket in place since it was last used. I would have thought thank water would have evaporated by then but maybe that is the cause. I will try removing the basket when cold and checking and drying it before I switch on.

            Lelit Elizabeth (2) , Eureka Oro Mignon Single Dose, Mignon Mk2 (converted to single dose), Aerolatte Mini grinders(2), cafetières, Bodum K1218 Vacuum

              It didn’t work!

              On further reflection and after checking the clearances again it seems as if the basket is sticking firmly - very - to the gasket in the base of the brew boiler. A little silicone grease applied with a Qtip stops it and since I have been doing this it hasn’t stuck again. I am applying a tiny bit of grease about twice a week.

              I will see if I can find a source for a better quality gasket (maybe PTFE) which might solve the problem permanently. I didn’t get this with either of my Ascaso machines (Dream and Duo Steel) both of which had a slightly softer gasket.

              Anyway an annoying problem solved.

              Lelit Elizabeth (2) , Eureka Oro Mignon Single Dose, Mignon Mk2 (converted to single dose), Aerolatte Mini grinders(2), cafetières, Bodum K1218 Vacuum

                I bought a silicone gasket for my sage dual boiler and all of the la marzoccos I work with have silicone gaskets instead of the standard rubber ones. They are softer and last longer, even in a very busy cafe our engineer said they don’t actually need replaced for at least a couple of years (although they do get replaced yearly during the service).

                I have seen this problem come up on HB with VST baskets in the elizabeth being very hard to lock in.

                The cafelat e61 8mm is supposed to fit the elizabeth and is a little slimmer than stock so it might help: https://www.cafelat.co.uk/collections/silicone-group-gaskets/products/e61-red

                Coffee Roaster. Home: Sage Dual Boiler, Niche Zero, Ode v2 (SSP), 1zpresso ZP6 Work: Eagle One Prima EXP, mahlkonig e80s, Mazzer Philos and lots more

                  InfamousTuba Thank you very much for this link. I will order a couple.

                  Lelit Elizabeth (2) , Eureka Oro Mignon Single Dose, Mignon Mk2 (converted to single dose), Aerolatte Mini grinders(2), cafetières, Bodum K1218 Vacuum

                      MBdoc if the basket is sticking firmly - very - to the gasket in the base of the brew boiler.

                      Do you mean the group gasket?

                      InfamousTuba I have seen this problem come up on HB with VST baskets in the elizabeth being very hard to lock in

                      Been using VSTs since for ever. And you are correct, the VST sits a little proud on my PF - the IMS E&B is a better fit, and, for me at least, after testing it over a few weeks, they are very similar to the VST - even the grind is pretty much the same.

                            MediumRoastSteam Yes it’s the group gasket. The VMP lack one that the portafilter seats against.

                            Lelit Elizabeth (2) , Eureka Oro Mignon Single Dose, Mignon Mk2 (converted to single dose), Aerolatte Mini grinders(2), cafetières, Bodum K1218 Vacuum

                              9 days later

                              MBdoc The new Cafelat gaskets arrived yesterday and I fitted one to my Elizabeth in UK. Surprisingly, although it certainly doesn’t stick, it seemed quite a bit harder to unlock the basket after making a coffee. I had applied a thin film of silicone grease before I fitted the new gasket and also on the lugs on the portafilter. Maybe it will improve after a few uses.

                              Lelit Elizabeth (2) , Eureka Oro Mignon Single Dose, Mignon Mk2 (converted to single dose), Aerolatte Mini grinders(2), cafetières, Bodum K1218 Vacuum

                                  MBdoc I had applied a thin film of silicone grease before I fitted the new gasket

                                  You don’t need to do this, at all. Silicone, unlike rubber, will not bake on the group when hot and won’t stick. Just make sure your group is immaculately clean before fitting it. It will simply come off like brand new. I had mine on for 3 years now, so speaking from experience. 👍

                                      MediumRoastSteam It doesn’t stick, just rather stif to get the portafilter on and off. Maybe I need to be a bit gentler locking it on.

                                      Lelit Elizabeth (2) , Eureka Oro Mignon Single Dose, Mignon Mk2 (converted to single dose), Aerolatte Mini grinders(2), cafetières, Bodum K1218 Vacuum

                                          MBdoc - I’m purely pointing out that you do not need to apply silicone grease on a silicone gasket, that’s all. 👍

                                            Understood and thank you.

                                            Lelit Elizabeth (2) , Eureka Oro Mignon Single Dose, Mignon Mk2 (converted to single dose), Aerolatte Mini grinders(2), cafetières, Bodum K1218 Vacuum