Picked up a La Pavoni pre millennium

Tal

Hi,

Been playing with a Rok the last few weeks, which peaked my interest in manual machines.

Anyway spotted this La Pavoni locally, being sold at what I think is a very good price by a very polite gent. I believe it to be a 1999, which I will confirm when I remove the base, it’s had a recent replacement base so no sticker. Comes with a bottomless PF too.

It works well! Though the group needs a new gasket etc and the boiler has some built up scale around the element inside. I’ve descaled and removed a fair bit already with 2 descale cycles, so a couple more descale cycles should sort it. Tiny amount of corrosion around the screw in the drip tray, but very minor.

Overall it looks brilliant.

My next steps are to service it, he said he had it serviced in Scotland a couple times during his ownership. But I don’t know when the last one was. What seals are recommended to be replaced? The lot? I see eBay sellers do a few kits. But the contents tends to differ, likewise see some service kits on various websites. Any tips on where to start?

Upgrades wise, I’ll rig up a temp gauge, maybe find a single hole steam tip, anything else that is essential?

BrendaninBrooklyn

Tal

Congratulations.

There is an excellent temperature gauge for this – Geisinger La Pavoni 50mm thermometer & shot timer . Also worth doing, swap some parts with better ones by Coffee Sensor, pin set and screws, as these are high quality stainless and will not rust. Also a Coffee Sensor steel boiler cap to replace the plastic one. Adding good quality roller bearings makes the lever feel silky, also from Coffee Sensor. A single-hole steam tip is worthwhile. Everything mentioned thus far is not much over $150 in the USA, so less for Europeans.

I would not recommend adding a thermal isolator. These simply change the problem, not remove it. Just work within the engineer’s design intentions – it is a domestic machine to produce a few cups each use.

Lastly, cosmetic upgrades are unnecessary although I happily swapped the plastic tray for a stainless steel model (see LP website) and I did change cap, knob, handle for wood but probably would not bother to do so again.

Have fun !

BrendaninBrooklyn

Tal

Congratulations.

Have fun !

BrendaninBrooklyn

PS – I knew two people with the Coffee Sensor Air Buster. It definitely works.

I never added one as by the time I found out about it, I knew I would be migrating eventually to an Odyssey Argos. The Argos interchangeable spring / direct levers, and 58 / 49 mm sizes (with a third-party step-down basket), and PID gives me an entire coffee lab in a very compact footprint.

If I had retained my modified LPP as I definitely would have done if the Argos did not exist, then I would have added the air buster.

Even with all mods I’ve mentioned, the LPP is a fraction of the price of most serious pump machines, is much easier to maintain, has likely much better longevity, is much more compact, has a better workflow, and I believe produces a better cup than most pump machines also.

As time passes, and you know your LP is your machine of choice, then it is worth considering the air buster as a final modification.

Tal

Now that’s a dangerous website! Basket racks up rather quickly there !!

Thank you. Will check it all out

nopapercup

To start with, I would keep it simple. Unless leaking, the only gaskets you should change are the group ones but upgrade the piston ones as the cheap ones don’t last long. The upgraded ones are about £13. Temp gauge is a must and that’s it to make good shots with it.

As mentioned, you can go down a rabbit hole with upgrades. I have the pressure Profiling kit, air buster and bong/thermal isolater. They’re nice to have but don’t necessarily improve the coffee.

nopapercup

Useful websites

https://www.bluestarcoffee.eu/Mobile/en/La-Pavoni-lever-spare-parts/m-cpl-48.aspx?Page=5

https://coffee-sensor.com/product-category/la-pavoni-parts-and-accessories-custom-made-from-coffee-sensor/?orderby=price

https://www.ferrari-espresso.com/product/la-pavoni-piston-rod-stainless-steel-tirante-centrale-esperto-2121024/

These guys probably did the service in Scotland

https://theespressoshop.com/collections/domestic-service-kits

A great site for old Pavoni’s

https://www.francescoceccarelli.eu/index_eng.htm

Tal

Much appreciated for the info.

So I have taken a look under the base plate and the label says Novembre 997. So I was 2 years out.

Steam valve has a slight leak It seems, I’m descaling a few more times at the moment to shift this last clump of scale. So I’ll need a few extra seals for that at least.

Tal

The upper piston seal has been installed back to front right?

nopapercup

That looks a nice machine.

The piston gaskets are shot. The plastic ones go hard and fold over. You should replace them with silicone ones. The best I’ve found are the orange ones from Coffee Sensor but because of their location, postage is expensive so only really worth ordering from them if you’re ordering a few things. The blue silicone ones you can pick up in the UK are also good.

There’s a good video on YouTube on how to service the machine.

Tal

All serviced and working beautifully now with fresh seals, silicone on the piston. Steam knob was the only ballache, slotted pin had to be tapped out.

No more steam wand leaks, the group and wand are now nice, clean and lubricated.

Lovely stuff, will get a K type thermocouple for it this week then will start considering additional mods.