I’ve been looking to buy a La Pavoni pre-mil for few weeks and stumbled upon this one. What do you think about this boiler. Is that copper corrosion combined with limescale? Is it worth buying like this and can it be fixed? Thank you

Looks like there’s maybe a scratch or small damage on the element and the build up has preferentially grew from there. You can remove it easily, problem is if there is any damage to the element. No way to really know without removing it.

Considering how localised that lump of buildup looks I would be thinking there is a crack in the heating element. It may still be working but would be set to fail soon. This is repairable as parts are available, but it would depend on how interested you are in a DIY project.

Thank you for the quick reply. Looking at other boilers, it seems that there is a screw nut and the buildup is on that nut. I’m actually inclined towards a DIY project than buying a serviced one. So I can get to know the machine a bit better. Also it seems that it only has a cappuccino wand, and I guess I would need to buy a new steam pipe for it? It looks a bit short, and not sure if you can just add a tip to it.

oddbean Yeah it does look a bit short, you might need to change the entire steam wand part which costs a fair bit.

The elements vary depending on the age on the pre millenniums and you can only buy the newer ones. These will fit the older boilers but I think you need to buy new attachment rings. Alternatively a guy called Gabor in Hungary can refurbish the broken element. He does an amazing job and if I remember correctly costs about £50. Loads of places sell the steam wands and shouldn’t be too expensive. Also get photos of the base under the drip tray and around the wires underneath.

La Pavoni buying advice

nopapercup

From your photo I would say it was made in the 90s if it’s a pre millennium going by the base and the lever handle

oddbean

nopapercup Thank you for the reply. I asked the guy to send a picture with the base, and it’s a 95 model. Weird thing is that it has a two position white switch. Which I thought they are from the 80s. Asking price is 300. And thinking to take the plunge, since the base looks like new

oddbean

nopapercup is there a chance that heating element is fine, and the limescale deposit built up on the nut that holds the water level indicator?

nopapercup

oddbean The limescale does look like it’s on the upper nut. The bigger concern is what appears to be a crack in one of the elements. I had a knackered element on a machine I bought and it was cracked like this. The switch looks like it has been changed, combined with the element, I suspect someone let it run dry which usually breaks the element and can also short the switch. One of the elements could still work but the machine won’t heat up properly with one element so you will need to change it.

The machine looks nice but £300 seems a lot if you’ll end up spending another £100+ to get it working

The wiring also looks brand new.

oddbean

nopapercup

Thank you so much again for your reply. The guy says he has only used it 50 times over the years. And agreed to descale it. Can you please have another look? One of them seems to have the copper layer ripped.

dfk41

@oddbean I have one which I might well sell. If you email me on my signature email, I will show you the bill I have just paid for a full service etc so at least you know it ought to run for a long time!

Sham

dfk41 had enough of your la pavoni 😅?

dfk41

Sham Not really, but the original idea was to have a machine I could use only in the event of either wanting a play or in case my main machine breaks down. The initial purchase price was fine but the bill to repair ran nearly twice the expected. I would rather someone who wants a machine to use daily had the benefit of a machine that has been serviced and had virtually every moving part replaced, than it just sat in a cupboard!

Sham

oddbean If you can knock off an extra £40 or more (for your time to install) off you can replace the element if needed (a lot of places sell it).

DavecUK

Could just be a remaining bit of limescale. Cn’t see any burn or blow marks.

Sham

Why does it look like the outer copper layer has peeled off in places?

oddbean

Sham that’s what I am thinking too. Even though @nopapercup said it might be around 100 to replace that.

nopapercup

oddbean no you’ll be in £100+ to change the element, replace all the gaskets which will more than likely need doing and get a steam wand. It will be more or less if you do the work yourself.

That element could well still work but if the copper is pealing off it may be nearing the end. As suggested above maybe try and knock some money off and you’re better of descaling it yourself. The owner my stick some harsh chemicals in there to descale it.

dfk41

I was charged £30 plus vat for one just recently

oddbean

@Sham thanks for encouraging me to buy it
nopapercup thank you for the really on point advice. Thing is that he already descaled it, following a recipe I found on a forum with 25% vinegar , 75% water at high temperature for an hour.

So I went yesterday to pick it up thinking I will haggle the price to 250 for the damaged element. But when I got there, I just bought it as is. I’ve seen tens of them online, but first one in real life. It looked so nice, I couldn’t haggle a penny, and took it straight away.

Drove home to make an espresso, and electricity dropped the moment I pushed the ON button. Same for both positions. So I write the seller and he tells me he broke the element while descaling for an hour. Because he left the machine with no water and offered to pay half of the element(£30). He says he was gifted the machine 10 years ago and never used it.

I guess I’ll never know if it had worked before or not, but certainly I need to replace the heating element. And my question is, should I just order a new one or try to have this fixed by Gabor in Hungary(as mentioned by @nopapercup earlier).

Sham

oddbean Half the element price is a bit less… Should be the full price at least. And it wasn’t very good of him to deceive you… Try fixing it yourself, it isn’t that hard and there’s a lot of guides online and probably some on the La Pavoni Facebook group. Getting it fixed will cost too much.

nopapercup

oddbean Buy a new element, it’s only worth getting Gabor to fix the older pre 80s elements as these can no longer be purchased.

The seller is full of it, the new electrical wiring and switch are a clear indication he knackered the element previously and hoped changing the switch and wires would resolve the problem.

If you’re confident with the electrics, you can swap it yourself otherwise there are a few servicing centres in the UK that will swap it for you and probably won’t charge much to do it. I’ve used Frank at Ferrari espresso in South Wales who’s great, The espresso Shop in Glasgow also do it and I’m sure there are a few more.

oddbean

Great, I’ve looked at it and it seems pretty straight forward. I’ll order the element today and the steam wand today. Thank you

oddbean

@nopapercup could I ask you one last question. Should I order some gaskets/seals too? Espresso shop have a service kit(which includes the heating element seal, that i suppose needs changing) and a group head kit.

nopapercup

oddbean Yes definitely change all the gaskets, you’re taking it apart anyways and then you’ll be good to go. Don’t worry about the questions, I was once a new secondhand Pavoni owner so if I can I’m happy to help.

nopapercup

Cuprajake The seller is a shit but doesn’t make this a bad deal. For £350ish oddbean will have what looks to be a mint machine with a brand new element. Good luck finding one as nice for that price.

Cuprajake

Wow another nice genuine seller there, £250 is quite expensive for something that blows your home electrics.

Fingers crossed its an easy fix.

oddbean

Cuprajake seller is indeed genuine and I’m a pretty weak buyer. I’ve lost so many ebay bids, I just wanted to get it over with. I usually buy new too, just because I’m not a lucky buyer. But some things, including this machine is better old and can’t be purchased new anymore.

@nopapercup ordered the element and full set of gaskets(and a naked portafilter), hope they arrive before the weekend. Steam pipe is not a priority now.

@Sham that is a steal. You do need to watch fb/ebay non stop, which I give up.