I've been reading this thread and I've just bought a Gran Gaggia on eBay for just over £20. Needs descaling (is Waitrose's appliance descaler suitable?).
Get yourself some tartaric acid crystals from eBay or from a local shop. If it's quite scaled, then give it a nice and strong solution, and you can repeatedly re-use the solution, while avoiding putting any clumps of chalk back into the water tank. Let the solution sit in the boiler tank for maybe twenty minutes at a time. Pop out the shower screen and the block which is attached underneath and leave these sitting in solution too.
Get yourself some tartaric acid crystals from eBay or from a local shop. If it's quite scaled, then give it a nice and strong solution, and you can repeatedly re-use the solution, while avoiding putting any clumps of chalk back into the water tank. Let the solution sit in the boiler tank for maybe twenty minutes at a time. Pop out the shower screen and the block which is attached underneath and leave these sitting in solution too.