Kalkhoff

Most recent activity

• SOLD: Google Nest Thermostat 2nd Gen + stand - £45 posted

  in Miscellany • 9 hours, 7 minutes

  

  Keen if you can post? (at my cost obviously!)

• Coffee Appreciation

  in Miscellaneous and Meaningless • 5 days, 10 hours

  

  Absolutely, a couple of fettles and they're usually fine. Anything else they are toast. As I found out again 😅

• Coffee Appreciation

  in Miscellaneous and Meaningless • 5 days, 18 hours

  

  Update on my Europiccola refresh...

  Tightened up the lock ring last night with my new breaker bar and oil filter wrench with the help of my dad keeping the base aligned (we got there on the second attempt...)

  Then set to with refitting the element and rewiring the machine with a gaggia baby wiring loom. Handy as it is heat proof and has the right heatproof insulated connectors, too. I also fitted a new power cable (iron flex) which is terminated inside with a connector block.

  Wooden handles fitted as well as a re-lubed grouphead/piston.

  Then I had to move (bend) the pstat pipe as the element was in a new position because of the lock ring being in a different position. This caused a split so a new pipe is on the way... Just this and it'll be finished.

  Here's a pic as it looks today

• Coffee Appreciation

  in Miscellaneous and Meaningless • 1 week

  

  😂😂😂😂

• Coffee Appreciation

  in Miscellaneous and Meaningless • 1 week

  

  Agreed! Will need some elbowgrease I'm sure.

• Coffee Appreciation

  in Miscellaneous and Meaningless • 1 week

  

  Just won this...

  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205151280050?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=QdwEddNFTge&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=90nfr6tdTdu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

  Should make a cracking winter project as I have a new lock ring and element already, which are the expensive bits.

  One thing I will be adding though will be a resettable thermal fuse 😂

• 8 speed campag early 90s vintage - NOW SORTED

  in Wanted Adverts • 1 week

  

  Have chorus STIs

• Coffee Appreciation

  in Miscellaneous and Meaningless • 1 week, 2 days

  

  I think that's the legendary Bruce Pappas! Have watched a few of his videos.

  I have an electric impact hammer tool thingy but it's on its last legs, and it flings the oil filter wrench so fast it occasionally slips off, so breaker bar it is!!

• Coffee Appreciation

  in Miscellaneous and Meaningless • 1 week, 2 days

  

  Made a bit of progress on my europiccola refresh/tart up

  New element and pstat pipe chucked on and some wiring put together, fired up and got up to pressure, pstat cycles nicely.

  Then I found out the base was loose (not sure how, its been sat in the garage for the best part of a year) I fitted the lock ring last year when I first built it.

  This time I'm going bigger and better and using a breaker bar and a workmate to get some leverage into it so it should stay put this time round!

  Then I can tidy up the wiring, fit the new wooden handles and hopefully pull some shots.

  I should probably fit a resettable thermal fuse as well.

• Coffee Appreciation

  in Miscellaneous and Meaningless • 2 weeks, 3 days

  

  No, but...

  A few years ago I had a Classic that I fitted a diy PID to, only on the boiler thermostat, so the steam wiring was untouched (sans PID).

  I learnt a lot about the existing steam thermostat and how it operates as the PID would read out the boiler temp.

  When the steam switch was turned on, the temp would go to around 145-150 degrees, then the light would come on to indicate steam was ready. As soon as the steaming started, the temperature would plummet down to around 110 degrees and fizzle out. It would then take forever for the thermostat to kick in again and get steaming.

  So I learnt to start steaming around 140 degees ish, whilst the light was off and boiler still getting up to it's 145/150 degrees cut off. This meant that the thermostat would stay on and the steam would be continuous.

  The Gaggia stock thermostats have massive swings and a long time to kick back in again, but a bit of trial and error works a treat! You may even be able to get a cheap digital thermometer that you can attach to the boiler somehow from the inside and get to know a bit more before splashing out on any other upgrades.