FAEMA C85 S/1 Whre to continue

[Flo Baine]

First of all, thanks for the support.

How do I continue in a thread? It also seems that i dont have permission to do so? Is that possible.

I continued to work on the machine.

-Cleaned boiler and pipes

-The manual valve moves again

-Cleaned  the sight glass/water level element. It also had little steel balls in the part between the pipes going to the boiler, as "valves".

-The part where the heating element plugs into the boiler...
The lower screw doesnt come out, also the thread is a bit eaten away and the nut doesnt grip well. The rusted screw needs to come out. The worn out thread  might also explain why there was a lot of lime residue there. I also couldn´t remove the gasket. See Photos

I turned it on with the heating element disconnected from the power and notihing happend

Then I took the pump apart, and broke a badly corroded piece off. Reconnected it again and it makes noises. But it looks pretty beaten and rough on the inside, replacement looks reasonable. ULKA Typ NH 26 C is the model, seems to be out of stock. I will need to look for a replacement with similar fittings. Suggestions? Might work for now

[frank]

Hi, you should be able to reply in the thread by clicking "Reply All". If you still can't continue in a thread, let me know and I'll try to figure it out.

For the stuck heating element screw, you can try letting it soak in some penetrating oil for a day or two to see if that loosens it.

For the pump, I use one of these because I salvaged it from another machine:

https://www.espressoparts.com/products/120v-ulka-ep5-vibratory-pump

You'll need an adapter like this to go from the pump barb to the braided hose:

https://www.espressoparts.com/products/7mm-barb-x-1-8-f-bsp-brass-elbow-adaptor-compression-fitting

But any 120V vibratory pump should work with the right fittings.

I unfortunately don't remember how I got my heating element gasket off but it might have involved some careful persuasion with a sharp metal tool. I think this is the replacement:

https://www.espressoparts.com/products/faema-compact-three-bolt-flange-heating-element-gasket

Frank

[Alex]

Check out my post where I managed to make a replacement parts list and took a ton of photos of my rebuild: https://groups.google.com/g/faema-compact-user-group/c/JHreuftXOus/m/wRKjQYGpBAAJ

Hopefully it's helpful!

Alex

[Flo Baine]

Ah

reply all works, Google used to ask me "Do you really want to reply to all?!?!""
I thought i would reply to every user in this whole group...

I live in Germany, I will have to track the links on a German/European seller site , but its a good reference!

Will go with this pump(240 V version) and the brass fitting (EP5 = plastic fitting)

My current setup is this:

Will the new setup be connected like this?

"Can this" means: Can this be screw directly on the pump?

The measurements of the gasket ring match what i measured..

@Alex

Neat photos will use them definitly as a ref. Nice jobs with the rewiring!

-----

Progress:

This damm screw doesnt back down so i took it carefully to the vise. I didnt really brake off, it crumbled away like a rusty vampire at noon.
Tried to pull it out with a tool that i dont know the english name(looked it up,Screw extractors ), Didnt work. Drilled the whole thing out and "fixed" it with a chopped of screw, nut and washers.
Water ran out the bottom, i hope its the old gasket...

Would you "prime" the gasket area with some kind of "sealant".

The "valve" greasing someone mentioned here. Where would i do that?

Only in the grouphead and the valveblock? How often should you do that? Once year(home use only...)

It gets sold in 6ml portions? Is that a lifetime supply or should i buy more?

The water level 

I dont have that white part anymore. Do I need it?

whats the green ball for? To see the level better?

Flo

[frank]

Hi Flo,

That pump diagram might work, but it will be a little awkward because the barb-to-hose adapter is 90 degrees. If you want to keep the overpressure valve that regulates pressure by bypassing the pump, you could try a pump like this that has a threaded inlet:
https://www.espressoparts.com/products/220v-70w-fluid-o-tech-vibratory-pump

Alternatively you can do what I did and re-plumb everything with a new overpressure valve like this one:

https://www.espressoparts.com/products/3-8-expansion-valve

Here is a picture of the internals of my machine:

Sorry, there are nearly infinite ways to rebuild this machine, and it's difficult to recommend one specific way. Hopefully you live near a hardware store with a good selection of pipe fittings.

In terms of grease, I greased the valve block when I rebuilt the machine 13 years ago and never again. I grease the steam and hot water valves when I replace the rubber seals (~5 years). I use a little grease on the portafilter gasket to make it easy to remove. 6 mL of grease sounds like a lifetime supply to me.

It sounds like the old heating element gasket is not sealing and a new one should fix that. The new ones are Teflon, which will never go bad. I didn't use any type of sealant.

You don't need the white plastic tub in the sightglass. My machine didn't even come with one.

Keep up the good work!

Frank

[Flo Baine]

@Frank
Good infos in the pump and adaptor, thanks. I ordered the Ulka pump(its only 19 Euros compared to the fluidotech Pump(100 Euros in Germany)) and see how good my hardware store is :)

What kind of insulation did you wrap around the boiler on that photo? I just thought about this today that the boiler must be loosing massive amounts of heat....

I noticed the was some kind of white tape on some threads. Is that teflon tape? Thought about replacing that with hemp seals? Any experience
I try to avoid teflon(forever chem) as far as possible.

On the valveblock there are 2 adjustment scews. What do i adjust with that?
When do i know if i did sth wrong?

The group

I this as far as the undersidet comes apart?

Doesnt the middle part come off?

Thanks FLO

[frank]

I used melamine foam insulation. It's rated for high temperatures. https://www.mcmaster.com/products/melamine-foam-sheets/?s=melamine-foam-sheets

I did use Teflon tape on a few fittings. You don't need any sealant on the flared copper fittings, and you might be able to avoid it altogether if you find the right compression fittings. I've never tried hemp sealant.

Your valve block is different than mine. Mine has one screw that controls the ratio of water that goes between the boiler and grouphead, I think. That's probably #1 in your picture. The other one might control when the expansion valve opens? Neither is particularly critical and somewhere in the middle of the adjustment range should work.

The middle part of the group head does not come off. You've disassembled it as far as possible.

Frank

[Flo Baine]

Hey guys,

spare parts arrived and I already installed some, including the boiler gasket. I thought it was way to thick but the boiler is tight! YES!

Installed some new orings and reassembled the whole thing. It seems to work, water is being pumped, pump switches off and on when the water level device is reached.

Steam valve seems to work.

Next step will be deassembling the steam and water wand.

Oh anyone got a spare part number for the pressure gauge, I cant see it in the PDF
Or should i just go by the diameter of the copper connector in the back`?

The pump:

my hardware store(s) seem to be bad, I cant find the correct fittings for the Ulka pump.
Maybe i send it back and get the Flowtech...

Judging from the current setup it should match perfect as you mentioned(see photo)

I reached out to some german espresso nerds today and we will see what they have to say.
I´m trying to avoid the 85 euro FlowTech in favor of the 17 Euro Ulka EX5

Do I need this safty valve if I dont connect the machine to the water main?

FLO

[sam pratt]

Back in 2017, I used a fluid-O-Tech vibe pump #1106PAIFM1E0000 at the time they included a Fluid-O-Tech "C1A" connection diode.   If you are in Europe I assume that it will be a different model because of voltage?

I included the spec sheets I used to size my pump for a US application.

sam

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Faema Compact User Group" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to faema-compact-user...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/faema-compact-user-group/8b03995f-3343-42a1-9dd9-c4db188e8457n%40googlegroups.com.

[Frank Moss]

Hi Flo,

I don't know of anyone selling the exact replacement gauge, but like you said, any one that has the right connection and is approximately the right diameter should work.

That's actually the overpressure valve, not a safety valve. Vibratory pumps create ~14 bar pressure, and the overpressure valve opens a little to reduce that pressure to the ~9 bar you need to make good espresso. Yours is plumbed so that the water that is released is recirculated back to the inlet of the pump. I replaced mine with a different valve, which releases water into the waste water line.

Frank

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/faema-compact-user-group/CA%2B2n9GDx85Q6bHnMSVnrXH17Hzk3x_5UcAYu6gCjRsm_ArrYXw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Flo Baine]

Hey everybody!
Machine is running and espresso tastes great!

I got a new overpressure valve and hooked it up after the pump. Last item is the gauge but thats not that urgent...

Thanks to everybody for the support and the sharing of knowledge, it helped a lot.

Flo

[sam pratt]

Great job 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/faema-compact-user-group/6cc24ca6-382d-4149-9886-3452ec81bb92n%40googlegroups.com.

[sam pratt]

Not sure if anyone here uses the water softener features on their Compact.    

There are two water softener cartridges for sale on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/125478738820?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=wl5K0PuRR5e&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=LsA6bkPQStq&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

I have nothing to do with this listing.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/faema-compact-user-group/6cc24ca6-382d-4149-9886-3452ec81bb92n%40googlegroups.com.

[frank]

Congratulations! Post some pictures when you get a chance.

Frank

[Flo Baine]

Just when I thought I was out...

Now the power knob is stuck, luckily in the ON position. Did someone encounter this problem? 

I took a quick look in the electronic case of the machine and getting it out is a multi step process, but it can be done.

Eventually I will get it out but has anyone experience with this?

[sam pratt]

Haven't experienced it, but have looked at it in the past.    There maybe substitutes?

Anyway, I leave mine in the on position and use a timer or a smart plug to switch it on and off

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/faema-compact-user-group/db45e2c6-0c9a-4c15-8acd-d67ebf2911bdn%40googlegroups.com.

[Flo Baine]

Yes there are replacement available, 45 Euros.
The timer switch is something i should get into...

[Flo Baine]

HEy Sam.

The On/Off switch is not faulty I guess. Because now I have it permanently plugged in and it works again. 
But I can´t turn it on/ff really fast. There seems to some sort of timer to regulate this to protect the electric parts I guess.

If I turn it off, I have to wait a short amount of time before the blocking mechanism switches off and I can turn the knob again.

FLO

Sam Pratt New Hampshire, USA schrieb am Mittwoch, 29. November 2023 um 15:32:39 UTC+1:

[sam pratt]

That's great news 👍.  I am always so sad when mine is out of service 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/faema-compact-user-group/5662e6e5-0ac9-4c38-bcdc-0ee767508e60n%40googlegroups.com.

[Flo Baine]

Someone asked for photos when the restoration is completed.

Thanks for the suport from everybody

[sam pratt]

Looks great 👍🏻

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/faema-compact-user-group/5662e6e5-0ac9-4c38-bcdc-0ee767508e60n%40googlegroups.com.