| |
Main
Date: 13 Aug 2006 13:59:05
From: LF
Subject: Gaggia Classic: care, tips, advice?
|
I purchased two Gaggia Classsics today at a yard sale. One is a brass
"Gaggia Coffee Classic" (the housing is brass, or at least looks like
it). The other, a white one with some stainless, just says "Gaggia
Coffee" and has the steam knob in front rather than on the side. As
with the other used expresso machines I've found, the main problem is
lack of cleaning and descaling.
I was told that the brass one needed to be sent in to a repair shop: it
would not steam. It has one of those unfortunate frothing devices. I
filled it up, turned on the water and the steam switch, and, sure
enough no steam came out. I took apart the frothing device, cleaned
the frothing tube with a pin, turned on the pump, then turned on the
steam full blast. It cleared, and now steams like a champ.
The white "Gaggia Coffeee" machine seems to works OK. Now its Cleancaf
for each of them, and soaking the dispersion screen.
Questions:
1. These machines look like they have a 3-way valve. The metal tube
going from the main body of the machine into the drip tray is a big
clue. So, I'd like to backflush them. Any reason why not?
2. Do you have any advice or favorite internet sites for care, tips,
advice?
3. The brass one need a portafilter. Anyone have an extra one for
sale?
4. Do you know anything about either of these machines. I did not
find a Classic with the steam knob on front with a Google search. Too
many hits to see them all.
Thanks,
Larry
|
|
| |
Date: 13 Aug 2006 23:29:54
From: D. Ross
Subject: Re: Gaggia Classic: care, tips, advice?
|
|
| |
Date: 13 Aug 2006 21:57:08
From: Mirek Bujnovsky
Subject: Re: Gaggia Classic: care, tips, advice?
|
If your as crazy as I am and look at your new Gaggia purchase as a fun new
learning experience in how the machine works, then I would suggest getting
the schematics of the thing.
http://gaggiaparts.com/GaggiaClassicCoffee.html has the schematic for the
parts and the wiring diagram. I wish they had it for my Paros.
I'm in the middle (hopefully close to the end) of fixing up my Paros. I can
tell you what I found. The gaskets were a disaster and the thing leaked
everywhere. The group head gasket was so hard that it broke off a drill
bit and I couldn't pull it out by drilling in screws. I had to take the
group head off and burn the thing out with a torch. I replaced all the
gaskets in the machine.
The bottom of the boiler was corroded, so I used some permatex sealant on
the bottom of the boiler. I'm still dealing with an electrical problem,
which I could probably figure out if I could find an electrical schematic.
Good luck!
LF wrote:
> I purchased two Gaggia Classsics today at a yard sale. One is a brass
> "Gaggia Coffee Classic" (the housing is brass, or at least looks like
> it). The other, a white one with some stainless, just says "Gaggia
> Coffee" and has the steam knob in front rather than on the side. As
> with the other used expresso machines I've found, the main problem is
> lack of cleaning and descaling.
>
> I was told that the brass one needed to be sent in to a repair shop: it
> would not steam. It has one of those unfortunate frothing devices. I
> filled it up, turned on the water and the steam switch, and, sure
> enough no steam came out. I took apart the frothing device, cleaned
> the frothing tube with a pin, turned on the pump, then turned on the
> steam full blast. It cleared, and now steams like a champ.
>
> The white "Gaggia Coffeee" machine seems to works OK. Now its Cleancaf
> for each of them, and soaking the dispersion screen.
>
> Questions:
>
> 1. These machines look like they have a 3-way valve. The metal tube
> going from the main body of the machine into the drip tray is a big
> clue. So, I'd like to backflush them. Any reason why not?
>
> 2. Do you have any advice or favorite internet sites for care, tips,
> advice?
>
> 3. The brass one need a portafilter. Anyone have an extra one for
> sale?
>
> 4. Do you know anything about either of these machines. I did not
> find a Classic with the steam knob on front with a Google search. Too
> many hits to see them all.
>
> Thanks,
> Larry
|
| | |
Date: 13 Aug 2006 23:31:51
From: D. Ross
Subject: Re: Gaggia Classic: care, tips, advice?
|
|
|
