Hey Chris, I'd guess your gasket is bad. I change mine about once a year, and the shower screen twice a year. The gasket can be a bear to remove, especially an old/hard one. If you have the machine hot, it will be a little easier. I'd suggest you write off the shower screen, because then you can be more aggressive using the shower screen as a tool to remove the group gasket. A small screwdriver against the edge/lip of the screen makes a good pry point, and you gently pry downwards at lots of points around the screen, wiggling the screen back and forth until it and (hopefully) the gasket fall out. Another alternative is to use the corner of the screwdriver to dent into the side of the screen's cylinder as you pry, and get it out that way. Note the orientation of the gasket--it has a beveled edge that points upwards when properly installed.
Cleaning the shower screen is nearly impossible. Getting the holes clean is easy, but there is a residual layer of oil/grind that gets trapped between the housing and the screen. Have a look at some old photos of mine that I posted about a while back. The best you can do is regularly backflush and soak in Cafiza, and toss it after a while. It costs less than a half a pound of coffee, and makes a big difference in taste. Here's a picture of a one-year-old screen that had been soaked in a strong Cafiza solution for an hour, and scrubbed vigorously on both sides: http://tinyurl.com/246thzp Here is a link to the gasket: http://www.chriscoffee.com/products/home/isomacparts/e61groupgasket Note that it comes in three thicknesses--8, 8.5, and 9mm. I think the stock one was 8.5, and if you use the Rancilio bottomless PF you use the 8. Here is the screen: http://www.chriscoffee.com/products/home/isomacparts/faemae61groupscreen Be sure to specify "e61" in the "color: select brand" drop down box. Hope some of that helps. tx, bmc On Oct 28, 2010, at 12:29 PM, Chris Bailey wrote: > Recently I've been getting a fair bit of water coming out the side/outside of > my PF. I have not changed my coffee, methods, etc. I suspect either I need > to do some intense cleaning, or maybe my PF is worn or something and not > getting a proper seal? To illustrate what I'm talking about, see the > annotated photo: > > http://skitch.com/chrisrbailey/d7axc/bii-leak > > Those red arrows are pointing to the water that's leaking out the side. I've > got the PF in there tight, so I don't think that's the issue (and again, I > haven't changed my methods, and this is a new thing that's happening). The > leak has gotten progressively worse. Initially it was just a few drops of > water, but in this photo it's quite extreme where it's a full on stream. > > What would folks suggest? I've done the usual cleaning with the cleaning > powder and backflushing, and I've scrubbed around in the area where the PF > locks in (although I still seem some dirt/coffee sort of ground on there - I > need to figure out how to get in there with a tool and maybe cleaner > (recommendations?) so I can get that truly clean). So, before I got into > intense cleaning mode, figured I'd post and see if anyone else has > experienced this and what you did to solve it. Thanks. > > -- > Chris Bailey > [email protected] > @chrisrbailey > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Brewtus" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Brewtus" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en.
