What To Do With This Espresso Machine

[jyl]

Picked this up last night.

Sitting marked "FREE" on the curb in my neighborhood. I knocked in the door, the lady said she used to work with a cafe owner, he gave her the machine, she never used it, doesn't know if it works, etc.

I figured it might be repairable and anyway would disappear quickly if marked "FREE" on my curb.





What do I have here? How do I test it? Where might a manual be found? Is it decent, or junk not worth testing/fixing?

I know zero about commercial espresso machines. Never used one. See them at the restaurant supply store, priced at $1K for a used one.

[porsche4life]

I think you need fingers, the espresso repair expert....

[LeeH]

Quick flip in Craigslist. Hose it off, make it pretty, price it at $200 firm.

[jyl]

In case the second picture is too blurry, it is an "Elektra", made 1993, holds 8 L water, works at 1.5 bar, requires 220v (which I have in the garage and could have in the kitchen.

Looks sort of like model "F-S" here
Modern Models Commercial linea bar Elektra Espresso Machine

Parts seem to be available. No idea of cost. There is a sticker for a local repair service on the machine, too.

[LWJ]

Ask Roses / Pitman / Boxer NW what they would pay for it? All are in Portland and buy restaurant equipment. You might be able to trade for something that is useful for you - like a 110V espresso machine.

Larry

[sketchers356]

Do you have the portafilters? Pretty much a brick without those.

[tocobill]

220v ... good luck with that. Would be cool to hook it up in your garage though. Im sure you could find the portafilters for it if you looked around to make it a complete unit. I would be curious if it worked. To bad it not all brass .... polish it up and stick it on the counter for looks.

[RWebb]

since you live in Orygun, you should convert it into a refinery to make your own bio-diesel

[imcarthur]

A new one ain't cheap.

Ian

[jyl]

Is there a, perish the thought, Pelican Parts equivalent for espresso fanatics?

[tocobill]

Originally Posted by jyl

Is there a, perish the thought, Pelican Parts equivalent for espresso fanatics?

[jriera]

I ran the 'commercial' model of that one for over 15 years at my parents bar in Spain .. a couple of gaskets here and there, one or two heating elements ... a real workhorse!

Very easy to work on. Send it my way if you don't want it.

[balistc]

Originally Posted by sketchers356

Do you have the portafilters? Pretty much a brick without those.

A 58mm commercial portafilter to suit would cost no more than $50 each.

Originally Posted by jyl

What do I have here? How do I test it? Where might a manual be found? Is it decent, or junk not worth testing/fixing?

I know zero about commercial espresso machines. Never used one. See them at the restaurant supply store, priced at $1K for a used one.

My first post on Pelican (long time lurker, still looking for that elusive perfect 911SC), but I thought I'd make it about something I do know about.. and that happens to be coffee machines.


Elektra is a damn good espresso machine, they're worth very good money new.. several thousands.

If the machine has no major components broken (boiler, elements, etc), you should be able to restore this for no more than $500, if you DIY it, including all parts.

Frames tend to rust on older machines, due to moisture and coffee grinds build up, but you don't generally find terminal rust on machines of that age.. usually you get that sort of rust on vintage machines. A strip down, blast and powdercoat of the frame would remove any surface rust and flaking paint and bring it back to new.

Exterior panels can be replated/repainted, but a lot of people like to just clean them up to retain the patina of them. Give them a good clean up, replace any missing fasteners, repolish the chrome using some polishing paste, clean the painted panels (use automotive polish if they're glossy) and be done with it.

The boiler is something not to be messed with... it will need a descale, so you'll need to disassemble it.. and 9 times out of 10, you'll strip the bolts due to the heat cycling they've been through. If you do disassemble it and descale it (in a commercial descaling solution), you'll have to be super careful with reassembly. If you do it wrong, it can go off like a bomb when its pressurised.

Electrics.. again, probably not something to mess with as the voltages are proper appliance voltages. Basically the solenoids and relays can stick, but everything else should be fairly sound apart from some crusty insulation (due to the heat), and a lot of cafe owners like doing DIY repairs to keep cost down. If you know what you're doing or know someone who does, go for it, otherwise get it checked by a pro.

The rest of the machine should be disassembled, components soaked in citric acid, and reassembled with new gaskets, rubbers and seals, especially the group heads (the round things poking out under the main control panel). These parts are readily available at any coffee service store, and there are heaps online (I'm not sure where to get them in the USA, as I get my stuff through my local retailer here in Western Australia). Service manuals and wiring diagrams are available on the net if you look around. www.home-barista.com is a good forum to start on, but there are dozens of resources out there.

www.1st-line.com is well known around the online communities, as is www.chriscoffee.com, both for parts and equipment.

A quick google search uncovered www.espressoparts.com and www.espressocare.com, the latter being an Elektra specialist.

It's not an easy task, but it can be done. I've done 2 machines now, and luckily both weren't too far gone, but they were still relatively challenging. I've also done PID controller retrofits on several Rancilio Silvia espresso machines, and helped a lot of my friends service and use their espresso machines, both auto and manual. It's a favourite pastime of mine.

This was the last one I did.. Expobar Megacrem (a popular Spanish machine). Electrics and exterior were good, just needed a really good clean, polish, and component descale.. plus a bunch of seals and rubbers. As good as new! A friend of mine bought it off me, he got a bargain and is extremely happy with the performance of the machine.




Compak K8 Silenzio grinder, which I picked up at the same time as the above machine. Needed new burrs and a really good clean (coffee oils are a ***** to clean off). Compared it to the size of my old Rancilio Rocky grinder, it was MASSIVE.




This is my current "ride".. brand new Izzo Alex Duetto II and Mazzer Mini E grinder, and associated accessories $4,500 AUD well spent!




A shot of an espresso extraction through a naked portafilter on my Alex Duetto II (naked being it has no bottom, the spouts and base were machined off to expose the bottom of the basket.. used for showing coffee grind and tamp distribution)

[9dreizig]

send it to Gogar

[Dantilla]

My wife would love this!

But a commercial machine like this is left on continually- 24/7. Otherwise there will be a very long wait in the morning while the boiler comes up to proper temp and pressure.

Quite a bit to know to make a proper latte- Easy to screw it up. Done correctly, the sugars in the coffe combine with the sugars in the milk on a molecular level.

A machine like this is not appropriate for just a quick cup of Joe once in the morning.

[azasadny]

Lots of good info here and on the web about these machines. Restore it and use it!!

[Evans, Marv]

Welcome & thanks for posting, balistc. Would CLR be a possibility for descaling the boiler/pressure canister without having to disassemble it?

[kaisen]

Gogar would be a good resource

[Bill Douglas]

Another idea is to put water in and just switch the bastard on.

[rick-l]

Is there anything in it that applying 60 instead of 50 Hertz would cause a problem?