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67 Olympia Cremina Restoration
The 67 Olympia Cremina is a classic vintage lever espresso machine made in Switzerland. I always wanted one, but was never lucky enough to find one in good condition in my price range. Finally my...
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67 Cremina - The Strip Begins
After a few fun tests to see if the machine worked (it does), it's off to the workshop to start the strip.I started by removing the back cover to have a look at the internals. (Ahhh...lovely asbestos....
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67 Cremina - Asbestos Insulation Removal
I'm not sure what this stuff is on the outside of the boiler. It looks like cement, but from what I read, I'm pretty sure there is some asbestos relative buried inside. Whatever it is, I'm not taking...
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67 Cremina - Rebuild Time
So the boiler has now been removed and stripped of asbestos insulation. Now it's time to shine her up.One thing I know for sure, I won't be using sandpaper like I've seen on other restorations....
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67 Cremina - Pulling the first few shots
The machine is now fully restored and sitting on the kitchen counter across from my Vivaldi. Time to pull a few shots.The first one I pulled before the restoration was much too hot, so I dropped down...
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Mini Vivaldi Strip
Now that the Cremina is running smoothly, it gives me some time to strip my main machine...my Mini Vivaldi. Here's how she looks just before the strip:It's been a fantastic Latte machine, and has...
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Mini Vivaldi Flow Meter Disassembly
Except for a layer of dust, the insides look pretty new.While I have it apart, one area I've wanted to take a closer look at is the flow meter.Here's picture of the assembled flow meter:This is a...
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Mini Vivaldi Brew Boiler Descaling
I started this overhaul with the intent of getting inside the brew boiler to see if any scale had built up over the last 2.5 years.After about 1.5 years, I added a descaling solution to my reservoir to...
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LeLit PL041 OPV Fix
A friend of mine was having some trouble with his Le'Lit PL041. It's about 1.5 years old and has not seen much maintenance (no descale for even backflushing). Recently he told me he started hearing...
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