La Pavoni Europiccola Group Head Service

[@chrisl2285]

Great video! Very helpful for someone (like me) who doesn't have a La Pavoni, but is seriously considering purchasing one.

[@theangrymonkey]

Glad it’s been of use. LP has been a brilliant purchase. The right mix of hands on and beauty imo.

[@jamesian8778]

when i put the gaskets back onto the piston, i tried like you from the top and got the same problem. Then i reversed the technique and put them on from the bottom of the piston and they both slipped on, into the perfect position. Great video by the way :-)

[@theangrymonkey]

Great tip! Thanks

[@SamboC177]

Tip Always remove the shower screen and gasket before removing the piston. the rubber seal can make it difficult to push the piston through. Remove the rubber shower screen seal rubber then the shower screen is easy to remove as well as the piston. I used a punch on the piston shaft and could not budge it until I removed the seal and shower screen. Piston seals must be fitted correctly. Open end of seal must face up on the top seal and down on the bottom seal. Shaft seal, the open end faces down. Shower seal screen, flat side faces down.

[@theangrymonkey]

I’ve found the punch method ineffective too, but inverting the whole group head and pushing normally works and saves having to dig about to remove the shower screen gasket. Horses for courses I guess.

[@ljones140]

Thanks for posting this. I followed this to service my Europiccola. Thank you very much

[@theangrymonkey]

Really glad it was helpful

[@keithlewis6854]

Nicely made video. Thanks. ☕️

[@theangrymonkey]

Glad it was helpful.

[@woofowl2408]

Excellent video. After changing the piston seals, descaling and re-lubicating, the machine seems to be more tolerant of the grind? It was getting very fussy and hard to make a good coffee before servicing.

[@theangrymonkey]

Thanks. Yes, I have found that as well. This is a machine that likes a regular service

[@SuperMcgenius]

Thanks, very helpful.

[@sunm7035]

Thank you for the video. Now I think I'll be able to do the same to my Professional :)

[@MarkAnthonyBugeja]

Thank you Alex, what kind of grease did you use?

[@theangrymonkey]

Molykote 111. Comes in a huge tube so you’ll have it for years

[@donallyne]

Thanks for this. It gave me the confidence to replace the top gasket behind the circlip which was leaking water out the top. I bought the machine 2nd hand and after the service, it's like a whole different beast, the way the lever glides up and down. Did you ever find out if you should grease the pins? I greased the front one because it made sense to me too. Thanks again.

[@theangrymonkey]

Really glad it helped. Never found out about the pins. The grease does leave black residue over time but I also think it’s preferable to them running dry. Sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong, but all working fine so far.

[@donallyne]

@@theangrymonkey I found out after that coffee sensor sell the pins with grease, so I guess that answers that. 👍

[@ZeeFrankensteel]

Thx for the superb tutorial, extremely clear. The top gasket on the piston shaft, the clear one behind the circlip...how do you know when to change it? Or is it something you just do regularly out of maintenance for cleaning. My machine is 3 years old and I do not have any leaks on top so I assume it is fine. I've only change the group head to boiler gasket and now about to change the piston gaskets as the water leak out to easily.

[@theangrymonkey]

Others may comment but I just change mine with the seals generally. So usually 12-18 months. I doubt it was changed for a decade or more before I got it. But then I enjoy doing it too.

[@dillonignatius2627]

Thanks for the tutorial. I reassembled everything and my lever just immediately pulls down when I raise it. Before I could leave it up and have some pressure when I pull my shot, now no pressure. Any idea??

[@theangrymonkey]

Do you mean it has no pressure when the machine is on? Or that you cannot leave the lever up when the machine is cold? A freshly serviced machine lever does not always stay up when cold because of the new lubrication. As long as it stays up when under pressure that’s OK. If it’s not staying up when hot you might have a gasket fitted incorrectly and leaking or there might be another problem with your boiler reaching the right pressure (though that seem unlikely). Have you definitely got the lever on the right way up?

[@dillonignatius2627]

@@theangrymonkey Solved the issue. Thank you so much for your help. My piston was unscrewing itself everytime I reassembled the grouphead and all I did was tighten it with little extra force.

[@theangrymonkey]

@@dillonignatius2627 glad you solved it. I added some tape to my piston when I put it back on. They do unscrew if not really tightened hard

[@julsiebear]

Thanks for this! May I ask: Where do you order your replacement gaskets? All the places I could find were selling them for exorbitant prices.

[@theangrymonkey]

No worries. I tend to buy from the Espresso Shop in Edinburgh. Usually £45 ish for a full service set.

[@Donswers]

what kind of grease is it? does it affect the drink with the water that circulates through the piston?

[@theangrymonkey]

Molykote 111. I use a very small amount and flush through a few times before using it again

[@StudioNapoleoniiird]

How are you finding the bong isolator? Any flex/movement from the group head?

[@theangrymonkey]

So far it’s all working really well. No issues at all. Don’t know if I will keep it on forever. I rarely make more than 1 coffee these days so might go back to stock.

[@beepboopimarobot2841]

Hey, first off: thanks a lot for this great video! I’m a new owner of this nice machine now too. Can I ask you a question: in the last step of re-assembly, about 28:00 into the video, you’re suggesting to set up the *piston position based on the "tactile feedback" you get on the shower screen when pressing the lever down. However, for me, the piston does not touch the shower screen when pushing the lever down. If I remove the lever and push the piston down, I can feel that the point they would touch would be a little below the point I can achieve with the lever. I’ve already heard that there are some different gaskets and I think I own a pre-millennium version of the europiccola. Shall I try finding a fitting gasket or is that not the issue at play here? I would be very happy for your help and input! Edit: for everyone else having similar issues, check comment below. It’s an easy fix at least. 😂

[@beepboopimarobot2841]

Ugh, my dear man! I am just stupid and tried placing the lever upside down: in this case, the front drills for the screw are above the level of the rear ones and you can’t possibly lower the piston enough. That’s probably why I’m not an engineer, darn it, haha! Thank you so much for your helpful video! :)

[@theangrymonkey]

Hi. It sounds like you might have your level on upside down.

[@theangrymonkey]

@@beepboopimarobot2841 haha. Just replied and saw you beat me to it. We’ve all done it 😂

[@beepboopimarobot2841]

@@theangrymonkey Haha, this is a little re-assuring. Thank you for your reply!

[@manfioviolas]

What lubricant ou use in the gaskets?

[@theangrymonkey]

It’s Molykote 111. A tube lasts forever

[@melissaleigh3013]

Do the O ring piston gaskets come in contact w the water for the coffee 😨 dont want lube in my espresso LOL

[@theangrymonkey]

A small amount will, but that’s why you need food safe lubricant. A tube of Molykote is a good investment for these machines. I’d still run a few blank shots after any GH service

[@melissaleigh3013]

@@theangrymonkey ok thank you 😊

[@SuperMcgenius]

Ksa, Er