So as the summer when on, and business picked up I kept my eyes open for a deal.. I decided to narrow my search to a more cost effective approach to yet another in-home espresso setup. Until one day i came across a used (and as I came to find "abused") Quickmill Andjrea. I've had Quickmill machines in the past and have loved them. The only difference to the andreja? mainly a flashier shell and a few fancy bells and whistles (no burn arms, curvy shell, plumbable water supply etc.) After a few emails back and forth from a geek in NC I had the new machine shipped for ~ $500 bucks USD. I figured even after an extensive "worst-case" restoration i'd still save myself $500 from the pricepoint of a new machine.
When Andreja arrived everything seemed great. The previous owner said she had a faulty brew gauge but could gauge his shots well enough that he didn't need one and as such never bothered fixing it.
As I found out. It seems as though he never "bothered" fixing, or maintaining much of anything.
The group gasket looked as though it had never been replaced nor the group head ever cleaned. So... I went to my terrific parts supplier ChrisCoffee (plug) and began ordering away. Since I assumed this machine had NEVER been serviced, cleaned or maintained in the 6 years of ownership I decided to go a bit overboard.
The group gasket looked as though it had never been replaced nor the group head ever cleaned. So... I went to my terrific parts supplier ChrisCoffee (plug) and began ordering away. Since I assumed this machine had NEVER been serviced, cleaned or maintained in the 6 years of ownership I decided to go a bit overboard.
Replacing everything and anything that seemed to require service. New vacuum breaker valves, new tubing, full cam lever repair kit to rebuild the lever, new group gasket, group screen, pressure stat, pressure gauges, valve seats, and after some tinkering, new pump, electrical lines (after blowing one) and a few other bits and pieces.. I decided since I didn't know the full history of the machine to also completely tear down the machine and do a full descale bath of all the parts including the boiler and element.
I decided to go with a citric acid bath since i havent had any experience with descaling and it seemed the safest route. Over all I was very pleased with the results. Everything came out copper shiny clean. After reassembly I decided to order some new Melamime insulation to replace the old crusty and brittle hard foam boiler insulation that comes factory on these machines. More to come...
