Rocket espresso service & upgrade

Peter van der Weerd fom KAFKO gave my Rocket Giotto a cleanup and upgrade. It was a great chance to see the intricacies of the E61 brew group inside out and to see some of the details and little tricks one should remember when doing it oneself. Peter encourages people learning about these basic service procedures and when he sends out a set of all necessary parts, he includes a diagram and some instructions. Plus his phone number, because he is available for advice in case someone is surrounded by parts and doesn't know what to do next...

What we (well actually he) did:

1. E61 Cleanup, changing seals, removing scale
2. Vibration pump replacement (newer one less noisy), new metal connection
3. Anti-vac upgrade, startup release of water/steam out the front panel now
4. Boiler insulation removed (better looking, better cup heating)

Below, lots of pictures telling the story and some brief comments.

There's other web pages with extensive info on the E61, like this excellent page (thanks for the tip, Bobbee): http://coffeetimex.wikidot.com/e61-group-servicing
This one too is a beauty: Overhauling abd Lubricating the E61 group on Randy Glass' website. He also pointed out the original US patent by Ernesto Valente.

Start with unscrewing the bottom nut here:

 Service set of parts ready:

 The top nut:

 The lower mechanism comes off:

 Have a container ready to clean the materials and keep them together:

 See what's inside:

 Continue with top nut of the group:

 Use the right tools, avoid scratching

:

 The "mushroom" with some minor scaling, turned green from magnesium spores. Peel this off with a sharp knife. Don't worry about scratching off the thin chrome. You don't need chrome there anyway and when using descaling acid the chrome will also tend to come off. After descaling make sure to wash / rinse with lots of water.

 This part inside / under the mushroom. Three similarly looking parts in the E61. Cleaning them and renewing the rubber seals also similar. Take care with the details here, don't mix them up, don't forget the tiny metal ring that each has.

 Start taking the handle mechanism apart.

 Ideally, the nut closest to the group center is the most tight so you can first take off the other nut against it.

 Turn these against each other to open

 Note: TWO rubber rings come out here, so two go in later

 Shower screen out, for cleaning and rubber refresh

 Also carefully unscrew the tip bit there, the waster dispersion part

 Press button to get water flowing into the dis-assembled group

 Close the bottom inlet hole to make water also flow out through the top hole of the thermosiphon loop

 Press button to have some more water into the group

 Note that the water from the group has some fragments of the green scale

 Peeling scale off the mushroom

 Take the green rubber ring off, replacing it later

 Use a hard brush to clean (do not use this hard brush on the chrome outside of the machine)

 Get the top off:

 See what's inside there:

 Take out the metal filter to clean or replace

 Peeling off scale here as well:

 Clean:

 Cleaning the three similar parts, meanwhile admiring the man who designed all of this in one go, in 1960, creating an excellent unsrpassed brew group that is still one of the industry standards.

 Be careful taking this top off. Below it is just a small thin threaded needle keeping it together. You are very likely to break it if you are not careful.

 Here it is coming off:

 Do NOT forget this very small ringlet! Use it again when assembling. Some forget it and wonder why nothing works anymore.

 Get out the rubber part here.

 Put in a new one, preferably a more durable one, reinforced.

 The little ringlet...

 Inside the new reinforced rubber part you can see the glitter of the glass / crystal it is reenforced with

 Demonstration of the LITTLE strength needed to screw it back together. Again, be careful not to break the thin threaded needle below/inside

 Some of these are sealed inside with a sealant that hardens. In this case, carefully use a flame to heat the parts and then unscrew. Take care to cool the parts again before touching them.

 One more of the rubber coming off. Note that the new rubbers are harder than these flexible ones.

 The three brothers, all different yet fitting in their own spots in the E61

 Parts of the inside of the lever / arm

 With a very fine sandpaper, clean this one.

 make sure it will move smoothly inside its chamber

 Greasing

 re-assembly

 make sure this nut is tightened first and most

 Assembly of the top parts:

 Green rubber replaced by black one:

 Now put some acid, descaling powder, brand name "Ascor" (included in the service set) and put it in the top:

 Close with the top nut including the new filter. Then activate the pump, make sure the powder is mixed well with the water, let the machine heat up a bit, then flush it all out and let it rinse well.

 Assemble the lower part again:

 Finish assembly of the arm / lever

 Clean / new shower screen back in:

 Remember to check these nuts holding the brew group on the chassis. Over time they can get lose.

 If necessary, replace the vibration pump. Peter uses a tool (left hand) which he made himself to better hold the part sticking out of the pump on that side, so it will not turn along with the bolt he unscrews with his right hand.

 New pump. Same build / brand, just new out of the box

 Old and new one, showing year of build

 Plastic connector on the pump. Peter tried this one first and then replaced it with a new, metal version later on because the connection wasn't ideal anymore.

 On the machine front there's a button which on the inside of the machine has an opening for a silicone tube. Ready to connect the anti-vac, so any startup steam/water exits into the drip tray rather than inside the machine where it evaporates.

 Connecting a silicone hose there

 Undressing the insulated boiler. It looks better without the coating, it heats the cups better and there is less chance of water / moisture hanging in there.

 In the center, the anti-vac to be replaced

 Anti-vac off

 New anti-vac on

 Knee on top of anti-vac

 Silicone hose connected to outlet button:

 Checking the machine, the old plastic part connected to the pump leaked, so replaced with new metal version.

 The new anti-vac fits inside the machine

 Peter closing up the machine:

 The machine at home, works beautifully! Thanks Peter!