Introduction

My first espresso machine, a Rio Vapore, was a happy accident.One of my co-workers wanted to buy another espresso machine butstill had this Saeco.After one too many laments, I asked him, 'How much do you want?'and bought it.As the following photo shows, one of my better buys:

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But a used machine, no matter how well made, will eventually needmaintenance. The original machine worked for several years when the portafiltergasket gave out.I was able to buy replacements and with a little disassembly, was able to return the machine to service.

Three years later, after a year of service at work,it developed a water leak and I took the cover off todiagnose the problem.Unfortuantely, the safety officer declared the machine 'unsafe' because I didn't have a Rio Vapore technician certificate.Someday, I must get certificate printing software and self-certify ... if it works for ISO-9000, it'll work for espresso coffee machine repair.

Thanks to E-bay, a replacement Rio Vapore showed up a week and a half laterand we were back in espresso happiness.Again, it worked fine for about five months when the pump failed.This web page describes my adventures with Rio Vaporerepair.

Pump Diagnosis

The pump has a solenoid that vibrates the piston back and forth.Internally, there are two small, plastic valves with tappered springsthat are critical to generating the 225 lbs/sq. inch pressure.As the pressure builds up, the water pressure locks up the piston.

The pump problem has been the aging of the internal sealsand occurred when an internal washer fell apart. However, both pumps had fragments of this failed washerand in both pumps the pieces were beaten by the piston to whereit is impossible to tell what the original part was.In the failed pump, the pieces had broken off and passed into the inner valves, blocking them open.

Pump Fitting

The symptom was a sudden loss of pressure. Unscrewing the t-fitting revealed it has a check-valve and anover pressure valve with a return tube.Unfortunately, once unscrewed, the t-fitting would not screw back in and seat.The sealant had hardened and the threads could no longer hold.

First Epoxie Attempt

The first attempt used JB Weld epoxie, an exceptionally strongand high temperature product.Unfortunately, a good epoxie bond requires: (1) clamping and (2) mechanical fit which I didn't do since I had to putthe pump in the mounting without the t-fitting.It failed shortly after being returned to service:

Estro Vapore Repair Manual

Permanent Epoxie

The last repair, a permanent effort, started with drilling four small,angled holes.Each hole was counter sunk from the inside to provide four larger,epoxie plugs.Finally, the recessed holes were connected with a milled ring toprovide a larger area for the epoxie to hold.After 24 hours of setting, I used a boiling, hot water bath for6 hours to finish the epoxie cure (a layer of cooking oil preventedwater loss.)

Sad to say but I'd forgotten to put the valve in which requireddisassembly of the part.However, the epoxie had molded into a mirror image of thet-fitting threads.After removing the excess, I anticipate using a thin, teflon tapeto seal the fitting, leak tight and tie-wraps.

Tie-Wraps To The Rescue

I have two pumps and tried fixing the original,high-pressure side leak with several wraps of thin, teflon tape.It worked for two days when the vibration caused the fittingto slip out and leak, again. The brass fitting vibrated loose.

So my current fix is use tie-wraps to hold the fitting in place.

Recording the Wiring

Although the problem was a failing pump, the upper deck may haveto be taken out, disconnecting the switches.Lacking a schematic, the easiest documentation is to photograph the whole setup, to make a record:

Be sure to photograph it from all sides to provide imagesfrom different angles.The best approach is to make a digital movie since it allows selectionof frames from the sequence.

Estro Vapore Manual

Introduction

My first espresso machine, a Rio Vapore, was a happy accident.One of my co-workers wanted to buy another espresso machine butstill had this Saeco.After one too many laments, I asked him, 'How much do you want?'and bought it.As the following photo shows, one of my better buys:

But a used machine, no matter how well made, will eventually needmaintenance. The original machine worked for several years when the portafiltergasket gave out.I was able to buy replacements and with a little disassembly, was able to return the machine to service.

Three years later, after a year of service at work,it developed a water leak and I took the cover off todiagnose the problem.Unfortuantely, the safety officer declared the machine 'unsafe' because I didn't have a Rio Vapore technician certificate.Someday, I must get certificate printing software and self-certify ... if it works for ISO-9000, it'll work for espresso coffee machine repair.

Thanks to E-bay, a replacement Rio Vapore showed up a week and a half laterand we were back in espresso happiness.Again, it worked fine for about five months when the pump failed.This web page describes my adventures with Rio Vaporerepair.

Pump Diagnosis

The pump has a solenoid that vibrates the piston back and forth.Internally, there are two small, plastic valves with tappered springsthat are critical to generating the 225 lbs/sq. inch pressure.As the pressure builds up, the water pressure locks up the piston.

Estro Vapore Parts

The pump problem has been the aging of the internal sealsand occurred when an internal washer fell apart. However, both pumps had fragments of this failed washerand in both pumps the pieces were beaten by the piston to whereit is impossible to tell what the original part was.In the failed pump, the pieces had broken off and passed into the inner valves, blocking them open.

Pump Fitting

The symptom was a sudden loss of pressure. Unscrewing the t-fitting revealed it has a check-valve and anover pressure valve with a return tube.Unfortunately, once unscrewed, the t-fitting would not screw back in and seat.The sealant had hardened and the threads could no longer hold.

First Epoxie Attempt

The first attempt used JB Weld epoxie, an exceptionally strongand high temperature product.Unfortunately, a good epoxie bond requires: (1) clamping and (2) mechanical fit which I didn't do since I had to putthe pump in the mounting without the t-fitting.It failed shortly after being returned to service:

Permanent Epoxie

The last repair, a permanent effort, started with drilling four small,angled holes.Each hole was counter sunk from the inside to provide four larger,epoxie plugs.Finally, the recessed holes were connected with a milled ring toprovide a larger area for the epoxie to hold.After 24 hours of setting, I used a boiling, hot water bath for6 hours to finish the epoxie cure (a layer of cooking oil preventedwater loss.)

Estro Vapore Repair Service

Sad to say but I'd forgotten to put the valve in which requireddisassembly of the part.However, the epoxie had molded into a mirror image of thet-fitting threads.After removing the excess, I anticipate using a thin, teflon tapeto seal the fitting, leak tight and tie-wraps.

Tie-Wraps To The Rescue

I have two pumps and tried fixing the original,high-pressure side leak with several wraps of thin, teflon tape.It worked for two days when the vibration caused the fittingto slip out and leak, again. The brass fitting vibrated loose.

So my current fix is use tie-wraps to hold the fitting in place.

Recording the Wiring

Although the problem was a failing pump, the upper deck may haveto be taken out, disconnecting the switches.Lacking a schematic, the easiest documentation is to photograph the whole setup, to make a record:

Be sure to photograph it from all sides to provide imagesfrom different angles.The best approach is to make a digital movie since it allows selectionof frames from the sequence.

Estro Vapore Troubleshooting