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commercial boiler configurations
QUESTION:In my Baby Gaggia the boiler is attached to the gruppo, ie, the bronze
casting and associated parts which provide a dock for the portafilter and
several water paths switched by the solenoid valve also form the 'floor' of
the boiler. The boiler assembly is completed with a heavy aluminum cup with
cast-in heating element which is placed 'upside down' on the bronze 'floor'
(sealed with an O-ring). The combination of this floor and the up-ended cup
form a pressure vessel with holes in the top for steam and in the bottom
for cold and hot water for brewing.
In commercial machines are the boilers and group assemblies always
connected like that? Or could I order, say, a boiler from manufacturer A
and a 'gruppo assembly' from manufacturer B and just plumb them together
with high pressure plumbing? Obviously one can't do that with the
Baby...order a boiler, and you better have a Baby gruppo to bolt it to or
you ain't got a boiler!
How interchangeable (sp?) are these parts?
ANSWER: Can't speak for a) the Baby, b) commercial machines, or c) as an
expert, but in the Silvia's case, the boiler and the brewhead are
seperate entities, with the 3 way as the connector.
Jim from 1st Line mentioned to me some time ago that I could order
just about any individual part for my machine, including a boiler and
(if I recall correctly - this was back in April) a brewhead as
seperate parts.
If you visit the Silvia page he has up
http://www.1st-line.com/machines/home_mod/rancilio/silvia.htm
There are lots of inside shots showing the configuration of the boiler
in relation to the brewhead, etc. And at the bottom of the page, he
lists some of the replacment stuff he sells. Email him for other
prices.
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