Laranzato espresso machine - continued

I posted some questions on Home Barista.com.  This is one of several sites where coffee aficionado congregate to help one another.  Many members have commercial espresso machines that they have rebuilt, modified, etc. so it's a source of help for my Laranzato project.

Dave, one of the site members responded with a great deal of helpful advice that I've organized here.  with a list of issues.

Rice like material - SOLVED

There is considerable white rice like droppings underneath the drip tray in the area of the steam wand.

White rice like material underneath steam area

I'd been concerned that this might indicate some machine malfunction.  During cleaning I removed the machine foot underneath the area of concentrated droppings.  Inside the foot was some somewhat similar material.  It was moving and wriggling. Yuck!  I'm fairly sure that it's all insect related.

Should I drain the boiler? - OPEN

There's a fixture on the bottom that looks like a drain meant to be attached to a piece of flexible tubing. I assume that loosening the nut will allow the system to drain.  Should I descale?

If  so, what concentration of citric acid.  Are 1 or 2 tablespoons of citric acid per liter the correct concentration?

Is Amazon offers "Spicy World Citric Acid, 5-Pound" appropriate for this use?

Rust on near the steam and hot water valves - SOLVED?

Rust around steam valve.  Hot water valve is not as bad.

Dave suggested that the valves themselves are not at issue.  A bit of investigation revealed that with the machine fully hot whenever either the steam or hot water is used some steam/water vapor exist around the valves.  It appears that this how water vapor drifts up through the vent openings surrounding the valves and is likely the source of the problem.

I've considered blocking the vents but have decided not to since I'm concerned that they may be needed to vent heat from inside the machine.  Problem solved?

Parts sources - OPEN

Dave suggested that I look at some of the advertisers on the Home Barista site.  I did and made a list (see below).  Here's a list and notes:

• COYOTE COFFEE EQUIPMENT - PHOENIX ARIZONA (http://www.coyotecoffeeequipment.com/es...-machines/) - (888) 966-9122 or (480) 966-9122 - Says they are Laranzato service specialist.  Need to call and see if they can provide parts.
• Ennio Espresso(http://ennioespresso.net/promac_espresso_machines) - 303-325-5110 (sales & service) -   Says they are the Promac importer.  Need to call and see if they can provide parts.
• Espresso Parts (http://www.espressoparts.com/BrowseComm...chineParts) - 1-800-459-5594 8AM-4PM PST - Looks like a good source.  I need to call and try to order steam wand.
• 1st-Line Equipment (http://www.1st-line.com/store/pc/home.asp) - 888-933-5947 | Monday-Friday | 10am-6pm EST - Has extensive collection of Rancilio parts.  Good online catalog.  Need to call and try to order steam wand.
• Stefano's Espresso Care (http://espressocare.com/index.html) - 541-935-1212 - Seems to have a reasonable collection of parts.  I need to call to see.
• Chris' Coffee Service (http://www.chriscoffee.com/) - Some parts but not as extensive online catalog.
• Great Infusions (http://greatinfusions.com/rancilio_parts.html) Seems to have limited seection of parts for high end home machines.
• Whole Latte Love (http://www.wholelattelove.com/) - Accessories but no maintenance parts.
• As a general proposition is it better/cheaper to work with parts suppliers or service specialist/importers?

Do Rancilio parts  work with the Laranzato/Promac?  It appears that the Laranzato is really a Promac Club ME which, in turn, is a variation of the Rancilio S20 series S27/S24.  Is this the case?
Drips from three-way valve - MOSTLY SOLVED

When the machine gets hot the valve stops dripping.  Is this normal behavior?

It appears that there should be some drain mechanism at the base of the valve.

3 way valve drip	Valve behind cover
Valve identification	Nut that holds valve cover. Looks like there should be a fixture attached.

Looking at the Rancilio documentation it appears that there should be more.  It's called a 'drain pipe group.'  It's not at all clear what it does other than to direct water into the drip tray.

Group head
27 is 'drain pipe group'
12 is 'filter holder gasket'

For the moment I've bought a bit of tubing to direct the drips into the drip tray.  I'll have to look into the standard parts.

Tubing modification

Pressure gauge - OPEN

Initially I thought the pressure gauge wasn't working.  Turned out I needed to let the machine come up to pressure - takes about 30 minutes.  

• Is 1 bar a reasonable pressure reading?
• Is it normal for the pressure to drop to 0 when drawing 0.5 liter of hot water? The system has a 4 liter tank!
• Is it normal for the pressure to take 5 to 7 minutes to return to 1 bar?
• Is there normally some variation between 0.7 and 1.2 bar in the returning pressure?
• Is it normal for the safety valve to vent a bit of steam until boiler pressure returns?
• Is it normal for the antivacuum retaining clip to spin like a top until boiler pressure returns after dispensing 0.5 liter of hot water?

I may need to adjust the pressure stat.  Since I'm new to this I didn't know what it was/looked like.  Turns out this is it.

Pressurestat

So now I know what it is I need to decide if it should be adjusted, to what, and how.

Filter holder gasket - OPEN

It looks like there should be a gasket in the group head.  It's not there.  I need to investigate and buy one if needed.

Water source - OPEN

This machine needs to be connected to a water source.  I've got two choices:

• Connect to the house water.  It's easy enough to connect with an ice maker kit but these have 1/4 inch lines.  The documentation for the Rancilio S27 suggest 3/8 supply.  What to do?
• Connect to bottle water source with a FloJet BW4000 or similar pump.  This means a large bottle of water on the sink.  Also the pump is around $100.

Right now I'm leaning toward plumbing with 1/4 line but need to check to see if there will be enough water flow.

We have a whole house water softener so it's likely that the water is OK.  Even so, should it be tested?

Current parts list:

• Steam wand
• Citric acid
• FloJet BW4000 or plumbing parts
• Cart if I go with the FloJet
• Portafilter basket - double
• Double portafilter spout
• Portafilter parts (backflush, drain)

Current TODO list:

• Continue cleaning, cleaning, cleaning
• Buy needed parts