How and when to replace the lever coffee machine gasket?

How and when to replace the lever coffee machine gasket?

The water runs down the portafilter into the cup and dilutes the espresso, or just splashes all over the place. When the coffee machine leaks like this, the gasket needs to be replaced. Here's how to do it.

Your coffee machine leaks when making espresso

This is the most common signal that something is wrong with your coffee maker. You put the portafilter in the machine as usual when making espresso, but what doesn't happen? Either drops of water startrunning down the outside of the portafilter, or water literally runs in a stream. Logic dictates that there must be a leak, and there is.

The fact that water is leaking around the portafilter indicates the end of the life of the seal in the head of the coffee maker. The remedy for this situation is quite simple and I present it below along with photos/videos directly on a specific coffee maker - repairing a leaking head of an Appia coffee maker. Before starting this simple operation on your coffee maker, prepare the appropriate tools and of course a new coffee maker gasket.

Instructions: replacing the coffee machine head gasket

Handy coffee shop girls, baristas that is, can always help in a pinch. They can disassemble the coffee machine head and replace the seal with a coffee spoon and a sophisticatedly curved dessert fork. This method may seem like a "low-cost" solution, but then there are a lot of accidents and not enough cutlery on site. So first thing's first: equip yourself with a short screwdriver, a mounting hook and food grade Vaseline.

1. Remove the coffee machine shower

Remove the portafilter from the head and look into the coffee maker head from underneath. The screen you see is the coffee maker shower (dispenser and shower screen). There is a screw in the middle, so unscrew it. In the meantime, you can load the shower - both parts - into a bath of coffee maker cleaner.

2. Remove the old gasket

Remove the old gasket using a mounting hook. Taking it out can sometimes be harder, so don't be afraid to pry it out mercilessly, you'll throw it away anyway.

3. Clean the head of the coffee machine

When you have these normally inaccessible areas of your coffee maker uncovered, take this moment to thoroughly clean them of coffee residue and coffee oils. Coffee dirt or residue from the old seal could damage the sealing properties of the new seal. Use a brush to clean the head of the coffee machine.

4. Coat the new seal with lubricant.

Now be careful which side you put the gasket into the coffee maker. In the picture for the Appia, but also for other Nuova Simonelli coffee machines, there is a traditional gasket that has one side slightly beveled. The otherside, completely flat, will be adjacent to the head of the coffee maker. In other types, this side may be stamped with a number or a brand name, for example. Apply a thin film of lubricant to this side.

5. Place a new seal

Place the prepared gasket in the clean head of the coffee machine. Be careful not to burn yourself on the coffee machine. A portafilter, ideally with the cup removed, can help you put the new seal in place. This makes getting the seal into position quite easy.

(If the seal is conical on one side, then it belongs down that side).

6. Fit the coffee machine shower

As a final step, there is the reverse mounting of the coffee maker shower. Its components are now sufficiently bathed, so just finish cleaning them and screw them into place. You are now done. You can make your reward coffee while checking that the machine is no longer leaking.

When do I change the head gasket?

Don't wait for a problem. Act now before a leaky coffee maker ruins every espresso you want to make. How do you know when it's time to replace the coffee maker head gasket? There are two clues that tell you that the life of the gasket is coming to an end.

  1. The time interval for replacing the gasket
  2. Portafilter in the wrong position

The first point will be indicative for those who have been working with the coffee machine for some time. Just make a note of how long it took you to change the seal last time. This time is relative to the frequency of use and handling of the coffee maker. Usually it is replacement based on 3-6 months, up to a year with low usage (as a home coffee maker).

As another indicator of a worn out seal is the position of the portafilter. Notice how much you have to rotate the portafilter as you insert it into the coffee maker. When the seal was new, the lever was pointing almost perpendicular to you. Now, for example, it is in the "4 o'clock position", so the handle is pointing very much to the right side.

Replacing the seal on the steam nozzle

The end of the steam nozzle is typically held in place by a thread that contains a gasket. This is a tiny little seal ring. The milk frother nozzle is a very heavy duty part of the coffee machine, plus it comes into contact with milk on a daily basis, so care is taken to keep it hygienically clean. Regular cleaning can be taxing on this ring and it needs to be replaced.

Here it is a completely trivial task. Just get a new seal for the end of the steam nozzle, take off the original one and put on the purchased one. In a few seconds, the task is done and you can whip beautifully again without any leakage from the leaking nozzle thread.

Recommended products6