Thursday, May 4, 2017

FAEMA Lambro, Vintage Lever, 1960 - Restoration project

FAEMA Lambro, Vintage Lever, 1960


Restoration project


Enjoy the pictures of this fabulous machine !!




Boiler heating source was gas only but prepared for electrical heating element. See below








Replaced single safety valve with Mater pressurestat, safety- and vacuum breaker valves.




Installed a 2400W FAEMA heating element from FAEMA Compact instead of the 1500W standard issue. It had to be turned 180 degrees for not to touch the bottom of the boiler. The trade off is that the water level must be set higher. I made a minimum mark on the sight glass measured 7 cm from top of the drip tray.





 Testing the wiring setup



Final wirering




The old gas burner regulator under removal




With these closed boiler systems you tend to get stale water quickly so I added a ball valve to the sight glass fitting to be able to empty the boiler into the drain box. It works like a charm.





New lever head, spring, piston and seals.




The Lambro is finished 

You might have noticed that I changed the original steam valve/wand to a ball joint type. The steam/water valve can be purchased as sparepart. Look for Faema Replica steam valve. These can also be seen on VMB/Vibiemme espresso machines as well.









Makes one hell of a cup...... 




Yummi,,,,,,,



4 comments:

Kieran said...

Wow. Looks like it pulls a fantastic shot. I'm considering purchasing my own Faema Lambro. How do you find the build quality? Are there any issues you think I ned to consider before pulling the trigger on my purchase? Cheers.

Sonne said...

Excellent build quality and you can still get all the spare part's you need.

Unknown said...

Hi Niels - wow, what a beautiful machine you have! In fact I have a very similar machine - a restored Faema Ariete also with the Zodiaco group. I love the build and the Amazing shots it pulls in almost pure quietness.
However, I am experiencing issues with the group gaskets which leak only 6 months post replacement (doing approx 6 shots a day). Have you installed a new part (the one on which the gaskets run) on your Faema - and/or do you know where I might get this spare part?
Any advise would be helpful.
Best,
Jesper

Sonne said...

Jesper. I restored an Ariete as well and used if for several year to entertain at large parties and exhibitions. It's about the same internals as the Lambro 1to1. I have changed all gasket and I'm not sure which ones you mean.