SamNKellyNCoffee Senior Member Joined: 6 Jun 2005 Posts: 8 Location: Phoenix, Arizona Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Riviera Grinder: Solis Drip: Melita Roaster: Home Innovations I Roast
Posted Mon Jun 6, 2005, 8:17am Subject: Riviera Machine Parts
Hi All! I'm new to this group, so if I do something wrong please let me know. I came across a Riviera Espresso machine the other day ina second hand store and bought it. It works great, only had to replace the frother valve seal. I have a couple of things that I'm hoping I can get some help with. The first is identifyng the model and narrowing down the age of the machine. It is chrome on a black base and has a name plate on the front that says (in English) RIVIERA - ESPRESSO For Espresso Coffee and Cappuccino Made in Italy ~110 Volt 800 Watt~ It has no other markings. My other problem is that it appears to have had a decorative top which is missing. Does anyone know where one might be had? It is able to be connected to a water supply as well as being filled from the top. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
gammeltoft Senior Member Joined: 5 Nov 2004 Posts: 239 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Dalla Corte Mini Grinder: Mazzer Mini E Roaster: Alpenröst
Posted Mon Jun 6, 2005, 10:57pm Subject: Re: Riviera Machine Parts
does it look more or less like this?
Thomas
(Click for larger image)
Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water. ~The Women's Petition Against Coffee, 1674
SamNKellyNCoffee Senior Member Joined: 6 Jun 2005 Posts: 8 Location: Phoenix, Arizona Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Riviera Grinder: Solis Drip: Melita Roaster: Home Innovations I Roast
Posted Tue Jun 7, 2005, 5:24pm Subject: Re: Riviera Machine Parts
It looks quite like that one. The only differences I can see are the base is black with the afore mentioned name plate in the left corner and no top... Sam
gammeltoft Senior Member Joined: 5 Nov 2004 Posts: 239 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Dalla Corte Mini Grinder: Mazzer Mini E Roaster: Alpenröst
Posted Tue Jun 7, 2005, 11:13pm Subject: Re: Riviera Machine Parts
Hi again,
This is a lovely machine with a good overall built quality. Your model is the Riviera Eagle. Other models include direct lever action, as on the Pavonis. Riviera is sold under a number of different names (Zacconi, Ponte Vecchio, Gensaco - I think Zacconi originally produced them). Try removing the four screws underneath and take a picture of the wiring and plumbing - that should help identify its manufacture date.
Repairs are a bit hard to come by, at least in Denmark. In the States your best bet would be Thomas Cara in San Francisco. He's not online, but apparently quite good. There is another guy who repairs these things somewhere in the states. I can send you his e-mail directly if you need it. You don't really need the top, but I can see why you want it. A good bet would be to call Thomas Cara og the guys at gensaco.com and ask them if they have a spare in chrome (preferably with the eagle on top, which mine doesn't have).
Have you disassembled the group and changed the pistion gaskets? This is pretty much obligatory when receiving a second-hand lever machine. Mind you the group on this model is a bitch. You take of the showerscreen (just pry it off) and look at the piston base. That will give you a first idea of how much in need of a cleaning it is. If the brass is all clear and no coffee residue is visible on the screen you may be in luck and someone took care of this for you. Otherwise you need to compress the piston against something allowing you to take out the small rod attaching the lever to the piston. Be careful though, as the sucker will fly up in you face, if you let it. Now you should be able to take the whole group apart (by this time you have of course removed the group by unscrewing the four bolts holding it to the boiler, sorry). Have a look at the two or three gaskets (depending on model, the eagle has changed three times) and give everything a good cleaning. If you can, definetely install new gaskets. Its a small expenditure and often more needed than one expects. The other thing is the spring. Again, given the chance of getting a new one, I would definetely replace it. The spring on the riviera is generally a bit weaker than that of the elektra and other spring groups. Alternatively, you may be able to install a washer in the top end compensating for metal fatigue. I have not tried this, it may that the thing won't compress fully, though.
Assembly is equally annoying. I normally get a friend to compress the group while I desperately try and refit the lever to the pistion. I have found a piece of metal approx 1½ inches high, flat and small enough in diameter to fit inside the piston. He then pushed down the group vertically on top of this allowing the spring to compress enough for the lever to be refitted.
BTW, what is the internal diameter of the portafilter basket in mm?
Good luck
Thomas
Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water. ~The Women's Petition Against Coffee, 1674
SamNKellyNCoffee Senior Member Joined: 6 Jun 2005 Posts: 8 Location: Phoenix, Arizona Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Riviera Grinder: Solis Drip: Melita Roaster: Home Innovations I Roast
Posted Wed Jun 8, 2005, 10:54am Subject: Re: Riviera Machine Parts
Hello Thomas, I have not yet taken the group apart. I wanted to wait until I had a supply of parts in case things began to crumble.....It does work quite well and appears to have been taken care of well. The PF basket has a 45mm internal diameter. I will try the sources that you have mentioned for parts and will post a picture of the wiring and plumbing soon. Thank you very much for your help! Sam
Posted Wed Jun 8, 2005, 10:15pm Subject: Re: Riviera Machine Parts
nice machine. i just picked up a riviera myself -- a copper and bronze model -- that i'd love to know the date for. if, er, you don't mind my chiming in on this topic.
mine looks almost exactly the same under the hood. the label is in italian, not english, and it's an 800 volt model. the oracle of all things riviera (christopher cara in san francisco) seemed to think the color of the pilot light (green, not yellow) seemed to have a lot to do with the specific make as well.
i needed a new portafilter ($100), portafilter gasket, and steam knob/gaskets. mine is also without a drip tray, but it's not worth the $75 for an OEM replacement.
SOME ADVICE FROM My EXPERIENCE: there was substantial scaling inside my tank, and i would recommend thoroughly cleaning the tank out even if your machine appears to be well kept. cara recommends 1 cup of vinegar -- heat up the machine, turn it off, then let it sit for a day. empty the tank, then repeat with clean water. if emptying the tank yields debris more than once, then consider a SMALL amount of espresso machine cleaner (1/4 teaspoon) with the same routine. i got what looked like piles of paint chips exiting from my tank. blarg.
SamNKellyNCoffee Senior Member Joined: 6 Jun 2005 Posts: 8 Location: Phoenix, Arizona Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Riviera Grinder: Solis Drip: Melita Roaster: Home Innovations I Roast
Posted Thu Jun 9, 2005, 1:26pm Subject: Re: Riviera Machine Parts
Hi Ben I was wondering if you were going to weigh in. I actually saw your blog a few days ago (Googled it). My Riviera has a yellow light and I seem to be getting stymied at every turn, to wit my reply from Gensaco:
Sorry, but we do not have replacement domes & eagles for the Riviera.
Regards,
al GENSACO, INC.
I called Chris @ Cara's and spoke to his answering machine, so now I wait again. Interestingly enough I was able to find the gasket for the steam knob at the local Ace Hardware store. They had *one* metric sized O ring and it happened to be the one. When you say "a cup of white vineger" to descale, is that straight or a cup of vineger and the rest water? I have been a little leery of descaling it, lest it suffer the same fate as a 74 Pinto I once had....got all the crap off and discovered there was nothng left.
Posted Fri Jun 10, 2005, 7:14am Subject: Re: Riviera Machine Parts
you made the right call by contacting cara. he should getback with you, and he is the single most important person to consult, no matter what you do.
he did indeed tell me to use one cup of distilled white vinegar and the rest water. you may want to wait until he can give you some model-speciic advice, though. he should be able to replace pretty much anything on your machine, except for the heating element which the italians don't make with the right threading any more. there are other options for heating elements, however.
cara has odd hours. but he does work weekends and was always very good to return my calls. he'll hook you up. and let us know if he has a way to devise the date of a particular machine.
SamNKellyNCoffee Senior Member Joined: 6 Jun 2005 Posts: 8 Location: Phoenix, Arizona Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Riviera Grinder: Solis Drip: Melita Roaster: Home Innovations I Roast
Posted Wed Jun 15, 2005, 10:17am Subject: Re: Riviera Machine Parts
WooHoo! Just got off the phone with Chris @ Cara's. The parts are on the way! I ordered a new top with an eagle and all of the gaskets he had available. The total cost was quite reasonable, less than $200. Excitement is oozing from my very pores!
He dated my machine at "at least 30 years", but gave me no clues on how to date others. If there is any interest I will be happy to post step by step pictures of the dis- and re- assembly.
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