hamm Senior Member Joined: 22 May 2003 Posts: 530 Location: Kettering, Ohio Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Alex Duetto (1st gen) Grinder: Mazzer Mini Vac Pot: I'm not that kind of guy... Drip: From the faucet occasionally Roaster: I buy from several
Posted Mon Jun 7, 2004, 9:15pm Subject: How to clean dispersion screen...
Hey everyone. I need a little help here.
I've been with the Tea for just over a year now, and I want to get the dispersion screen off so I can clean it thoroughly. Would someone please tell me how to do it? I've not been able to find any info on it, but that's probably because I"m a monkey who can't figure out how to do the search funtion properly.
I posted this topic a while back and although there's good information in the string, I wasn't able to gather how to get the screen off.
I know this will probably wind up being a maintenence item that could be performed by most surface plankton, but my brain can't seem to get past "paramecium mode."
Posted Mon Jun 7, 2004, 9:47pm Subject: Re: How to clean dispersion screen...
No problem, I am pretty good at searching. In this case, specifying "+remove +E61 +dispersion +screen" produced a treasure trove of information ("+clean +dispersion +screen" got a few too many hits). I winnowed it down to four particularly fact-packed threads:
For no extra cost, I'm also tossing in this picture of what you'll find behind mystery door number #3. I'll even save you a click... hey, what's this?
HB Said:
E61's are pretty much all the same -- the gasket is wedged in a groove and holding in the dispersion screen. The article E61 Group Maintenance has lots of pictures and instructions on how to clean and replace the grouphead gasket / dispersion screen. It suggests using an awl / pick to grab at the gasket, but I've squeaked it out with no damage two different ways:
1 -- If you're lucky, the dispersion screen has a groove on the side that you can catch with a blunt screwdriver. Pry just a little every few inches around the perimeter, using the group for leverage (that's why I prefer the screen below, it's easy to remove).
2 -- Otherwise, try working a dull, thin, flexible knife blade (I use an old el-cheapo "Papered Chef" paring knife) along the inner edge of the basket, pulling the gasket downward and outward a little. Go around the perimeter; if you're patient, it will come out without damage in less than two minutes.
If the gasket is shot, then there's no need to worry about nicking it. Follow the article's instructions and reinsert a new gasket / screen.
hamm Senior Member Joined: 22 May 2003 Posts: 530 Location: Kettering, Ohio Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Alex Duetto (1st gen) Grinder: Mazzer Mini Vac Pot: I'm not that kind of guy... Drip: From the faucet occasionally Roaster: I buy from several
Posted Fri Jun 11, 2004, 7:27am Subject: Re: How to clean dispersion screen...
Dan,
That's a wealth of information. Many, many thanks.
Sorry I didn't reply sooner. My cable internet has gone back to its old habit of being on for ten seconds at a time in between periods of about 9 hours off. Hopefully this gets posted before it dies again...
Would you mind posting a picture of what you find when you remove the screen? I admit to being a wee bit curious. (I don't mean the mechanical bits, I mean the organic bits) '-) Bob
hamm Senior Member Joined: 22 May 2003 Posts: 530 Location: Kettering, Ohio Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Alex Duetto (1st gen) Grinder: Mazzer Mini Vac Pot: I'm not that kind of guy... Drip: From the faucet occasionally Roaster: I buy from several
Posted Fri Jun 11, 2004, 8:58pm Subject: Re: How to clean dispersion screen...
brokencup Said:
Hamm,
Would you mind posting a picture of what you find when you remove the screen? I admit to being a wee bit curious. (I don't mean the mechanical bits, I mean the organic bits) '-) Bob
I'll see what I can do. I still don't have my own digital camera yet. As soon as I take my parents' camera hostage and find a spare afternoon, I'll get right on it.
And unfortunately it looks like it's going to be a little while. I'm trying not to overdo the espressos now until I get it done. I'm on summer break, but in the first week I've interviewed for another teaching job, and I've become a plumber. Our kitchen faucet died, and I figured I'd go ahead and replace it myself. While I was out, I decided to go ahead and replace our broken dishwasher also. Longest two days of my life, but I got it all done good as new. No leaks either! Now if I can only figure out how to clean plumber's putty off of my good crescent wrench...
Next week looks a bit less hectic, but I'm supposed to wait for a callback on the interview. And I've also been scouring the ads for a good summer job. As soon as I find a good coffee shop willing to hire me, I'm all set for the next couple months.
I'll seriously try to get some good photos of the cleaning.
Posted Sat Jun 12, 2004, 3:52am Subject: Re: How to clean dispersion screen...
Too bad that you are so far from North Atlanta, another gormet coffee shop just opened. This time one mile north of me. (The first was one mile south). They are staffing up ( evil grin).
Good luck with the projects. Ritz/Wolf camera makes digital prints from snapshots so not owning a digital is no excuse. (smile)
mtuckerb Senior Member Joined: 3 May 2002 Posts: 1 Location: Los Altos Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Isomac Rituale Grinder: Rocky Drip: Single Cup drip $1 Roaster: West Bend Poppery
Posted Tue Oct 20, 2009, 10:26pm Subject: Re: How to clean dispersion screen...
(I know this is a very old post but I wanted to chime in with a really handy trick that has served me well. When you're putting the screen and gasket back into the grouphead, put a small dab of food grease on the outside edge of the gasket. It will just pop right in. I wrote an article about it over at forgeover.com (Click Here (www.forgeover.com))
tedegreene Senior Member Joined: 4 Oct 2005 Posts: 164 Location: JACKSONVILLE
Espresso: Bezzera BZ40 Grinder: Baratza Preciso
Posted Thu Oct 22, 2009, 7:11pm Subject: Re: How to clean dispersion screen...
(
mtuckerb Said:
I know this is a very old post but I wanted to chime in with a really handy trick that has served me well. When you're putting the screen and gasket back into the grouphead, put a small dab of food grease on the outside edge of the gasket. It will just pop right in. I wrote an article about it over at forgeover.com (Click Here (www.forgeover.com))
Go to Pinch a Penny and get Lube Tube. They sell it to lube and preserve gaskets for pool/hot-tub pumps but it's USDA H-1 food grade, water proof, odorless, tasteless, non-staining for use on plastic, metal or rubber. Protects against rust, corrosion and oxidation. Good stuff in other words for rubber gaskets. If it protects rubber gaskets from strongly chlorinated hot-tub water, I expect it will do real good for this purpose. You can not wash it off your fingers but must wipe it off with towels. Soap and water alone won't touch it. Made out of silicone and PTFE (Teflon) so non-greasy. I used it on my machine's gaskets when I serviced the group head and have had no problems.
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