La Spaziale S1 Plumbing help..

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rezz

La Spaziale S1 Plumbing help..

Post by rezz »

Hi all! I just got my hands on a used La Spaziale S1, original date of manufacture was 2004 (not sure if this is Vivaldi I or Vivaldi II?). It had some problems.. wiring to controls was cracking, the flow meter was completely full of scale, and some of the pipes had scale. After soaking the offending pipes and flow meter in ascorbic acid and fiddling with the wires, it started working, so I'm happy :grin:

Everything about the machine is fairly straightforward. My one question is this: What do I need to connect the machine to a 3/8" standard dishwasher braided steel hose? I know that the connector on the machine is either BSPP or BSPT and either 1/4" or 3/8". Does anyone know exactly which one it is? I'm asking instead of just ordering all combinations of the adapters to standard NPT because the daing things cost $30 a pop, and are back ordered for 4 weeks.

Currently, I have it working with a 1/4" pipe thread (on the machine) to 3/8" compression (on the braided steel line) adapter, but the only reason it is working is because I used a butt load of teflon tape to seal it up, so it's making me uneasy.
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slo
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Location: Montreal, Canada

Re: La Spaziale S1 Plumbing help..

Post by slo »

rezz wrote: What do I need to connect the machine to a 3/8" standard dishwasher braided steel hose? I know that the connector on the machine is either BSPP or BSPT and either 1/4" or 3/8". Does anyone know exactly which one it is? I'm asking instead of just ordering all combinations of the adapters to standard NPT because the daing things cost $30 a pop, and are back ordered for 4 weeks.
The pump inlet thread is ¼ inch GAS a.k.a. ¼ inch BSPT and the end of the stainless steel braided hose that comes with the machine is ¼ in BSPP. The BSP taper or parallel are the same pitch so they mate but will not seal.
This is discussed here:

viewtopic.php?f=29&t=1191&p=14492#p14492

To be sure can you tell us what is the part that you need to connect to on the pump side?
Vivaldi II, Multiple (a collection really) Lever machines
Currently on deck grinders: Mythos and MXKR
Backup grinders: Robur, Major.
Toper Cafemino Electric and Poppery 1 roaster

I have a serious problem ... Can you guess what?
rezz

Re: La Spaziale S1 Plumbing help..

Post by rezz »

Wow.. you nailed it. That was exactly what I was looking for, and you're previous thread is exactly what I've been going through, complete with the 1/4" pipe thread and tons of teflon tape. Do you know where I could purchase/order online such a fitting? I could use either 1/4 in BSPP to 1/4 in NPT adapter or 1/4 in BSPP to 3/8 in NPT adapter. I've googled, but I can't seem to find a good choice.
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slo
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Location: Montreal, Canada

Re: La Spaziale S1 Plumbing help..

Post by slo »

As I wrote the the other thread; I used a Parker fluid P/N 4-4FMK4SS stainless steel ¼ in BSPP to ¼ in NPT adapter. I just went to a distributor that was not too far from my place. Since this is not a very popular thread on this side of the ocean they had to order it.
Vivaldi II, Multiple (a collection really) Lever machines
Currently on deck grinders: Mythos and MXKR
Backup grinders: Robur, Major.
Toper Cafemino Electric and Poppery 1 roaster

I have a serious problem ... Can you guess what?
rezz

Re: La Spaziale S1 Plumbing help..

Post by rezz »

Oh, I see. Ok, I'll try to see if I can't find a place that can sell that. Thank you again for all the great info!
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slo
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Posts: 419
Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2009 6:51 pm
Location: Montreal, Canada

Re: La Spaziale S1 Plumbing help..

Post by slo »

If you have a very hard time I could get another and ship it to you...
Vivaldi II, Multiple (a collection really) Lever machines
Currently on deck grinders: Mythos and MXKR
Backup grinders: Robur, Major.
Toper Cafemino Electric and Poppery 1 roaster

I have a serious problem ... Can you guess what?
peter

Re: La Spaziale S1 Plumbing help..

Post by peter »

slo wrote:If you have a very hard time I could get another and ship it to you...
You're a whale of a nice guy Sylvain! :lol:
rezz

Re: La Spaziale S1 Plumbing help..

Post by rezz »

Hey! Yes, that's very nice of you to offer! I have been using it with the pipe thread and it seems to be fine.. but I did order an adapter (1/4 BSPP to 1/4 MIP) from a website called Omega. It looks like it will work very well if it becomes necessary.
dregsCup

Re: La Spaziale S1 Plumbing help..

Post by dregsCup »

Does anyone know where to buy one of these adapters online? Closest retailer to me is 50 miles away

Also my water inlet hose is fraid and I'd like to get a shorter one. Any ideas on what spec to replace with and again where to order online?
Futahaguro
Espresso
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Joined: Thu Apr 14, 2016 8:20 am
Location: Minnesota

Re: La Spaziale S1 Plumbing help..

Post by Futahaguro »

Can you add a picture of the adapter in your pump? Someone please correct me if I am wrong, because I am in no way an expert, but the actual adapter that is screwed into the inlet side of the pump on most machines is 3/8 BSPP (into pump):1/4 BSPP (into hose). HOWEVER, it might be different on yours. I had a 3/8 BSPP : 3/8 BSPT on my machine. The T and P on those is Taper and Parallel. Taper is a friction fit with PTFE tape and Parallel uses an o-ring like your stainless hose fittings on a dishwasher, etc.. What I have found, as you can see with the stainless hose I reference below, is that an o-ring/washer connection onto an NPT fitting seals just fine so you should be ok using the adapter below. I say "should" because my setup is more convoluted and you do not want to go that way:)

There is an o-ring on the pump side of that adapter that does not come with the replacement adapter I speak of below. I was able to reuse my o-ring but if yours falls apart I do not actually know what size you need because I did not find the stick adapter on any espresso parts store. Another thing to watch out for is an adapter that is too long on the pump side or is NOT BSPP like this one, http://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/60041597 . It DOES NOT WORK, does annyone want a couple of adapters?:)

Personally if I were to do it again I would buy this adapter, 3/8 BSPP : 1/2 MNPT (9007-06-08) http://www.hydraulicsdirect.com/BSPP-to ... 1&CartID=0 . Why? Because you can find a BUNCH of hoses that are 1/2" FNPT (or FIP, Female Iron Pipe, which is basically the same thing) like this, http://www.homedepot.com/p/BrassCraft-3 ... 068479-_-N .

One thing to watch out for is how much the hose sticks out of the bottom of the machine. If there are too many adapters on the pump the hose will need to have a 90 degree bend or it will hit the table it is sitting on.
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