
The La Graziella is made in Spain, often referred to as a La Pavoni clone, and also was sold in the US rebadged as a "La Cara"....one of the many machines sold by Thomas Cara Ltd of San Francisco. It is very distinctive with its brass boiler which has the heating element mounted on the top plate rather than the bottom as is usual. The boiler is shrouded with a chrome case in the shape of a La Pavoni boiler, but giving an overall chunky appearance. Though appearing much like a La Pavoni Europiccola, about the only part held in common with the La Pav is the group itself...identical to the early models of the Eruopiccola, employing a cylinder sleeve which screws out to service the piston. Almost all other parts are a little, or a lot different than the La Pavoni. One could assume that simply applying the parts from a La Pavoni rebuild kit would generally do the job but there are more parts from that 9 piece set that are different than are the same. The piston seals are the same, and the rod seal as well, and the steam wand shaft seal could be used also, but that is where the similarity ends...you would end up throwing away a lot of parts (and $$$) and still need more seals to finish the job. We generally like to spec out the whole machine before introducing any parts for sale on a particular model but we have a number of folks anxious to get to work on their La Graziealla. As you can see, our reference machine is pretty much a train wreck at present as it took forever to get that cylinder out, but we finally did by using the De Mello technique for cylinder removal (thanks Anthony) and can proceed with our rebuild and parts offerings. As we proceed with our refurb of this machine we will be offering a full rebuild set, a group rebuild set, and a how-to manual....but for now, here is a smattering of parts to help you solve some particular problem while waiting for the parts to finish your complete rebuild. |