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Depressurizing the EC155 Portafilter
The DeLonghi EC155 is a fairly well-built consumer pump espresso machine. It ships with a pressurized portafilter of a non-standard diameter, so finding a non-pressurized replacement is challenging. Instead of purchasing a new portafilter, depressurizing the EC-155′s portafilter is extremely easy.
This post is one of a series of posts regarding mods I have done to my EC155
Non-permanent method:
1. Unscrew the plastic retaining knob on the bottom of the pressurized filter assembly
2. Push the plastic nozzle to remove the filter assembly
3. Remove the filter and plastic piece from the gasket
4. Re-assemble the gasket and filter, leaving out the black plastic pressurizer
5. Place the gasket and filter assembly back in the filter holder
6. Note that oils and grounds can become trapped in the filter holder, so be sure to wash it often. You’re done!
Permanent Method:
1.Disassemble the portafilter down to the plastic piece with the pressurized nozzle
2. Using a pair of needle-nose pliers or a flathead screwdriver, pry off the plastic ring holding the pressurization nozzle together and remove the pin and spring.
Warning: the spring might fly out and hit you. Don’t be pointing it at your face.
3. Re-assemble and use as normal. Save the plunger, plastic ring, and spring in case you want to repressurize it later.
Tags: DeLonghi, Espresso, Portafilter
Have you been able to make better espresso with the depressurized portafilter?
I haven’t noticed a huge difference in quality from the modification alone, but having a non-pressurized PF allows you to “troubleshoot” your shot much more easily by looking at the crema (no “fake” crema is produced).
Hello, I have the same espresso machine I’m very interested in your posts and I have a few questions:
a) By depressurizing the portafilter, you obtain control over the crema that is formed, which will depend uniquely on two variables: on how fine or coarse the coffee has been grounded and the way it has been tamped. Is this right?
b)The size of the machine’s embedded tamper is 51mm, is this a standard size? I’ve bought by mistake a 49mm and it leaves too much space around the edges.
Do you know where I could buy on the internet an adequate tamper?
c)I see you’re installing a PID on the machine. What is it used for? (I’m a complete newbie at this) Is is to measure the temperature of the water at the boiler?
Thank you very much!
Hey, thanks for reading. I’m also a bit new to espresso, so my answers to your questions might not be exactly correct
The crema in espresso is dependent on many factors, but grind, tamp, freshness of beans, and temperature seem to influence it the most.
I just created a post on parts for the EC155, it should answer some of your questions.
PID is used to regulate the temperature of your boiler (see the wikipedia article for detailed info). It can help provide more consistent results, and provides another variable that you can change.
Ethan, thank you so much for your quick reply, it’s been very helpful. If I ever find any additional information I’ll post it on your blog and at coffegeek, so we can all share the info. Cheers.
One more question,
I’m desperately looking for an alternative to the plastic tip that is screwed on the milk frother wand. I’ve seen on the internet, the following video: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tu1Cim3HfU) where the poster clearly has managed to find a metal replacement, I’ve already asked him the same question, I’m waiting for him to answer. I’ve you ever find a solution, could you please post it? The actual plastic tip is very difficult to clean, and if it isn’t done correctly the hole will get stuck with stale hardened milk, creating an erratic behaviour of the wand.
Thanks again!
Let me know if you find any more information, that plastic tip gets really annoying. I’ve looked around a bit, but I haven’t found anyone who’s posted information on what tip/wand they used… I’ll put more info up on my resources post when I find it.