What to look for when buying a second hand espresso machine
So you have decided to take the brave step and buy a second hand espresso machine what do you look for? You may be saving a lot of money compared to the price of a new machine but short term a used espresso machine can be a money pit!
The greatest damage done to a coffee machine is normally a combination of two factors, poor maintenance by ‘bodge-it’ engineering [too many of them in the business] and hard water.
To look for the first inspect the group head seals [ where the coffee handle locks in] with the end of a screwdriver or knife- are they flexible or rock hard? In a well serviced machine these are replaced every six to twelve months.
Twist or manover the steam wand -if it is floppy or difficult to move that probably means replacement of the valve and seals. Have a healthy sceptism if someone tells you its been recently sevice especially if you have checked the above and the seals are hard - I can assure you that the service was not done!
Lift the drip tray and look underneath -any sign of rust or damage. A good quality machine will be galvanised and have no rust although there may be considerable coffee staining.
The best way to check for scale is to look in the boiler but normally this will not be possible so the easiest alternative is too look at the tip of the hot water outlet. If untreated or hard water has been run through the machine you will see evidence re a crust or discoleration at the tip. If it is particulaly bad we have seen 12 litre boilers half filled with scale. This slows down the time that the machine takes to heat up and can cause blockages or complete failure.
Last and most important tip -always see the machine working- it is no good if the persons tells you it was working when it was taken out of the previous premises or such story -it may not work now. Espresso machines do not like to be unused, a period of storage can lead to all sorts of problems- ie sticky or jammed pumps.
This list is not exaustive but if the machine ‘ticks all the boxes’ there a good chance you have made a good purchase!