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Date of Manufacture: 70
Country of Origin: France
Country of Purchase: France
Serial number: Unknown
Power: Gas
Boiler type: Closed
Lever type: Spring lever
Tamper Dimension: 58 mm
Filter baskets: single and double |
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Over several weeks I was preparing a coup. I was trying to acquire one of the very first Conti levers,
one that was manufactured in Paris.
I found the machine in an auction and won (yes, yes!) two large pre-war percolators.
I had joined the auction site and was ready for action and failed like a beginner.
I think I'll never show that much amateurism again, and yet I held all the cards.
In my quest for French machines, because they are not only Italian, I had succeeded in tracking
down my Unic Primor at a fair price.
Killing two birds with one stone, I had to pass that day on acquiring two more Conti monsters and return to acquire the Unic.
As you know now I would not have made the trip for the Unic, a trip filled with joy but tinged with bitterness.
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The
listing of the Unic foreshadowed a machine in its proper state, which
was missing a portafilter and heated with gas. Definitely. |
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And once I brought it home, I could measure its strengths and respectable dimensions.
But it was oddly, significantly lighter than the Zenith ... which suggested a fight ahead.
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It actually is relatively clean.
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The good side. |
The sight glass, very original. |
The bad side. Missing … |
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One can see the safety valve and the cover for receiving an electric heating element.
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The other side with the gas connector
to the ramp and the water supply.
The back of the machine is dirty but
in good condition.
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Dismantling can begin. |
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The group
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And a big surprise when disassembling the spring / piston / joints,
it is as if it was new or refurbished before being stored on the shelf.
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The entrance of the group with its cap and interior. |
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A quick triple 0 and now the outside the group is as almost new.
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I have absolutely not touched this part and it's really clean surprisingly, this is mysterious.
The piston can be dismantled in layers, like the Zerowatt 707.
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I attack the tank. The word attack is right.
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There is no movable flange on the sides, only a square hatch to install an electric heating element.
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You can see that the hot gas has done its work. |
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You know about snow-covered landscapes? Believe it.
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You can see some plastic straws in the boiler!
This was definitely a children's playground or the grandchildren in a retirement setting.
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To be continued ..
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