E61 cam lubrication: how and how often
The E61 group's lever operates a cam and valves that run metal-on-metal. A small dab of food-safe grease at the right interval keeps the lever silky; skipping it (or backflushing away the grease with detergent too often) makes the action stiff and wears parts.
What you need
- Food-safe silicone grease (Molykote 111 or NSF-rated)
- Clean cloth
- Screwdriver
How to do it
- Switch off the machine and let it cool
- Remove the shower screen and the dispersion plate
- Wipe the cam lobes and valve pins clean with a cloth
- Remove all old grease and coffee residue
- Apply a thin layer of food-safe silicone grease (e.g. Molykote 111) only to the cam lobes
- Reinstall the dispersion plate and shower screen
- Test the lever. It should move smoothly
Tips from the bench
Collected from manufacturer guidance and years of home-barista forum wisdom:
- Work on a cold machine, and photograph the part order as you disassemble. The E61 top-end goes back together exactly one way.
- A rice-grain amount per cam face is the right dose. Excess grease has only one place to go: into your brew path.
- After reassembly, work the lever through its travel a few times, wipe away any squeeze-out, and finish with a water backflush.
Less is more. Too much grease gets pushed into the water path and creates a gummy lever.
How often?
Recommended cadence by machine type, from the maintenance data behind the Espremo app:
| Machine type | Frequency |
|---|---|
| E61 HXOptional | Every 4 months |
| E61 Dual BoilerOptional | Every 4 months |
Machines that run their own cleaning cycle (like the Breville Oracle series) handle some of this automatically — cadence also shifts with water hardness and daily shot volume.
Never miss this task again
Espremo is a free iPhone app that builds a maintenance schedule for your exact machine — covering 108 models — and taps you on the shoulder when something is due.
Download on the App Store