Having watched this video, I am finally convinced, that the Gaggia classic is the machine for me. The simplicity and quality of the components is astounding.

It is now going on seven years since this video was produced. Every Gaggia Classic owner should watch this. I first watched this a few years ago when I got my Gaggia Classic Pro. Interesting now that anytime I do maintenance on it or pull a shot how my mind is thinking about how my machine processes the water from the tank, up through the boiler, back down through the group, out through the steam wand, or down the solenoid valve to make coffee. Thanks guys!

8 years old and counting, and STILL an awesome video! I'm prepping for a Gaggiuino build, and this gives me so much more confidence in taking the machine apart. Not to mention, you can see the quality and serviceability of the machine :D thanks so much guys!

Can confirm, two years ago I did exactly what's shown in this video and saved/repaired my beautiful Gaggia Classic with it. The best video out there by far. Back today to repeat the process because the boiler is cluttered again.

Thank you guys, for enabling owners to carry out essential preventative maintenance. We owe you.

Older video but it keeps on giving! Thank you so much - I was able to fix my Classic (solenoid issue) and descale the boiler, and, most importantly, get my hands dirty becoming familiar with the machine. Nothing I can't fix on this thing now. My one note is that folks shouldn't expect the boiler to be spotless after descaling. I used the solution several times and brushed -- a lot comes off, but there is still some left, it won't look pristine. I was surprised by how much scale the gasket took on. I don't think the shower head (?) had EVER been cleaned, it was caked with coffee crud, and the gasket was impossible to take out. Espresso is tasting so much better! If you're watching this video and have never taken the machine apart to clean - do it!

This has saved another coffee machine from landfill. Thank you so much! ❤

Great video for us novices. I lost pressure following an overdue descale and this is the only step by step video that has given me the confidence to take the entire dismantle on AND hey presto my machine now works! Only thing I would add is the need to let all components dry completely before reassembling. I didn't and when I plugged it in it blew the RCD on the fusebox. I spent ages checking the wiring before a friend told me it would be dampness causing a short. I left the machine to dry overnight and it was fine next day. Thank you so much for your help. Graham, Sheffield, UK

This is a superb film. It allowed me to successfully take my classic to bits, clean and re-build .... it now works as if it were brand new again. Thank you to all who made this.

Really glad I watched this. Bought a second hand classic the seller had told me had been cleaned and descaled. Cracked open the boiler and found it was completely crusted over inside. Shower screen and backing plate were pretty horrendous as well. Got it all cleaned up and looking much better. Thanks for the vid, lads!

I dont have the same model but this video help very much with taking apart everything. The machine wasn't pouring any water at all. After opening it all up I found what I am guessing years of scaling and other gunk. Thanks

Awesome, thanks so much! I had no flow at all through the group head and hemmed and hawed for a bit because I was intimidated. After finding this video, I took it apart and got it back up and running!

Thanks for the video. Helped me rebuild mine, Boiler was just too bad to use but ordered a new one and a new pump and washers. All up was under $200 delivered and now works like new.

Back again! No earth wire was on the terminal perpendicular to other terminals! Thanks for sticking with me !

this video is the gift that keeps giving, saved my back plenty of times, thanks a lot

Great video many thanks! My solenoid valve clogged repeatedly so today I felt the need to carry out this procedure on my 2-year-old Gaggia Classic. The video was extremely useful - my boiler looked just like the really bad one in the video. I fitted to new boiler gasket just to be on the safe side. I'll be descaling monthly from now on!

Over three years since this was posted and it's still a brilliant video. Just took apart and serviced my Classic Gaggia using this video and it is brilliant every step of the way. Great work to all involved over there at WLL! :)

Thanks very much. My machine had stopped working so I stripped the boiler for the first time in six years - it was seriously clogged up. Then it leaked so I ordered new gaskets...then it would not flow through the brew head. But after four assemblies and dis-assemblies it's now working perfectly - I think a bit of crud had got stuck in the solenoid so I used compressed air to clean it out. This video was very helpful. Cheers!

Excellent video. I just fixed my Gaggia Classic. The brew group head was clogged. So I removed and opened the boiler and cleaned it as per instruction on this video. All good. You were right the boiler had a lot of debris and was clogging the solenoid valve (I had the solenoid valve cleaned twice in one week). Thanks again.

Not sure if this was mentioned but a very important piece of advice. If you are going to open up the boiler to clean it, then do also remove the steam valve as well to give it a quick clean. Otherwise if in the near future you need to remove it, all accumulated minerals will just drop right back into the boiler. Make sure you have an o-ring handy though or use the existing one by placing it upside down.

Thank you so much Whole Latte Love for this wonderful and very detailed video. I finally fix my Gaggia Classic (stuck selenoid valve). It's tricky but not so much with this video. This is your contribution to the millions of coffee and Gaggia lovers around the world.

Great video, as always! I would also recommend removing the shower screen when descaling the machine so the gunk can freely flow out without beeing trapped behind it and you be just moving dirt around.

Had a leaky boiler, so had to replace the o-ring. Despite already installing some mods into my Gaggia this video really helped with some details. Thank you so much for this valuable content!!!!

This is a very helpful video - thank you for posting! My late 1990's pre-solenoid valve era Gaggia is back in action, appreciate you including that older style boiler in the video.

Thanks, Todd. Not only did this resolve my problem (VERY slow brewing), but was excellent instruction on all of the functions of this espresso machine. I was able to do a complete tear down and cleaning (found massive scale buildup in the boiler) which resulted in the great espresso shots which I just enjoyed. I did have a repeat of the problem in my second brew and I was preparing to repeat the teardown (yuch), but it resolved itself and the machine has given me several additional trouble free brewing sessions. I suspect that I had not completely removed the scale from the brew path and a piece of debris temporarily lodged itself but cleared in the next brew cycle. I continue to be a satisfied Whole Latte Love customer and props for your great support.

Looking at it 6 yrs down the line, and it's still useful...not too many differences in the build...!

Excellent movie. I followed the instructions to rescue my ancient Classic. Cannot thank you enough.

Thank you so much! I had to use this process to get our Classic Gaggia working again. Stuck solenoid and this video made it so simple. Not going to lie, I was nervous about doing it as I am not the handiest person I know, but this video was perfect and made it easy!

Great video, thanks. Water pressure in my machine had started to trickle off due to my lack of descaling on the regular and only by cracking the boiler open could I see the extent of the gnarliness that was my boiler. There was a nice collection of mineral 'sand' on the bottom that was clogging the bore from the boiler to the solenoid valve (which was surprisingly clean when disassembled). After some soaking and steel wool, my classic has returned to proper working order. Thanks again!

Cannot thank Todd & WLL love for this video. Everything was explained so well. My 6 year old Gaggia is now working like a dream! Thanks guys!!!

Thank you so much. Total loss of water pressure in my Gaggia Classic. Steam was ok, but couldn't make coffee. Stripped and cleaned the insides as instructed, problems remained. Changed the coil on the solenoid valve and now works perfectly again. This could be done without taking the boiler out which was a bonus having stripped, cleaned and rebuilt the machine. I wouldn't have had the confidence to do this without this video, cheers

Great work guys, I had damaged the thread on the group body and your video helped me strip it down and repair it rather than chalk it up to experience and fork out £400 for a new one. Much kudos

Even though the video is 5 years old it is still up to date, I already thought my Gaggia Classic is completely done and I have to replace it, but this video helped me dis- and reassembling it to clean all the parts. Now it is working perfectly again. Thank you so much!

You dudes are great! Watched the video about 17 times, but hey, I actually fixed the machine, descaled, selenoid not bad at all. "Dribbling stream valve" (earlier comment), replaced with a new one. Took about 4 days, but wow, done with your cool camera angles and straight talk. Was dreaming the insides of Gaggia for several nights. Oh my.

New solenoid valve on order. Boiler all fully serviced and ready to go thanks to this video.

Thanks for this. I took my 2005 Gaggia Classic completely apart, not knowing what was wrong (little to no flow). I discovered a fairly calcified boiler but not excessively so. It turned out I had a small bit clogging the solenoid valve. A bit of a soak in vinegar water, a reassembly that went amazingly well (No spare parts!) and the machine is working perfectly.

Thanks a lot. Just bought Gaggia Classic and it was quite messy (I couldnt even disamble the shower holding plate). After tear down like you showed here the machine is almost like new :) Thank you very much.

Excellent video! Saved our 23 years old Gaggia classic!

Great video! Following this, I revived a freebee Coffee Gaggia someone tossed at me. Including the non-solenoid group head here saved me a lot of time and money.

i was amazed how corroded and pitted mine was inside, not scale just aluminium degradation, i cleaned it up with a die grinder and wire bush, this would make me seek out a different type of boiler next time

Thank you so much for this video. The tip about numering the electrical connections with a marker was superb. Tons of other useful insight about the machine and what sort of maintenance to expect with it. I got a used Evolution for free that had been used for 5 years and NEVER descaled. Disassembling the whole machine, soaking almost all the boiler parts in descaler and brushing them clean was all that was needed to get it back up and running like new. Actually better than new, since i installed an adjustable OPV from a classic and plugged the SPV while i had it disassembled.

Really appreciate this video! Just updated all my washers o rings etc as my machine is now 10 years old.

I just finished going by this video to deep clean my Gaggia Classic and I was REALLY skeptical that it would fix my problem. I am pretty diligent about descaling. And I am NOT a very handy person but I was desperate. I played the video a piece at a time having to back track numerous times but only took me about an hour (if that) to take down the machine and descale it. It was pretty clean when I opened it up so again I was skeptical. I reassembled reversing the video in a sense and was blown away that it worked and worked GREAT when all was said and done! (Only issue was I broke the steam knob removing it and am waiting for the new one.) Well done guys!

Hi Todd and the WLL team, I had been facing poor water flow (droplets) of water like the pump was in full operation though flow seemed restricted. I also noticed coffee grinds coming out of the solenoid valve duct after brewing and switching off the brew button. I have a Gaggia Classic pro (2019) and was thinking the worse if I had to pull the machine apart without instructions. Thanks to your great video I had removed the 3 port solenoid valve (submerged in descale solution) then performed the same for the boiler. Once the machine was cleaned and switched back on, flow is restored to normal and flowing sufficiently. Great work guys! Keep up the descaling yihaaaa!

You got me all inspired disassembling and cleaning my ol' thrustworthy friend the Classic. Thanks to you I found myself a new hobby; The numbering of the connectors is a great tip. Awsome guide!

Thanks for the great video! My interest rates have gone way up so this probably saved me about AU$300 - AND - I have a new found respect for descaling which I would not have unless I personally saw the amount of crud inside my boiler. YIKES!

Thanks for the video! Finally got my Gaggia Classic back to life. Had to do it twice, though, as the magnetic valve was stuck. 1hr in citric acid, after removing all the rubber sealings, did the trick. Runs again, just had my first espresso. :D

It always looks easier in videos than it is. In the real world most work is done with little to no counter space and people working around you. Oh the joy of service work.

"Just kinda crack em loose", he said. Managed one after 45 minutes, it was stuck and rusty. Then I came back to the video. "There's 4 of em" he said. Suggestions?

Just want to say thankyou for this video. I rebuilt my Baby Dose and fixed a dodgy boiler gasket with the help of this.

I was supposed to be doing yard work and laundry today but I'm thinking I now have other plans. Besides, you can't do house work without caffeine. thanks for the video

Great video. Thank you! My 14-year-old Classic is back to life.

Excellent guide! I managed to disassemble, descale and fix my blocked machine. Wouldn't have been possible without this. Thanks!

Soweit Sobitter commented that there was a problem of shorting when the work was completed. I had this problem too and it turned out to be the elements surrounding the boiler getting damp/wet due to the cleaning fluids or water. The elements have a porous heat resistant powder packed around the actual elements. This is what is causing the machine to trip the fuse (unfortunately in the case of 'new' wiring regs, the earth leakage necessary to trigger an RCD is VERY small). SOLUTION - but I have to say here there is 'some' risk but if you are sensible, it works. When you are ready to fire up the machine after cleaning/de-scaling, disconnect the machine from the mains. Then disconnect the earth lead to the boiler casing (and the top lid earth if it has one). Plug your machine back into the mains and switch the Gaggia on as normal; as if you were brewing a coffee. 30 seconds or so should be enough. This heats the boiler elements and evaporates the dampness around the powder insulation. Switch the Gaggia off and disconnect the Gaggia from the mains. Leave the machine for 30 minutes or so. Re-attach the earth/s and plug the machine back into the mains. Switch the Gaggia back on (so the boiler is heating) and all should be good. Once when I did this I had to repeat the process as the fuse triggered a second time. After repeating the earth disconnection, I left the boiler heating for about 1 minute (you can hear it heating up). Repeated the connection and starting up process and RESULT. A fully working Gaggia Classic. Thank you for your video. My machine was blocked by the tiniest particle of scale just where you said. ***** Chow from England.

I am getting ready to buy a second hand machine and do all of this. This video is getting me all excited.

Great help, got my machine up and running smoothly again. One advice however, see 15:55. I couldn’t get de disk free with the force of a screw driver or a pair of tongs. It came off easily when I put and M5 bolt in the center hole and tightened it gently.

You guys are the reason I love my Gaggia again! Didn't dare to tear it down on my own. Thank you so much!

This morning i had a non-operational Gaggia (no water thru the group head?) Thanks to the perfect explanation it’s working again. Thanks a lot!

Top video. saved my classic from the dump! Now works a dream. Thanks guys.

Hi, this is the perfect video. My baby twin has been losing pressure over the years (me not keeping up with descaling, but will do from now on). But I still need to clean out the entire boiler. Thanks again!!!

Amazing video! Not only I know now how to clean the boiler, but it also helped me understand how my Gaggia Classic works. Many thanks.

Woo hoo!...thank you so much Todd, great vid! You gave me the confidence to do the work myself. Superb! My classic works beautifully now and I have gained an understanding of how she works... You've made a UK man (and his wife) very happy...all the best...Mark😊

Great video! I followed all steps and managed to get my Gaggia back up running like a brand new one.thanks for recording and uploading!

Excellent video. I had a blockage in my grouphead and had never cleaned out the boiler. I followed this last night and easily fixed the issue. Boiler was disgusting! I probably need to order a new one but this will keep me going for a while.

Used this video to fully disassemble, clean and reassemble my Gaccia Classic after dysfunctional brewing. It was so clogged inside, that at some point the water flow was not working anymore. Even though the pollution was tremendous, I thought that a complete stop of the waterflow might have its cause on a component. My suspect was the magnetic valve. So before reassembling the machine after cleaning the boiler, I tested the magnetic valve, but it was ok. So I inspected every whole and i think that I was finally successful after blowing them through, because I felt something was blown out. Reassembled the machine, trying not to forget anything. First coffee brew was successful. I wonder how the refurbished version behaves and makes coffee. It sounds a little different and also the flow is different, a little slower. I'll update this after a few more brews. Just wanted to comment my fresh thoughts...

Many thanks for this excellent video. I had to de-scale mine several times (never been done in 3 years [I know, I know!]) and particular attention was needed. The small hole at the base of the solenoid fitment was the main culprit. Your video gave me the confidence to attempt this. Many sketches and pics were taken - just in case. Once again, many thanks.

Excellent video, thank you! I was able to get my Classic sorted out thanks to you guys.

Thanks so much for this - following these excellent instructions I was able to get my precious Gaggia Classic up and running again... good times! You guys rock!

That electromagnet cube is available separately because Gaggia sells the whole thing with the valve, its the same in many commercial machines as well. If the electromagnet dies you get normal water flow from the wand but the brewhead drips very slightly and the water gets returned to the water tank from the return hose (thats how to diagnose it).

Really the best Technic of Gaggia.

Thank you very much. I could clean the solenoid valve by doing exact to your video. Now it is working again. Thanks.

Many thanks to you sir for your beautiful & simple tutorials , I have been able to rebuild my 8yrs old Gaggia and save a lot of money I took it apart following your guidance , changed parts and all good , its working like new . Regards.

Brilliant video - very helpful, thank you. Managed to get my slow running Gaggia Baby Twin back to normal! Also purchased a set of new o rings etc. from eBay before hand whilst it was apart.

You sir are a steely eyed missile man! This is exactly what I was looking for. I have 2 of these Gaggia Classic devices that I rotate every other month for maintenance. They've been used for several times per day for about 10 years and it's about time for me to crack these bad boys and do some serious maintenance.

Omg, the machine is working again - I'm crying! Thank you so much for this helpful Video ♥!

dont know why i am watching a half an hour repair job when i should be studying but now it makes me not afraid to own a gaggia because I now know how to repair it if anything goes wrong with it.

Hey there thankyou so much for this video, I followed the instruction and only managed to fix my machine. 😊

Really good video Thanks. I have an old Classic that I refuse to write off, but suffer repeated fuse board trips which I have begun to attribute to limescale blocking the solenoid. Its actually therapeutic to sit for a few hours and strip every nut and bolt, soak them, and reassemble.

Perfect video guys! Our machine was driving me nuts and we didn’t use it for months. Used a 1:20 citric acid mixture to descale which seemed to do the trick. Awesome!

🎉Amazing!!! Excellent video, great help!!! You are a rock star. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Cheers!!!

Thank you so much! Was going to through the Gaggia in the bin but after cleaning it worked like a clock. Before cleaning it was not used for 3-4 years and it didn’t look pretty inside.

Thank you for this video! Managed to get my valve assembly all cleaned up on my Gaggia Evolution and it's flowing nicely again.

Thank you so much🙏🏻 You saved my Gaggia Classic☕️

Thanks for doing this guys, it made the process of removing and cleaning out my boiler and 3 way solenoid a doddle. My machine’s working better than ever.

Just a fantastic video. Cant believe we got the baby working again!

A very in-depth video. Much appreciated

Want to thank you for this video. I was discouraged by all other efforts to get my machine to produce water. Your tech people at WLL directed me to this video. Your directions were so helpful and I did find considerable buildup in the boiler. I cleaned that machine well and in the end, held my breath and turned it on: SUCCESS! Water flowing strong. Great instructional video. Thank you again. Do you have a recommendation for a grinder to go with this machine? I have a poorly performing Caprezza.

Great video. What if I've gone through all these steps (no visible scaling on solenoid, but cleaned it anyways!), and there is still no water flow to the grouphead?

Great video! Made my Gaggia work properly again with Todd's help :)

Such a great video - really good - could be an amazing series of teardowns. Love all the helpful hints and just very detailed, it's what the internet was built for! Sharing knowledge. Thanks!

Amazing video, thank you guys so so much!!

Gaggia has one of the best insides ..i love it

Very good vibe. Thank you for sharing.

This was incredibly helpful! Thank you for helping me get my machine to work again.

Getting ready to do this as soon as my solenoid valve from Whole Latte Love arrives! Wondering if it's possible to put a list of tools used? I keep going through the video to check but I'm always feeling like I could miss something.

Thanks for the thorough video - gave me the confidence to finally tackle a recurring no flow problem. Had cleaned group, solenoid, back flushed - each time bought a little more time but no permanent solution. When I finally cracked the boiler open saw why - not much limescale but about a half tablespoon full of black aluminum oxide flakes on the boiler bottom/top of group head. Thanks for making a fix possible. (Gonna check the pH of my Pur filtered tap water to try and figure out the cause. Any expert thoughts appreciated BTW.)

Fantastic video, managed to strip down and rebuild my classic fixing (suspected) solenoid problem.

Very good instructions and spot on camera :)) Thank you very much for the good video content

Thanks! This was very helpful!

Excellent video. I just (1/6/2020) did this job on a machine that's probably 5+ years old and had never had its boiler cleaned. I have cleaned the solenoid and the brew group components many times -- perhaps two dozen -- so that part was familiar. (More about that at the end.) My only criticism would be that the video omits cleaning the outlet at the top of the boiler that goes to the steam valve. In looking at the exploded parts diagram, I noticed that there was a gasket there that I wanted to replace along with all the others (group head gasket, O-rings at the solenoid and overpressure valve, O-ring between boiler and steam valve), but the video didn't discuss removing and cleaning that. (I commend Aaron on your tech support line for his great help when I called to order the parts, by the way.) The boiler was thoroughly scaled up, of course, and there were many bits of scale in the brass base of the boiler -- it looked like rice! Those were loose and just washed out, but the scale on the boiler interior was serious. A brass wire brush after soaking in descaler was absolutely necessary. (Also by the way, you use Cafiza (sp?) in the video, but you don't carry it any more; I used half a bottle of Durgol cut with hot water and it worked fine.) The opening to the steam valve was also very scaled up, to the point where the diameter of the hole was probably halved. That gasket was in pieces. I'm glad I added that to the breakdown and cleaning. Finally, about the solenoid assembly. You suggest that getting it out without removing the boiler is difficult. I've developed a procedure that's very easy and fast. The hard part is unscrewing the Allen head bolts. You can use a pair of pliers to remove the retaining clip for the hose at the top of the solenoid, and that same pliers, opened up to the wider grip, can be used vertically to remove the nut that holds the solenoid electromagnet in place. Disconnect the black and white wires ("BLACK goes toward the BACK") and you can lift the electromagnet off. Now to remove the Allen bolts. You need a 4mm Allen head socket and a 1/4" ratchet wrench (a 3/8" ratchet wrench is too large to fit inside the case); since the socket wants a 3/8" drive, you also need a 3/8"-1/4" adapter to connect them. If you can get a fine-toothed ratchet, that will work best in the confined space, but a "normal" ratchet will do. With that setup, I can remove a solenoid assembly in two minutes. The same pliers can be used to remove the vertical component containing the solenoid itself from the part that attaches to the boiler. Reassembly is equally fast. The same tools work perfectly to remove the overpressure valve if you want to replace its O-ring, as I did. I have found that Allen head sockets and ratchet wrenches are the best tools for removing and replacing all the Allen head bolts in the machine, in particular the 5mm bolts that hold the brew group head in place. You can get a lot more torque with them than with the T wrenches that you use in the video. However, your mileage may vary. Once again, thanks for an excellent video. The Gaggia Classic is the Harley-Davidson of espresso machines, IMHO: the basic design hasn't really changed in decades, because it works just fine. And you can fix it with hand tools!