Maintenance
– After each use, a quick wipe of a rag or rinse in the sink is all that is needed.
– After several uses, removing the shower screen and cleaning under-neath is a good idea. I go about 10-20 shots before doing this personally, but I would suggest to remove the screen from time to time and just see the coffee build up underneath and decide when is good for you to clean this.
– After 20 shots, using a finger redistribute the DOW 111 grease from under and over the piston seals onto the side of them. This just keeps from having to replace or add to the grease often. I suggest NOT wiping the piston with a rag to clean the grease. It may look nicer and cleaner, but the piston may jump a bit when pulling a shot without the grease.
If the grease does get worn away, replace as needed with a food-safe grease.
– Your piston o-rings will eventually wear and compress. How long this takes is mostly a function of how often you end up pressing without enough grease. So the DOW grease can help extend the life if the o-rings. With normal maintenance, I’m rating the o-rings for about a 6-month to 1 year life. If your piston leaks water above the piston excessively, this is the time to replace the o-rings. You can tell this is happening as a good amount of water will come out when you remove the piston after a shot. Once replacement is needed it is easier to cut away the old o-rings and slide on the new ones.

Parts
There are only a few parts that you may need to replace on a regular basis, these include:

Grease – We use Dow 111 which is also called Molykote 111. It’s a great food-grade grease and can be found in small quantities. These will be able to be purchased on our web store in 6g packets very soon.
Piston O-Rings – Dash Number 110 – We use AFLAS material for long-life, but Nitrile or other common rubber o-rings can be used and are much cheaper and very commonly found. For AFLAS we’ve had a single set in use for about 6 months with no major signs of degredation, as long as you use some kind of food-grade grease (like DOW 111)
Shower Screen – Any E61 screen will fit the Forge. General suggestion is to replace 1 per year for normal pump machines. Personally I don’t see much need unless it really seems to be clogged beyond cleaning or badly corroded. I don’t replace mine on other machines at all unless there’s a problem.
Group Head Seal – Any E61 seal should fit the Forge, some sizes are made for tighter or looser fit. We suggest a 7mm to 8mm thickness (stock seal is Faema E61 seal which is 8mm thick). The extra thick seals may make it more difficult to lock in a basket until you get them compressed a bit.