Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

pre-heat everything :D portafilters in the machine while it warms and the puck mesh is resting on the E61 mushroom so its a little cooler - all helps with the temperature stability :)
 
always a bit weird how hot pf gets, alone, with a piece of rubber seperating it from head - machine warm up 15-20mins first
then since I have an hx, always run a cup to also pre-heat cup & maybe helps a bit on pf too (but it's brass mass is massive)
 
Next question: I’m troubleshooting a pal’s Sage Barista Express. They say it’s fine most of the time but it trips the breaker in the kitchen when it’s set to steam. Tripping breakers is usually a short or current leak to ground. I’m measuring the resistance of a few things using my DMM. Resistance of the heater coil is 34.6R (cold). That looks fine (1400W give or take). Resistance between the heater coil connector and the boiler body is 4.3M. That should be near infinite resistance shouldn’t it?
 
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I just let the boiler heat up a bit for a few minutes and the resistance dropped down to under 1M and is now creeping back up as it cools down. Same resistance shows between live and earth so I think that’s it. So failed or failing heater leaking to earth?
 
good descaling may either fix or terminate it ... and I'd look at the state of ceramic material at the end of the element - hygroscopic

my machine (bezzera) was in storage for a while and must have had some damp there so tripped several times ... had used a hairdyer a bit on the element ends
 
Jonny69 said:
Quick show of hands:

Do you pre-heat your portafilter before pulling a shot?

Me: yes.
Click to expand...
I have the machine turn on a good half hour before I use it, and the portafilter sits in the group-head, so gets hot that way. I don't specifically pre-heat it.

Caveat - unless I'm in a rush to make a drink, then I'll wait for the boiler to get to temp then shoot some water through the grouphead etc
 
jpaul said:
good descaling may either fix or terminate it ... and I'd look at the state of ceramic material at the end of the element - hygroscopic
Click to expand...

It was doing it during descaling, funnily enough! I think that was the first time my pal flicked it to steam though. The element ends look ok and no signs of leaks or weeps there. I think it’s just the element breaking down.
 
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annoyance I have is when you (promptly) remove pf and puck remains stuck to shower screen ... so have to align and put pf back on to dislodge it,
inevitably gets some grounds on the gasket, too.
 
Whatever the science is, I find using a puck screen makes the puck drier as a result. It comes out of the portafilter much easier, in 1 piece.
 
yer, not sure what it is, but it does seem to be worth the faff of cleaning it.

Does anyone have any recommendations for cheapish, decent scales, my pour over scales have snapped so time to get something to replace them.
 
Siliconslave said:
yer, not sure what it is, but it does seem to be worth the faff of cleaning it.

Does anyone have any recommendations for cheapish, decent scales, my pour over scales have snapped so time to get something to replace them.
Click to expand...

These are what we have.

www.aliexpress.com

Fuego Kitchen Coffee Scale with Timer Rechargeable Digital Scale 0.1g High Precision 3 Modes Drip Espresso Scale Barista Gift - AliExpress 15

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
www.aliexpress.com www.aliexpress.com

USB-C rechargable.
0.1g accuracy
Waterproof from the top, or should I say, splashproof
Has all the usual auto timers

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Siliconslave said:
yer, not sure what it is, but it does seem to be worth the faff of cleaning it.

Does anyone have any recommendations for cheapish, decent scales, my pour over scales have snapped so time to get something to replace them.
Click to expand...
Screens definitely make clean up easier. I use the very thin ones now (magnetic ones are great for workflow) or a paper filter. Thick mesh ones I find need such frequent ultrasonic cleaning I might as well have the ultrasonic bath next to the machine which I can’t be bothered with.
 
Normcore have a very thin, black screen for under £20 thats quite good. I use it on my Bamby+ and as above it helps clean up a lot.
 
Alex_L said:
Thick mesh ones I find need such frequent ultrasonic cleaning
Click to expand...
yes that's a nice tool to have I just use cafizo ... but an ultrasonic sounds great for many household tasks ... like spectacles and bicycle chains.
could be interesting for brass burr carrier too(usually just scrape that with hard wooden peg)
 
I'm in the market for a new coffee machine.

I'd like a bean-to-cup espresso machine that will do me an americano with the absolute minimum faff.
Ideally, one that I can whack a hopper of beans in, out in fresh water daily, and empty the grinds every few days.

Any suggestions?
 
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