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New Owner Introduction - Vancouver Island
Hello, and thank you ALL, as it was the free discussion and obvious teamwork of this forum on resolving problems that encouraged me to take the plunge. I previously bought the last Bacchi off Reiss and that experience left me with full confidence in the integrity of the company. Camping is much improved with good espresso! I had been contemplating the L1 for some time and it was the offer of free shipping on a 120V North American spec machine with no plumb out that finally motivated me.
Shipping to Victoria, on Vancouver Island off the west coast of Canada, was amazingly quick, until it got here. Then customs delays and a weekend doubled the length of the journey. For information for prospective purchasers, taxes and duties amounted to CAD $402.22. I worked the day it arrived so did not have it all set up until close to 10:00 p.m. Unfortunately I had to have a go and even more unfortunately I drank my first poor extraction - hardly slept before going to work in the morning. I NEVER drink coffee from the afternoon on. So yes, it is the exception that proves (affirms?) the rule!
The first few days were frustrating as I suffered what, reading the forum, was gushing. Nudging my Pharos (which usually mates with my Bacchi) back solved little. Cranking it right back was the trick. Made the leap to a 27 second extraction in one go! And therein lays my first question (forgive me if this has been covered as most of my forum reading has been as a lurker so not much experience with what owners see):
1) Does the count for the extraction start when the lever is first pulled? Or after the preinfusion when the lever is allowed to rise from where the spring will complete the job?
I am struggling with steaming the milk. I am certainly a newbie in this as I have previously used the crutch of a milk pick up and foamer bit that attached to my Faema Family machine. Mastering the technique will take some time I am sure, but I would love to hear from other Canadians who also live with the thin product range that our milk marketing board allows. Lack of competition leads to no good end. I am using Homoginized milk (Island Farms) which I think is about 4% bf.
By the way, the Faema is now about 22 years old, has had very little professional service, and still going strong. But I decided it was unlikely to hold up though my retirement which is maybe a couple of years off. Lets hope the Londiniums have the same track record! Our water here is really pretty good. Prevailing westerlies with the entire Pacific between us and Asia so little pollution with the exception of Japan earthquake aftermath. I am mixing tap water with reverse osmosis filtered water. There is no evidence of scale in kettles or elsewhere and the experience of the Faema suggests there is no risk there. Which brings me to my next question:
2) Should I filter anyway? Are these machines particularly susceptible to calcification? Am I taking a real risk?
I ordered the L1, single portafilter, plumb in kit, tamper. I cheaped out and did not get the bottomless portafilter. I now see this as an error. Most of the video clips showing extractions feature the bottomless pf. Without one it is impossible to compare my experience and hone my use of the L1. I think prospective buyers should consider this in making their decision. Next question:
3) Am I just imagining that having this tool would help me along my journey of learning to get the most from my machine?
If I am going to get the bpf I will want to limit my exposure to shipping costs by adding maintenance items to my order. But I am not sure what I am likely to need in the next few years. Last question:
4) What maintenance items will I likely need? Are the group gaskets included in the full kit (not sure of the difference between seal, o-ring, gasket)? They are available separately in parts store (or is what are called v-seals in one place really not the same as what are called piston washers in the other) . Is that because you need them more often than the full kit? If so, would that be one full kit and one group kit per year or two? (I am new to this much maintenance as the Faema seemed to coast along with one or two in-shop services in its life so far.)
Thanks for reading, and especially for answering!
Paul Gosh
Shipping to Victoria, on Vancouver Island off the west coast of Canada, was amazingly quick, until it got here. Then customs delays and a weekend doubled the length of the journey. For information for prospective purchasers, taxes and duties amounted to CAD $402.22. I worked the day it arrived so did not have it all set up until close to 10:00 p.m. Unfortunately I had to have a go and even more unfortunately I drank my first poor extraction - hardly slept before going to work in the morning. I NEVER drink coffee from the afternoon on. So yes, it is the exception that proves (affirms?) the rule!
The first few days were frustrating as I suffered what, reading the forum, was gushing. Nudging my Pharos (which usually mates with my Bacchi) back solved little. Cranking it right back was the trick. Made the leap to a 27 second extraction in one go! And therein lays my first question (forgive me if this has been covered as most of my forum reading has been as a lurker so not much experience with what owners see):
1) Does the count for the extraction start when the lever is first pulled? Or after the preinfusion when the lever is allowed to rise from where the spring will complete the job?
I am struggling with steaming the milk. I am certainly a newbie in this as I have previously used the crutch of a milk pick up and foamer bit that attached to my Faema Family machine. Mastering the technique will take some time I am sure, but I would love to hear from other Canadians who also live with the thin product range that our milk marketing board allows. Lack of competition leads to no good end. I am using Homoginized milk (Island Farms) which I think is about 4% bf.
By the way, the Faema is now about 22 years old, has had very little professional service, and still going strong. But I decided it was unlikely to hold up though my retirement which is maybe a couple of years off. Lets hope the Londiniums have the same track record! Our water here is really pretty good. Prevailing westerlies with the entire Pacific between us and Asia so little pollution with the exception of Japan earthquake aftermath. I am mixing tap water with reverse osmosis filtered water. There is no evidence of scale in kettles or elsewhere and the experience of the Faema suggests there is no risk there. Which brings me to my next question:
2) Should I filter anyway? Are these machines particularly susceptible to calcification? Am I taking a real risk?
I ordered the L1, single portafilter, plumb in kit, tamper. I cheaped out and did not get the bottomless portafilter. I now see this as an error. Most of the video clips showing extractions feature the bottomless pf. Without one it is impossible to compare my experience and hone my use of the L1. I think prospective buyers should consider this in making their decision. Next question:
3) Am I just imagining that having this tool would help me along my journey of learning to get the most from my machine?
If I am going to get the bpf I will want to limit my exposure to shipping costs by adding maintenance items to my order. But I am not sure what I am likely to need in the next few years. Last question:
4) What maintenance items will I likely need? Are the group gaskets included in the full kit (not sure of the difference between seal, o-ring, gasket)? They are available separately in parts store (or is what are called v-seals in one place really not the same as what are called piston washers in the other) . Is that because you need them more often than the full kit? If so, would that be one full kit and one group kit per year or two? (I am new to this much maintenance as the Faema seemed to coast along with one or two in-shop services in its life so far.)
Thanks for reading, and especially for answering!
Paul Gosh
Comments
Yes, that's the way most do it, I think.
You could order a naked portafilter, or have the 'closed' one you have opened up at a metal workshop. I first bought the Londinium Naked Portafilter and recently, to accommodate the deepest/widest baskets, I had the other one drilled out on a lathe.
Anyway, a 'naked' s in my view indispensable.
I personally find it a relaxing idea to have a spare shower screen and its rubber ring/gasket, and the rings/gaskets for the piston. Then if you order anyway, also get the extras for the steam/water taps and you'll be ready for any events for a long time. Oh, also the Loxeal #4 grease.
Your description makes me want to fire up the machine even though it's 10.30pm and I also never drink coffee after 5.30pm!
thanks for posting
thank you frans for beating me in responding, it is appreciated
yes, my 27s is from when the first drop of coffee hits the bottom of the cup (which should be after pre-infusion has completed, and after the lever has been released) - if it drips the moment you enter pre-infusion the coffee is either too coarse, not enough of it, or poorly distributed in the basket
you'll come right on the milk - its just practice - i put a cheap & cheerful milk texturing clip on my blog a while back that you should find if you whack a search for it in the top right search box, there are also a ocean of clips on youtube from people far more talented at texturing milk than i will ever be. helpful hints are 1) a fresh i.e. unopened bottle of milk is far far easier than one that is getting toward the bottom of the bottle 2) cold milk is easier than warm milk as it buys you a bit more time 3) when you can't hold your hand on the base of the jug stop immediately 4) you don't have to throw the toggle valve wide open - just open it a little at the start and then open it wider after a second or two 5) there are a group of people out there who make texturing milk a nigh on impossible task for themselves because they try to texture too small a volume. as a minimum for beginners i suggest you not use less than 250mL of milk - the less you use the harder it is as the time you have available reduces 5) you may find one of our smaller tips useful, but personally i think its like riding a bike - you are better to struggle with the two wheels for longer than to add trainer wheels - on the steam wand just don't fully open the valve if you find it is going too fast, oh, and use more milk!
water
there is a need to separate the terms filtration & softening
from what you write you have a water supply that does not require softening - this is great. it means you do not need to soften your water, which is expensive and will be detrimental for you anyway (you don't want the water too soft for espresso)
however unless you are super fortunate with you town water it is likely that you will benefit from running it through a carbon filter - this traps heavy metals (which i don't lose much sleep over tbh - in my view hearing damage from heavy metal is much more of a concern than poisoning by heavy metal from town water supply
it may be that your town water has not been chlorinated (if it has you will smell the 'pool' smell when you run a glass of water from the tap first thing in the morning (before anyone else in your house runs off any water) - hold your glass under the tap before turning the tap, rather than running the tap for a while (which is what you should do when you drink it first thing) then close the tap off when the glass is almost full and sniff the top of the glass - you will easily smell chlorine if it is an issue for you. if not you don't have that issue either and can forget about it - the lets bits & pieces dangling off your espresso machine the better life will be for you
as always, if you are plumbing the machine in you please use an isolating valve - if a machine connected to the mains water malfunctions, and it is not that uncommon for an espresso machine, you will have a large volume of water where you don't want it and this event is a specific exclusion of liability in our terms of sale, as it is for all espresso machine manufacturers
So please, if you are plumbing in ensure there is a tap/isolating valve before the machine and turn it off every whenever there is no one around to intervene if the machine malfunctions. malfunctions occur in one of two ways - a foreign body in the water supply prevents the inlet solenoid from complete closure, or secondly, the fill sensor probe fails to signal to the ECU to close the inlet solenoid and if the machine is cold the anti-vac valve will be in the down (open) position and so the water will just start pouring out of the anti-vac valve and keep doing so until external intervention occurs
the other issues have been covered by frans i think
If you get into the Puget Sound, Kitsap Peninsula area, be sure and stop by for some shots :-)
I appreciate that you are one of the more prolific posters on here and it is the questioning and answers here that make the forum such a valuable resource no matter what level of skill one has.
Cheers
Paul