This forum is now read-only


To login to the new support channel and community forums, go to the Support Portal

L1-P: 'flexing' the brew temperature?

Over the last few weeks I've been getting to know my new L1-P.
Joy! :)
Its so easy to pull great shots, and the extra PI pressure and shot volume opens up a wide range of different shots to play with.

Because I'm the curious type: I was wondering do any L1-P/2/3 owners have any insights into "flexing" the brew temperature by pulling flushes prior to the shot?

I have no interest in changing the Pressurestat from factory set (1 - 1.3b), but l like both light and dark roasts and change beans every week or so. Therefore, I like the idea of a 'manual protocol' to nudge temperature/flavor one way or the other.

If anyone has any recommendations based on hard data / tasting / or educated guesswork, I'd love to hear about other owner's experiences!
I'm sure this will overlap with PI time too.... all part of the fun!

Comments

  • Split Shot post=12138 wrote:
    Because I'm the curious type: I was wondering do any L1-P/2/3 owners have any insights into "flexing" the brew temperature by pulling flushes prior to the shot?

    I have no interest in changing the Pressurestat from factory set (1 - 1.3b)

    If you add a thermocouple and measuring device to the group you will find that it is hard or impossible to accurately get any temporary target temperature spot on by flushing. A brief flush can raise the group temp and a long flush will cool it on the L1-P but the timing and the flow cannot be predicted as they depend on the speed of pulling the lever, the line pressure and line temp. So beyond the brief cleaning flush after a shot, temperature surfing by flushing is making blind guesses / gambling with results.

    If you want a slightly higher or lower temp, why not play with the P-stat. It's the one simple tool that handles this.
  • yes, tweak the pressure switch; that's what its there for

    if you want to keep the steam gushing refit the commercial 4 x 1.4mm tip that the machine is supplied with
  • Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

    It sounds, as I suspected, that the thermal mass of the group is too great to influence in a controlled manner relying on split second decisions using manual flushes - I guess that's precisely why the L1-P is so consistent in the first place! :)

    At some point I'll get around to trying small adjustments of the pressurestat.
    What would people recommend as start?
    I'm currently ranging between 1-1.3 bar, in a kitchen that's never far off 20 C.

    I'm going through a bit of phase of drinking lighter roasted (Kenyan or Ethiopian) beans at the moment.
    Would I likely taste a difference shifting to 1.4 bar?
    Or, push it a bit further to 1.5 bar? Would this be too much?

    Your opinion is appreciated.
  • my suggestion is it works quite well at the factory setting with the pressure switch turning off at 1.3 bar for most roasts that modern espresso enthusiasts like to use, i.e. medium and lighter

    if you want to run a dark roast drop it to 1.0bar - if you feel this impacts the steam adversely put the commercial 4 x 1.4mm tip back on that the machine is supplied with and all will be good

    [side note: whenever i talk about pressure switch settings i am referring to the value at which the pressure switch OPENS. the lower value, at which the pressure switch closes is of absolutely no use unless the deadband has become very wide and you are considering replacing the pressure switch, which will be many moons on the 30A sirai in a domestic environment]
  • That's great. Just the kind of information I needed.
    Thank you Reiss!


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Sign In or Register to comment.