New Londinium R Received!

Roger Healy

Haven't unpacked it yet, but the LR was delivered this afternoon (Friday) after being picked up by DHL for shipment Monday afternoon. US duties and taxes were $152.72. One corner of the large box was slightly crushed, but I don't anticipate any internal damage.

Now for an enjoyable evening unpacking and starting up! Photos to follow...

Ron Lewen

Congrats!

Reiss Gunson

thanks for taking the time to post roger.
reiss.

Roger Healy

Last night I unpacked and assembled the LR. As expected, there was no damage to anything but the box; very well packaged! It was too late to start it up and pull some shots, but I just finished doing so this morning. The boiler filled completely with only one cycle of the pump. I'm very impressed by the quality of the LR and how solid it is. This is the first Londinium I've seen other than in photos. It's everything I had hoped it would be and more.

In spite of being well aware of the lever action and warnings, l managed to have my first - and hopefully last "learning experience". After flushing some water through the group to make sure it was clean, I let the lever slip out of my hand as I released it from the fully down/open position. Fortunately, these groups and the machines are very tough! No harm done and lesson learned.

A lever machine is very different from the pump machines I've had, so I have a lot to learn about tuning lever performance, but I'm very happy to have made the switch. I'm also very happy that I didn't spend almost twice as much to get a LM Linea Mini!

By the way, I love the wenge handles and the toggle valves. This is a WELL-DESIGNED MACHINE!

Reiss, thanks for all your work to get it here and to keep spring-levers alive!

Ron Lewen

Thanks for the report, Roger! I'm glad that there was no damage!

Did you get the 110V version? I'll be watching for your thoughts as you use it more.

Roger Healy

I did get the 110/120V version. The only benefit to the 240V I can see so far is that the boiler temp recovery would be quicker if you are making large americanos. However, I'm totally happy with the 120V version. It definitely gives much more flexibility in moving the machine to another location in the house, which I will be doing in a couple of months. We're doing a revision to our kitchen and I'll have a dedicated espresso station. Really looking forward to that. I'm typically pulling shots while my wife is working in the kitchen, which you might guess sometimes causes conflicts...

I haven't steamed milk yet, but I can already tell from flushing the steam wand that the steaming power is much better than my previous machine. I don't think steaming power/recovery will be a problem. I may be pulling a latte for my daughter-in-law this afternoon, so I'll post feedback if I do.