A bit of lever action

[BoldJava]

Ponte Vecchio Lusso, single group.  Perfect photo, helps me envision size relative to the Silvia that adorns the counter presently.  Not a counter-hog.

[BoldJava]

Working my way thru a 16-page discussion on the PCL I hadn't seen before.  Shawn's shiny picture piqued my interest in it.
http://www.home-barista.com/levers/initial-impressions-of-ponte-vecchio-lusso-t3591.html

[staylor]

Speaking of lever, mine hammered in. Well hammered in is a bit dramatic but it certainly isn't operating to spec.

The Mater pressurestat started acting up and demonstrating inconsistent operation so I talked to Orphan Espresso and they recommended trying the Jaeger pressurestat which I got yesterday. While I was waiting for the Jaeger to arrive I got a chance to manipulate the PVL by using steam release power off/power on, water draw, etc to pull shots that still worked (kind of) doing so ranged my shots above and below the normal pressure operating range that I've found to works best for me with the PVL. It was kind of a fun experiment having realtime insanely high and low pressures to work with but I'm itching to get a solution back in place.

As to the Jaeger, OE thought it might work but it was a bit of an experiment since they didn't have a PVL to play with at their end. I've read lots of opinions on what replacement pressurestat to use and I've seen mention that the Jaeger is a good way to go... but I disagree with the Jaeger as a suitable choice. The problem with the Jaeger is it's lowest pressure setting that my gauge shows is 1.25bar and with its .2bar deadband it moved up to a touch over 1.45bar, way too hot for the PVL. I prefer to operate in the .9bar to 1.1bar range which the Jaeger simply can't do. The PVL's pressure gauge is only a visual reference and might be wrong of course but the water temps and grouphead pressures were too hot at the lowest setting on the Jaeger.

I tried a few different beans, light and dark, different ages and what not but I couldn't pull anything I liked yesterday, even at the lowest point in the deadband. I dropped OE a voicemail and Doug got back to me this evening, we had a good chat and a laugh or two, the final decision is to go with the CEME as it's supposed to be more reliable that the Mater, so he's throwing that in the mail tomorrow and I'll send the Jaeger back.

Fiddling around with the guts of the machine and removing various parts had Keegan enthralled. Holding the screwdriver, 17mm wrench and poking his nose into things had him fully  believing that he was pivotal to fixing my lever. He might be more bummed out than I am when I tell him it's not fixed yet. ;-)

[sontondaman]

The Mater pressurestat started acting up and demonstrating inconsistent operation

I have the same problem, My pressure set point would stay there for 1-2week and then gradually drift upward. I guess it is time to replace the p-stat on mine too

[staylor]

The Mater pressurestat started acting up and demonstrating inconsistent operation

I have the same problem, My pressure set point would stay there for 1-2week and then gradually drift upward. I guess it is time to replace the p-stat on mine too

Drop Doug a line at Orphan Espresso and ask him for the same CEME he's sending me.

[Warrior372]

I have had pressurestat problems on two levers I have owned. The first was in my Elektra MCaL. I turned the machine on, went to take a shower, and then went back into the kitchen to eat breakfast. Shortly after sitting down I noticed a really weird sound coming from the MCaL, so I walked up to assess the situation. When I went over to look at the machine I could not help but notice the pressure gauge was maxed out. After seeing this I quickly turned the machine off. While, for those of you who have never played with an Elektra MCal, they do not have a pressure release on the boiler. So, I was essentially eating my breakfast next to a pipe bomb waiting to explode.

Anyway, pressurestat inconsistency was in this case, and is commonly, caused by a teeny tiny speck of scale getting into the pressurestat itself. Depending on your exact pressurestat, you may be able to take it apart and break it down more than others. You might want to try this and see if you find anything in there. I believe the Elektra had a Mater and I ended up using a needle to pry the tiny piece out of it. After doing this it was fine.
 
How frequently do you descale the PVL? Santo, what kind of machine are you having problems with? If it is a commercial machine, and you end up needing to replace it, go with a Sirai. They are absolute tanks.

[Tex]

I have had pressure stat problems on two levers I have owned. The first was in my Elektra MCaL. I turned the machine on, went to take a shower, and then went back into the kitchen to eat breakfast. Shortly after sitting down I noticed a really weird sound coming from the MCaL, so I walked up to assess the situation. When I went over to look at the machine I could not help but notice the pressure gauge was maxed out. After seeing this I quickly turned the machine off. While, for those of you who have never played with an Elektra MCal, they do not have a pressure release on the boiler. So, I was essentially eating my breakfast next to a pipe bomb waiting to explode.

Anyway, pressure stat inconsistency was in this case, and is commonly, caused by a teeny tiny speck of scale getting into the pressure stat itself. Depending on your exact pressure stat, you may be able to take it apart and break it down more than others. You might want to try this and see if you find anything in there. I believe the Elektra had a Mater and I ended up using a needle to pry the tiny piece out of it. After doing this it was fine.
 
How frequently do you descale the PVL? Santo, what kind of machine are you having problems with? If it is a commercial machine, and you end up needing to replace it, go with a Sirai. They are absolute tanks.

Since a PID is so easy to install and the price is almost a wash with a Sirai, why would you tolerate the failure prone pstats? Plus there's no constant click/clack of the Sirai's 3 mechanical relays opening & closing every few minutes.

[Warrior372]

The click / clacking reminds me to turn it off before I leave my house . That is a good option though! You would then just need a portafilter thermometer to follow temp loss from boiler through grouphead to ground coffee, and you could have the ultimate temp controlled PVL.

[sontondaman]

Santo, what kind of machine are you having problems with?

I have a PVL also so the sirai is not an option. I descale frequently, maybe every 2 month.

[Warrior372]

Santo, what kind of machine are you having problems with?

I have a PVL also so the sirai is not an option. I descale frequently, maybe every 2 month.

I descaled my Elektra frequently too. You just need a tiny piece to get in there and muck things up.

[Tex]

Santo, what kind of machine are you having problems with?

I have a PVL also so the sirai is not an option. I descale frequently, maybe every 2 month.

Are you connected to a water source with a water softener? It'll cut the calcium to zero.

[Warrior372]

To all of you who are saving to purchase a lever you might want to keep your eyes peeled for what Orphan Espresso has on the horizon. I perusing through the Pharos thread on HB and ran into Doug / Barb making a comment about a lever machine they plan on making / selling. Apparently they have the design all worked out and have price quotes for parts they plan to use. It looks like they are planning to integrate a 2-way lever into the design allowing users to either manually control the extraction or let the spring do the work. They also said the brew boiler is closed, PID'd and they worked a thermosiphon into the mix to heat the group. No mention of price or planned release date. No pictures yet either. Could be interesting.

[BoldJava]

To all of you who are saving to purchase a lever you might want to keep your eyes peeled for what Orphan Espresso has on the horizon. I perusing through the Pharos thread on HB and ran into Doug / Barb making a comment about a lever machine they plan on making / selling....

I think they are going to have their hands full just moving Pharos machines.  There haven't been new restoration projects.  Those they have up have been there awhile.  I don't know where they would get the time to crank out lever machines.  Time will tell.

[John F]

For me it's all going to come down to timing.

But with my luck they will roll the machine out 2 weeks after I've made a different choice. 

[Warrior372]

You could contact them and see about a rough time line. I would be willing to bet he just contracts out to a major machine manufacturer . .  . I cannot imagine him trying to hand make / hand assemble machines even if most of the labor / fab work is contracted out to a machine shop. Salvatore in California only pumps out around 1 machine a week. I believe he is fabricating the frames and cutting the housing himself though. With everything else OE has going on I cannot imagine them trying to do this by themselves.