Expobar

[sosha]

I'm trying to figure out why the Expobar Office series is so much less expensive than other HX machines.   Anyone have insight into this?

[Burner0000]

Other than some bells and whistles I have no idea.  Some have slightly larger boilers.  Maybe the office models are aged and not selling as well. They also have vibe pumps. Machines like the Rockets have rotary pumps which add a $400-$600 value.

None the less the Office Control model is a steal!  1.7L, Volumetric & E61 for only $1200!  I have my eye fixed on a Rancilio Epoca for my next machine.  :p

[smico]

Sosha,

Last time you asked about HT and regretted asking after seeing my answer

I have Expobar III R for a three years now, plumbed in, dual boiler, rotary pump, E61, PID.
This is great machine, capable of delivering much more than I will ever need. 
It takes some 45 minutes to heat up.
Quite ugly if compared with similar Bezzera machines though, but you get used to it.

Never had a problem with it, except a bit of a leak, but it was caused by high pressure of my erroneous reverse osmosis system.  Ever since I switched to the bottle supply, not a drop anywhere.
Also, because it has copper boilers, it should not be fed directly from RO system without re-calcification to keep acidity of the water in check.

Lastly, I would buy it again, and recommend to a friend.

Please let me know if you have any more questions.  There is very good google user group with friendly crowd.

Regards,

Miroslav

[sea330]

I read a post awhile back that you can swap out the vib pump for a rotary for about $200.00 on the Expobar, is this a true story.

[smico]

I know that people do that.

User group is very good with schematics and parts lists.  Machine is made in Spain, and lots of parts are very standard commercial parts shared on many Itallian machines.  I had a problem with rubber seal on vacuum breaker valve (sitting on top of the steam boiler, and rubber hardens after some time), and I found similar valve on some old commercial espresso machine, replaced it without any trouble.

Also machine has insulated no-burn steam wand.  Some people claim that there is not much steam for the size of the bolier, but after I pushed water level sensor on the steam boiler all the way down, it steams like hell.

[expy98]

If you're set on the Expobar Office series and not in any particular hurry, they occasional
come up for cheap.  I've seen Pulsar for $300 and the lever for $500 or $600 but they
aren't exactly plentiful...

[sosha]

Sosha,

Last time you asked about HT and regretted asking after seeing my answer

Yes, you have a point there. 😜

I've just been checking out HX machines, to pair up with the Export.  These machines really have a wide price range.