Help With Vivaldi

[Tex]

Thanks all.  The drought is over and Schotzie is back together.

Other than the mystery ailment that kept water from the group, which somehow fixed itself over the weekend, the real problem was an improperly installed screen just ahead of the fill valve for the steam boiler.  As soon as I opened up the port on the solenoid I could see the problem.  It's not really a screen, but a sintered metal disc w/ a thin brass ring.  It was wedged in there sideways and squished, leading me to believe it was a Friday afternoon after a long lunch of sausage and Sangria.  The tech at Chris' said that the factory puts that screen in because they can't count on people using a filter upline, and that I can run w/o it.

This would've been a fairly easy fix and it would've been up and running Saturday a.m., if the group problem wouldn't have been there.  To get at what they thought was the problem meant undoing a bunch of fittings and lines, and then dismantling the valve with the spring/piston.  The headache there, apart from just getting the valve out is that the factory doesn't use teflon tape or thread compound; they use some sort of Locktite.  It works, until you have to take it apart, that is.  So a couple of fittings were leaking, and even though I got the screen in the fill valve square away easy enough I still had to take that valve out along with the expansion valve, and clean up the threads and redo that work from Friday.

I'm glad to have this first episode out of the way.  Like people say, any espresso machine will need repair eventually, and now that I've cut my teeth on this repair the next one won't produce as much nervous anxiety.  The older I get, the more stuff like this rocks my world for the first time through something.  When I was younger I liked a challenge, now they seem to scare me.

You've just touched the tip of the iceberg. Keep the wrenches handy!

[mp]

I bet that nice looking cap produced by Schotzie doesn't scare you!

 

[peter]

I bet that nice looking cap produced by Schotzie doesn't scare you!

 

As an aside, it was made Vivace Dolce.  I had read some good things about their blend, and when I saw they sold it in green form I bought 3#.  This was my first attempt at roasting it (FC+), and have only had one shot and on latte.  It'll take some more time with it before I can give it a thumbs up; might be brewing it too hot.

[John F]

If you like blonds I can give you plenty of those.

 

[GC7]

Glad you were able to get up and running with only minor headaches.

[Warrior372]

How long do you leave the machine on per day? Even if you use filtered water regular long periods where the machine is left on will dramatically spread up the scaling inside of the machine. Whenever I get a used machines I descale them first thing, and in 9/10 cases if the machine did not have water flowing through the group when I got the machine it does after the descale.

[peter]

In the summer it was off unless it was being used, or I expected to use it within a few hours.  When it is on for extended periods of time, generally the steam boiler is off.

In the older machines you rehab, where do you think the main concern lies for scale issues?

[mp]

I bet that nice looking cap produced by Schotzie doesn't scare you!

 

As an aside, it was made Vivace Dolce.  I had read some good things about their blend, and when I saw they sold it in green form I bought 3#.  This was my first attempt at roasting it (FC+), and have only had one shot and on latte.  It'll take some more time with it before I can give it a thumbs up; might be brewing it too hot.

When are you pulling more shots with that mix?

 

[peter]

Today at 2:00.  Can you come over?

[Stubbie]

Every shop I talk to, the espresso machine stays on 24/7...

On that note, I've been looking at filter systems, and have been thinking about the Claris after reading about it on Home Barista.  Having trouble finding a stocking dealer though.  The systems Chris Coffee sells are probably more than sufficient and quite a bit cheaper I would imagine.

-Stubbie

[mp]

Today at 2:00.  Can you come over?

If only I could.

 

[Jeffo]

Great to read how you got it together. I couldn't have done any of that stuff. Your latte art is coming together. It looks like a thermometer's mercury with fire coming out of it. Doesn't make sense but that's art.

[Tex]

Every shop I talk to, the espresso machine stays on 24/7...

On that note, I've been looking at filter systems, and have been thinking about the Claris after reading about it on Home Barista.  Having trouble finding a stocking dealer though.  The systems Chris Coffee sells are probably more than sufficient and quite a bit cheaper I would imagine.

-Stubbie

I'll be using a potassium chloride water softener for my rebuilt machine. Less of a health & environmental  hazard than the salt ladened water put out by regular water softeners. It's easy enough to use in canister systems but I'm having a hard time finding it in the replaceable cartridges.

[mp]

I use potassium chloride over salt for my whole house water softener.  It works well and as you say is better for the environment.

 

[Tex]

I use potassium chloride over salt for my whole house water softener.  It works well and as you say is better for the environment.

 

Just out of curiosity, I asked the guys at 1st Line and EPNW if potassium chloride would work in the canisters they sell; to which they replied no, and using it would void the warranty.

Of course that's BS; any canister that uses salt can use potassium interchangeably. Yet another instance of someone not knowing the product's capabilities, and shooting from the lip rather than looking for the right answer.

Potassium is great for the heart and is often in short supply in our diets. It's also one of the key chemicals used to execute people.