After much deliberating I'm going to sell my body parts (joke) for my next and probably my last machine. It still is a close call between a vibiemme double domo and an Elektra A3 and looking at prices the A3 is a few hundred quid cheaper here in the UK so that's what I'm going for. So readers I need to know from fellow Elektra owners/users any first hand experience they have had regarding user friendliness of this machine or the T1 for that matter. Any warranty issues from Elektra and, are spare parts easily sourced. Any other info will be good as well. Home-Barista rate it highly but that's on 110v so I wonder if anything changes when on 230v ? Your views please. By the way it will (if purchased) come from italiankitchenaids.com. Thanks. Dennis

Dennis, before you get too serious about it make sure they have one in stock. The A3 was discontinued a while back (1 year?) and I've noticed some companies have it on their website, but don't have it in stock. That said, I haven't used the A3, but I love Elektras in general and the A3 has always been a machine I've kept my eye on.

OK thanks da gino. It's the GL version (copper/brass). It's not everyone's taste that's why there probably are a few left but will e-mail them before purchase.

Mine was purchased slightly used 3 years ago and has had absolutely no issues aside from cleaning the vacuum breaker once. It is left on from 6am until the evening everyday from Sept to June. Once I did accidentally hit the brew switch while the machine was off and had a nasty surprise an hour after the machine turned on via timer the next day...

Best box on the planet IMHO. I would not trade it for a GS3, maybe a speedster but that would be it. The A3 was dropped from production but you can still get the T1 which is the A3 with a flow meter and buttons instead of a lever.

Hi again. Perhaps I'm being a bit green here but I plan to hook the machine up to a water softener off the mains. I have read on the review that a pressure regulator is needed. not sure what that is but is anyone else using one of these or are they just hooking it up to a water supply ?

I have three regulators. One on the house mains to drop the pressure to a sensible level, another on the main line that feeds my coffee bar to get the pressure down to around 6 bar then another to fine tune the pressure going to the machine. The A3 has a max mains input of 4 bar, I run it at 2 bar.

walshman wrote:Home-Barista rate it highly but that's on 110v so I wonder if anything changes when on 230v ? Your views please. By the way it will (if purchased) come from italiankitchenaids.com. Thanks. Dennis

Keep in mind that the machine was designed to run on European voltage, not North American. If anything, I would suspect the machine would run better.

FWIW, I have a T1, and have zero desire to upgrade . . . I still love this machine as much as when I first got it.

walshman wrote:OK thanks da gino. It's the GL version (copper/brass). It's not everyone's taste that's why there probably are a few left but will e-mail them before purchase.

I think most people like the copper/brass look. The only complaint I've heard is that it scratches easily. I've only seen the comment about the lever and the semi, but Dan (HB)'s quote on the lever machine smack down Lever Espresso Machines Smackdown was as follows

HB wrote: The Microcasa chrome/brass model will scratch if you even look at it hard.

Again I don't know if this will be true for the A3. Even if it is true I'd still be tempted because it is supposed to be such a great espresso machine, but it is probably worth knowing about going in.

To echo Jason's comment, I have a Elektra Semi and the only time I ever have any urge for an upgrade is for the A3 for the convenience of being plumbed in, the cup warmer, and the larger drip tray. I wouldn't trade my machine for a GS/3 - the only machines I'd really consider even if someone offered to trade with me so it wouldn't cost me anything would be the bigger Elektra you are thinking about or perhaps the Speedster, but my Elektra has me so happy that I'm not really considering either. I can only assume A3 buyers will have the same enthusiasm.

Hugh

This may sound stupid but I've noticed different feet configurations on the T1 models. Elektra have re-modelled the T1 recently but on the older models some have black plastic feet and some have what look like aluminium feet. Would one of these be the updated version or do they both have the same insides. Just an observation. Perhaps cannonfodder could answer this one?