Just heard back from WLL - here's all they would tell me:

We are working with Profitec on the USA version but are still a ways away and don't have a price yet.

I hope to have some good info on it in about a month.

I don't know how Clive Coffee got their hands on the single machine they have, but it might be a Canadian/European model? I'm not sure what would need to be different besides a slight electrical change maybe. A bit frustrating . It's a model that was sent to them to test I believe.

An update! I'll try to be brief.

I've been in touch with a user at Coffee Forum UK - the only English speaking person I could find in the entire world who owns a Profitec Pro 300. He got it a month ago, and so far loves it. I asked him a bunch of questions, he answered them all, all of that info should be available over there shortly. He also shared the user manual with me, here's a link to it - https://goo.gl/K9cn4c

http://www.Coffeecrew.com is currently evaluating a Pro 300 and should have a review up within a week or two.

I think this is going to be a top contending machine for a lot of people within the next year. IMO this is a much better buy than the BDB, and I will be buying one before too long.

Feel free to ask me any questions - I've learned quite a bit about the machine in the last couple weeks.

Do you know how they solve the 15 Amp problem? Among machines which use what looks (looks, I obviously haven't seen anything except pictures) to be the same brew group:
- it isn't an issue with the SBDU machines like the Ascaso Uno Pro;
- the Quick Mill Silvano substitutes a 600w element instead of the 1200w in North America; and
- the double-boiler Lelit Diana looks to use 600w elements in the brew boiler and the steam boiler in the USA (and dual 1200w elements like the Pro 300 elsewhere).

The big issue is pricing; if it comes in at low-end E-61 HX territory, then those machines will be stiff competition. OTOH, if it comes in at Oscar/Silvano/Diana pricing, then the Pro 300 could be a deal. And, of course, there is the BDB ...

Hi Craig,

I've asked one of my contacts about the heating elements and will report back once I have an answer. I'm really not sure, the owner in the UK has two 1200w elements, and that's all that's listed on the Profitec website, and the manual doesn't mention anything. Are you saying that you can't run two 1200w heating elements on a 15A circuit (sorry if this is common knowledge, it's news to me).

Regarding the price I've heard a tentative minimum MSRP of $1670. I imagine it will be able to be had for less, but only time will tell. So yes there are cheaper HX e61 machines out there, but e61's have their disadvantages too!

I hope the heating elements aren't significantly weaker though...one of the big selling points is the 5 minute heat up time!

EDIT: I heard back, but I'm still not sure what the answer is. I think it still manages to have two 1200w elements, because I can't find any documentation to the contrary. I know I've heard of machines (is it the BDB?) that switches off between the elements. So perhaps it's something similar.

USA: 120 v outlet, 15 amps = 1800 VA - which is the same as watts more or less (so 1800 watt maximum) except that for continuous loads, you factor in 1.25, so 1800/1.25 = 1440 watts continuous.

A typical European outlet, the UK for example, is 240v, 13 amp max = 3120 VA, 2500 w continuous, which neatly ties in with 2 - 1200 w elements + 50 watts for a pump, plus a few watts for the control circuitry.

The power available at the outlet in Europe is why Euro double boilers are generally setup to drive both the brew and steam boilers at the same time. Very simple to design/build, have the brew and steam systems completely separate, and you can turn off the steam boiler when you don't need it. However, when these machines come to the US market and its insistence on running at 15 amps, they have to do something - cut down the element size, or put in some circuitry so the brew and steam boilers are never on at the same time, etc. You can see from the threads here that some makers do a better job at handling this than others, some have 15A/20A switches, etc. The "right" way to handle the problem is to design the machine from the ground up to work at 15 amps, which usually means having the brew boiler being fed in some fashion from the steam boiler - BDB, GS/3, and Linea Mini being some examples.

Also, the five minute warmup time is ... well, I don't know, obviously, but I would have to taste it to believe it. Machines with active heating of the brew group, the small-boiler 57mm saturated group SBDU machines, and home lever machines, are all around 10 minutes. Thermoblock machines can get the water up to temp faster, but something has to heat up the rest of the brew group. The speed champions are, I suspect, using a kettle - at under 5 minutes (at 120v) - and thus a Rossa (and I presume EspressoForge).

Anyhow, this is all idle speculation, we will see what ECM comes up with .

The Pro300 works perfectly fine on a 15 Amp circuit.

Through the service modus of the PID-display the machine is set to activate the two 1200 Watt heating elements alternately (It can be set differently*.), whereby the brew group boiler is preferred. The steam/hot water boiler is heated only after the temperature of the brew group boiler is reached => both boilers are never heated simultaneously => saves energy => 15 Amp circuit is all you need.

*You can also change the setting to activate both heating elements simultaneously. Both boilers are heated => high wattage => 20 Amp circuit is required.

The Pro700 works the same way.

I installed my new machine today. I can already confirm the 5 minute heat-up time. As the boiler sits right on top of the ring brew group, it gets hot very quickly... I will be pulling my first shot in the morning in the same time it takes to brew a carafe of filter coffee! I like that!

Francois

Is the water fed to the brew boiler from the steam boiler like the Linea Mini and BDB?

I believe to be wrong... Maybe the Pro300 cannot be set differently than the first mode I described (It would always alternate.). I just went through the list of parameters and couldn't find the options we find on a Pro700 within parameter F.02; in fact parameter F.02 doesn't exists on my Pro300. I will keep looking into it. One thing is certain: It works fine. Anything above 1800 Watt trips a circuit breaker in my house.
Both boilers are independent from one another. The brew boiler gets fresh water from the tank.

Merci, François! Brew-group priority switching could work well with the small brew boiler. Too bad there is no 20 amp option.

Ok... I got it figured out. IT IS 20 AMP! I am lucky, that's all! I just discovered that 2 out of 5 of my counter height kitchen outlets are on a 20 Amp circuit. I was lucky enough to plug the machine in one of them yesterday.
When you activate the steam boiler, both boilers are heated at the same time! High wattage! 20 Amp circuit is required.
Pro300 US 115V/2400W
I confirmed it with Michael Hauck from Profitec.

Unlike the Pro700, there is no parameter that let us set it to the "alternate" mode as on the Pro300 the steam boiler is not controlled with the PID.

Sorry for the confusion: I was relying on the information I got from the retailer when I posted my first reply to this thread.