Hi all,

I have an opportunity to purchase a Rancilio Epoca but I haven't decided whether it would be a step up from my existing setup (Vibiemme Domobar SB).

VBM pros:
- small footprint
- E-61 grouphead offers preinfusion, which is nice and forgiving

Epoca pros:
- HX (pro?)
- large boiler

If I get what I expect for selling my VBM on craigslist, I'll end up having paid 50-100 dollars to upgrade to the Epoca. Is this worth it?

If your domobar is a single stage boiler and not an ehx
is definitely an epoca 1 gr is an upgrade
BUT like you mention look carefully at the footprint is pretty massive/bulky looking

I noticed, it looks HUUUUUGE

I think we can barely accomodate the additional 7 inches or so of width. It's going to dwarf my vario

You'll like having a big steam boiler a lot.

-Greg

I've got an Epoca tank model/ Vario. It's great. The only drawback is the size, but it's fantastic for when you're entertaining.

I remember reading a while back that Rancilio machines have a very unforgiving grouphead design, but I haven't noticed. I consistently pull beautiful shots. As for preinfusion, I'm tempted to think the Epoca has it. There's quite a sizeable chamber in the grouphead that sits empty, except when pulling shots. The Simonelli groupheads have a similar chamber which allows for a slow ramp up of pressure. I want to think the chamber in the Epoca grouphead is there for a similar reason.

Flushing is easy, and I'm able to consistently pull shot after shot of great espresso. If you've got the room, You'll enjoy this machine.

An awful lot DEPENDS on your primary use of the machine as these are two completely different examples.

For example, if you make 1 or 2 cappy's a WEEK and the remainder is straight espresso, stick with the Vibiemme and possibly upgrade it with a PID. If you primarily drink cappy's and "twist your thumbs" for the minute or so for the VBM to reaching the steaming plateau, go with the Rancilio but save your VBM for a couple of weeks/months.

I primarily drink straight espresso - however I would like to work on my milk skills, and frankly I don't have the patience to toggle the boiler temps back and forth.

I like to think I have an eye for details so I'm hoping I can compensate for the peculiarities of HX (and the loss of E-61)

Don't let the whole HX thing intimidate you. I get consistently good espresso with the flush and go method. Grind, dose, tamp, then flush until the sizzling stops plus a few seconds. I'm pulling fresh "Epic espresso" from 49th Parallel these days. I go 3 seconds past the sizzle for an 18gr double or 1 second past for a 25g triple.

After the flush, just lock and load and go. So easy.

I find no difference whether I use this technique while pulling shots back to back or when walking up to an idling machine.

No worries.

How do you descale that beast?
as I understand it, to descale a HX requires you to disassemble it

No disassembly required. What has you thinking that you need to de-scale?

Checking an E61 Espresso Machine for Scale

If you do need to descale, I'm a fan of using a siphon. Here are a couple threads to get you going:

How do I descale my espresso machine?

Water, Scaling and Descaling with HX machines?

Simplified HX Descale [PourOver]

I've settled with ~1 Tbsp/quart citric acid from a home-brewing shop for the light levels of scale I generally deal with.