One thing I wanted for my AlexD was cup tray handles. Unloading the tray before removing it was getting old.

Thanks to some great research from Derek Williams, he pointed me to a set of these handles. Looks like they should come stock! I can now lift off the entire tray full of cups without worry of dropping a thing.

George

Nice! Where do you find those handles?

sweaner wrote:Nice! Where do you find those handles?

I found them here: http://www.newark.com/jsp/search/...tx=&isGoback=false

Mentor 270.4 and 270.5, in Chrome.

George

Thats a pretty sweet mod. that also adds function, I like. Im going to be putting a pre order on the Duetto when Chris gets everything uploaded on his website for the new upgraded version. This will have to be one of my first add-ons. -Karl

What's changed in the "new upgraded version" of the Duetto?

Also! Great Addition to the existing Duetto! Thanks for the tip!

Kirk

This is what Chris emailed me:

You will be able to change the machine from 15 amp to 20 through the PID
The PID will control not only the group boiler temperature but the steam boiler temperature as well.
You will be able to change all of those setting through the controller.
You set your offset differential through the PID.
You can turn off either one of the boilers through the controller.
There is no more mechanical relay it is replaced with a silent and more reliable SSR relay

Through my phone conversation he told me that that the machine will look the same and still be plumbable.
Price should still be the same unless the Euro rate changes and of course he is going to offer pre order discounts. Cant wait!

Mine will sit on a counter just below the cabinets, having these handles is going to make life a little easier, good find man! -Karl

Wow! They just keep upgrading this guy!!!

Thanks for the info Karl!

George, those handles look great! Excellent idea to have the one at the back as well. Thanks to you I have the SSR relay for the steam boiler on the way. I can't keep up with all the mods you have done like insulation both boilers, and draining the OPV into the drip tray to name only a few. I never intended to do any mods except the one below, but its proving to be very enjoyable.
Speaking of which, here's another mod they should consider, thanks to DaveC for his Coffeetime Wiki article for pointing me to this one. It solves the agony of "de feet". (Sorry for the pun..)




Cheers, Derek

D61 wrote:Speaking of which, here's another mod they should consider, thanks to DaveC for his Coffeetime Wiki article for pointing me to this one. It solves the agony of "de feet". (Sorry for the pun..)

Dang, those feet do look nice.... since I had to look this up, I'll save others the trouble.
The Coffeetime Wiki article

Mark

D61 wrote:George, those handles look great! Excellent idea to have the one at the back as well. Thanks to you I have the SSR relay for the steam boiler on the way. I can't keep up with all the mods you have done like insulation both boilers, and draining the OPV into the drip tray to name only a few. I never intended to do any mods except the one below, but its proving to be very enjoyable.
Speaking of which, here's another mod they should consider, thanks to DaveC for his Coffeetime Wiki article for pointing me to this one. It solves the agony of "de feet". (Sorry for the pun..)

Cheers, Derek

Thanks Derek and thanks again for finding the source for the handles.

Yes, I do like those feet (and the pun). Have to get going on that mod, too!

George

BTW, beautiful shots of your setup!

Jeepin' Geo wrote:I found them here: http://www.newark.com/jsp/search/result ... back=false

Mentor 270.4 and 270.5, in Chrome.

George

George,
Great Mod! I don't have my machine yet, but was thinking about ordering these so they are here when it arrives. It's hard to tell in the pics which bars are the long ones / short ones....trying to figure out which one to order two of. Could you clarify this for me?

Thanks,
Jordan

I've been meaning to do this mod since I bought my machine at the beginning of the year. Thanks for bumping the post to remind me. I'd also like to replace the feet with something like what comes with the mk II model.

I'm not sure what to do with that stupid "Alex" badge. The adhesive has softened so much that the badge is starting to move down the front of the machine. Is it easy to clean off the residue if I just remove it?

Jordon,

Thanks! The 270.5 is the long one at the rear. You only need one of those but when I tried to enter qty. 1, a pop up came up saying the minimum qty. is 2. Might be worth a call to see if you can get just 1.

Bob,

My badge slid down on it's own after the first few shots. Since the badge is convex only the outside edge was holding and the factory tape was no match for the heat. I ran without it for a while, but decided I liked the logo. I cleaned off the factory tape with Goo Gone, and replaced it with the thinnest double sided automotive adhesive tape I could find (from Napa). No problems with the automotive tape - badge hasn't budged!

George

Jeepin' Geo wrote:Jordon,

Thanks! The 270.5 is the long one at the rear. You only need one of those but when I tried to enter qty. 1, a pop up came up saying the minimum qty. is 2. Might be worth a call to see if you can get just 1.

...

George

Got it - thanks for the info.
Jordan

D61 wrote:George, those handles look great! Excellent idea to have the one at the back as well. Thanks to you I have the SSR relay for the steam boiler on the way. I can't keep up with all the mods you have done like insulation both boilers, and draining the OPV into the drip tray to name only a few. I never intended to do any mods except the one below, but its proving to be very enjoyable.
Speaking of which, here's another mod they should consider, thanks to DaveC for his Coffeetime Wiki article for pointing me to this one. It solves the agony of "de feet". (Sorry for the pun..)

Cheers, Derek

Insulating both boilers? Really? I have heard and read that is a mistake for the brew boiler, because it purportedly makes the PID's job more difficult.

Jeepin' Geo wrote:I found them here: http://www.newark.com/jsp/search/result ... back=false

Mentor 270.4 and 270.5, in Chrome.

George

thanks for this info. Although I will keep looking for the Vibiemme style curved handles, I went ahead and ordered the Mentor handles while I wait for my Duetto.

Pale Rider wrote:Insulating both boilers? Really? I have heard and read that is a mistake for the brew boiler, because it purportedly makes the PID's job more difficult.

Hi Greg,

I had read the same thing, too. I was motivated by an interest to lower ambient temps inside the machine, had extra insulation material available and was in a 'tinkering' mode (as usual).

Contrary to what I had read, overshoot is not a problem at all. In fact, it appears the boiler takes just slightly longer to initially reach temp as if the PID slows the ramp-up a little. Shot to shot is still right on. I figured if I did see any issues, I would tweak the PID settings accordingly but I'm still using Jim G's/Chris's recommended PID settings and don't see any signs of PID ping pong.

Pale Rider wrote:thanks for this info. Although I will keep looking for the Vibiemme style curved handles, I went ahead and ordered the Mentor handles while I wait for my Duetto.

You're very welcome! Handles sure make it easy remove the cup tray (although I don't go in there that often after rerouting the OPV to the drip tray).

As long as you've got the tray off, you may as well and a little vibration abatement. Edge strips and adhesive backed silicone from McMaster:



George

George: Very nice, professional looking work you're doing there.

mark

mhoy wrote:George: Very nice, professional looking work you're doing there.

mark

Thank you, Mark.

You're kitchen has come out looking very nice, too!

I owe you some comments on the Everpure Claris but unfortunately my 50 thousand other To-Do's remain in the way. Still sitting on the shelf.

George

Jeepin' Geo wrote:Thank you, Mark.

You're kitchen has come out looking very nice, too!

I owe you some comments on the Everpure Claris but unfortunately my 50 thousand other To-Do's remain in the way. Still sitting on the shelf.

George

I know what you mean. Despite having a working 'finished' kitchen, there are still boxes to unpack, spice racks to add, garbage pails to install, hoses to make neater, etc. I'm not too worried, heck it's not like Everpure is a no-name risky product. After all, this is HB, we need to chase down that last 1% that might make a difference.

Mark