I have been working on getting my machine that has been sitting for a while back in daily operation. Right now I am having a problem that it is brewing a double shot in only 7 seconds. I know you want it to take approx 22 seconds. I do not know how to adjust it to brew slower. my water pressure into the machine is at 25 lbs. I do not have a pump pressure gauge but I have played with the rotary pump pressure and backed out the pressure screw and it only extended it by 1 second. I have played with the bottom settings but that only adjusts fill level and not speed. any ideas??? I was thinking about installing a needle valve that will limit the flow...

Thanks

Scott

On a 1 to 10 scale, with 1 being fine and 10 being course, I am using a 3...

The first question, again, is the grinder. A numeral grind setting is meaningless, even if we knew what grinder you were using. Grind finer until the machine chokes. If the grinder cannot do that, then there is something wrong with the grinder or the coffee (probably).
Next would concern your dosing and tamping.
If it was working correctly before it was put away then something has changed. I would not advise changing adjustments like the pump pressure until you find out what the problem is, particularly without a gauge. Scale in the flow regulator, cracked basket, bad gicleur (if so equipped), freshness of coffee used, etc.

Here is a question then, what should the brew time be for two shots if that is a good way of measuring without espresso(empty) that will give me a base line to see if my machine is inline with others that work well. I am using coffee bean and tea leaf espresso, new package. I will grind at the finest and update, but if anyone could let me know what their machines are doing or what it should be that would help set a baseline...

Sorry, but that measurement won't help.
Put together a cheap portafilter pressure gauge and adjust the pump pressure to ~9.5 bar at zero flow.

Then get some freshly roasted coffee and an espresso-capable grinder.
(Any grinder with just 10 settings will not do well for this)

After you have fresh beans and a good grinder, then you can adjust the grind so that you get 1.5-2 ounces in 25 seconds using 16-18g of coffee in a well-packed double basket.

Sounds easy - but it's not
Good new is that you'll probably get much better results with just a little practice

Scott, the machine is not pulling 7 second shots, you are! It is likely either the grind or the beans, or both. What grinder are you using? Fresh beans?

Like the other posters, whenever I read someone's report of gushers, my first thought is either stale coffee or maladjusted/pour grinder. Neither of these have been eliminated yet, but excuse me while I ask...

scottyhana wrote:I am using coffee bean and tea leaf espresso, new package.

Tea leaf espresso? I've heard about "red" espresso, however I cannot offer specific advice. In any case, for judging whether regular coffee is fresh, the date you opened the package is irrelevant. Most coffees peak 4-7 days post-roast. Some coffees are still going strong at day 10, but most are waning.

The Elektra Sixties is an exceptionally easy espresso machine to use. Below is a photo of the sixth shot I pulled on the evaluation model:


Day 1 from Buyer's Guide to the Elektra A3

I apologize in advance if I'm mistaken, but the nature of your questions suggest you may be new to the espresso-at-home scene. If so, there is a plethora of information at your fingertips, starting with the Recommended Reading in the FAQs and Favorites. You also may be interested in Dave's Dialing in a new espresso machine, a step by step guide featuring the Elektra A3 (the same model as your sans volumetric dosing).

ok... My grinder is a commercial mazzer, I put it to the finest setting, filled the group and tamped it tight, it still brewed in 7 seconds. I will get a pressure gauge and see where I am at.

I probably should give you a little more information. This machine was used at my wifes coffee cart. It was sitting for 8 years in the garage. I hooked it up about 2 weeks ago and had a lot of issues. I needed to replace the pressure valve, all of the brass seals, then went to brew my first shot. in 30 seconds it only brewed 1/2 shot and no more. then the heating element stopped working. So I took the boiler out and removed the heating element. It has the worst scaling I had ever seen. I put a hole in the heating element. I then cleaned out the boiler and all of the tubing and the flow meter. that brings me to now. I am not sure if the scaling and buildup ate something up to increase the flow. but it seems to have a lot of pressure. the setting on my gauge is about 1.2 bar. not sure if this info helps...

scottyhana wrote:My grinder is a commercial mazzer, I put it to the finest setting, filled the group and tamped it tight, it still brewed in 7 seconds.

If you had a bottomless portafilter, it might help. Otherwise the possibilities that come to mind are stale coffee, worn burrs, massive channeling due to improper distribution/updosing, or extremely high brew pressure. I assume the 1.2 bar you mention refers to boiler pressure; that's a bit high for the Elektra. I would lower it to 1.0 bar.

Not to ask the obvious... but are you flushing correctly. Elektra is a Dragon HX and could blow a hole in a puck if you don't flush. This is documented in considerable detail in the review and is shown in the video below.