It seems my office lever plus is not getting the water hot enough at the brew group. The shots are very warm but not really hot. I believe i have gone through the normal adjustments. The pressures are 1.3 and 9.0 respectively. I even tried to remove the flow restrictor but was surprised to not find one installed (on the top pipe where it enters the e61). The water spigot gets to 205 but the water coming out of the e61 is always around 180. I just have a simple thermometer that i calibrated in boiling water. I tested the temperature of the e61 by running it into an insulated plastic mug with the thermometer stuck in it. I am wondering if this is accurate enough and if there is anything i might try to bring the temp up. I am trying to be sure there is actually a problem before i pay for shipping back to the vendor for repair. it is still under warranty. thanks

and another very basic question. is there any reason the water coming out of the brew group should be any cooler than the water coming out of the spigot on the side?

The water which passes through the brew group has also passed though a heat exchanger in addition to traveling through a group that is about 40 degrees F cooler than the boiler's water. The hot water tap comes directly from the boiler.

I would contact the dealer and ask whether a thermosyphon restrictor was applied/installed in your particular machine. A boiler pressure of 1.30 bar (if that is the max reading) is still relatively high.

Are you at some unusually high altitude in Phoenix?

Ive tried boiler pressures from 0.9 to 1.5(max) with no discernable difference. Not too high just about 1500MSL in PHX. According to the video they produced on their website they supposedly put in the restrictor in all these machines. I figured i would try pulling it out and see what happens. I removed the E61 and found nothing in either one of the tubes coming from the boiler. They could not explain why it was not installed. I could not remove the tubes from the boiler itself. It was too difficult without possibly damaging something. I dont think it would be on that side though, would it.

I dont think it would be on that side though, would it.

The thermosyphon restrictor is about the size of a nickel with a ~2.50 mm hole. It should have been in the recess where the upper tube attaches to the group.



At your altitude, my guess would be that a boiler pressure of 1.25 bar (max) would be a nice setting if a restrictor were in place.

I would consider buying something to log brew basket temperatures during an actual extraction. It will be useful even after you resolve the current issue.

I would expect an insulated plastic mug to drop the temperature more than a small styrofoam cup.

not sure what flash boil means exactly but the water does not come out like on the spigot on the side. It just comes out normally and the only time it will be above 180 is after several hours of sitting. Then it might hit 195 on the first pull which would be ok but you have to wait another 2 hours to get that temp again.. the rest of the time its 180. you implied that 180 might be normal. this is what I am trying to figure out. the same probe in the hot water wand goes to 205 almost instantly. no matter what I do 180 is the max from the brew group. is that all I should expect with this type of thermometer. the coffee itself is very warm but not really hot, even with heating the cups etc. I really hope to avoid the risk and expense of sending it in for repair only to be told nothing is wrong. I have already been told there is nothing more they can do over the phone and to just send it in but I worried this is just a canned response. so is that a normal temp, assuming its accurate, and if not is there anything else that I can try before sending it in? thanks

Check out this video of a cooling flush.
See how the water is initially bubbling, before later calming down a bit? That is flash boiling. The water in the heat exchanger is initially superheated, and it should boil instantly when it leaves the group and is exposed to normal atmospheric pressure.

If you're not seeing anything like this, your machine is not getting hot enough for whatever reason.

but the water does not come out like on the spigot on the side.

Nor should it because those "waters" are from different sources. Did you look inside the ports on the grouphead when you had it off the machine? The upper port should have had the restrictor. It is NOT located in the tubing as it is on other machines so equipped.

Post a pic of your thermometer and the exact method you are using. From your description of the water, it seems as though your machine does, in fact, have a restrictor.

Maybe call some espresso machine repair shops in Phoenix and see if any have a Scace Thermofilter which they could use to test your machine. That's a lot less expensive than freight and eliminates some potential damage. If the dealer installs these restrictors, surely they would have a record of doing same to your particular machine.