HELP! Zelmer brew pressure adjustments

by **Liz** on Thu Dec 22, 2011 5:08 pm

Hi!
I bought a Zelmer 13ZO12 espresso maker (there wasn't much of an alternative on the market and my budget wasn't that big).
After buying it, I started surfing the web for more info and espresso machines and found out I should lower my pressure from the standard 15 bar to 8 bar.
I worked up the courage to open it (thus voiding my warranty) and then..I couldn't figure out where to adjust it!
If you could help me figure out what to do I would be forever grateful!
Thanks!

P.S. Below I attached a photo of my machine with its cover popped open.

by **allon** on Thu Dec 22, 2011 8:18 pm

This machine is not designed to be adjustable;
Just curious, are you trying to adjust because of taste, or because you heard that one number is better than another number?

If I had no choice but this machine, I'd start by getting a quality grinder, and remove the crema enhancing "feature" from the portafilter, if possible. Work on improving the flavor of the espresso, not trying to meet some supposedly perfect metric.

by HB on Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:10 pm

Liz wrote:After buying it, I started surfing the web for more info and espresso machines and found out I should lower my pressure from the standard 15 bar to 8 bar.

Allon's right, it's unwise and possibly pointless to start fiddling with the settings of a new espresso machine based on online commentary, especially when it isn't referring to your particular model. I'll be lazy and quote myself from Lack of OPV and vacuum breaker:

HB wrote:For an espresso machine equipped with a vibratory pump, an over-pressure valve sets the maximum brew pressure, but it doesn't come into play if you're pulling volumes near a double espresso; this is because the vibratory pump's effective pressure is inversely proportional to the flow rate. If you're pulling short ristrettos, the OPV opens to keep the maximum pressure below what it otherwise would be at that flow rate (around 11 bar for a ULKA pump, for example).

<snip>

For some reason, some espresso machines are not as fussy about brew pressure. For example, the Elektra Semiautomatica doesn't have an OPV. Jim added one in Appendix A: Adding Pressure Controls, only to conclude it contributed nothing. Hence my admonishment to try it yourself instead of relying on general recommendations that may prove to be untrue for a specific espresso machine.

See I still don't get it: Why adjust the OPV? for more details.

by **Liz** on Fri Dec 23, 2011 6:36 am

Thanks for the replies.
The coffee comes out ok, but it isn't a real espresso. It's more like a very strong cup of drip coffee. I don't know what I could do to make it better.
About the grinder, what would you guys recommend at a decent price point?


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