Hello, I have a beautiful new Bezzera Mitica and I get a cup of coffee in the morning and few hours later another. In between cups, i turn the machine off and then back on when I need another cup lets say 3 hours later.

I wanted to know if I should keep the machine on for the next few hours or should i simply turn it off if not being used for more than an hour. The machine on seems to keep things going and boiling during the time its on and Im concerned that this with me turning it on and off will wear it out.

Thank you

Not sure about the sort and amount of electronics in your machine, mine is a fifties lever and the heater coils were just fine after many years of switching on and off...electronics however does handle wear and tear far worse these days, if someone would just invent a electron tube controlled lever, sigh...

Your machine should be plugged into a suitable appliance timer, for an EXAMPLE:

http://www.intermatic.com/en/Products/T ... DT620.aspx

Set the machine to come on 1 hour prior to your first use and turn off X hours later.

Agree completely with Eric. Get a heavy duty timer (grounded, at least 15 Amp.)

The power switch is robust - you won't wear it out so there's no reason to avoid using it other than convenience. But that convenience of having it up to temp when you need it is huge because it probably takes 30-40 minutes to be ready. You save a little on your electricity bill by turning it off, but if you turn it back on in 3 hours or less that saving is insignificant. You can use a kill-a-watt to measure, but I'm guessing that your machine (uninsulated nickel plated copper boiler w/ E-61) is similar to mine - averages about 100 watts while sitting hot and idle, and burns about 300 watt-hours to go from cold to ready.

If you use the machine every few hours during the day I'd leave it on all day. Most wear & tear & your highest electric draw occurs during the start up from cold. Go with a timer as suggested so it's ready in the morning & set it to turn off after your normal last shot time. The digital timers allow you to easily override the off time if you need it on longer.

My machine has been on for 43,800 hours by my calculations. Twice that before I moved.

homeburrero wrote:But that convenience of having it up to temp when you need it is huge because it probably takes 30-40 minutes to be ready.

I've read similar claims of lengthy warmup times and find them puzzling.

With the exception of a few really huge group commercial espresso machines (e.g., La Cimbali Junior DT/1), the majority of espresso machines I've tested are temperature stable in 25 minutes or less if started from cold (*). If they've been off for less than a couple hours, I'd estimate warmup of about half the original time. If you are willing to flush water through the grouphead one time once the boiler is up to temperature, most espresso machines are ready in 15 minutes (i.e., 10 minutes for the boiler to reach temperature, flush, wait 5 minutes, ready for first shot).

Since this question comes up regularly, I'll repost my answer from awhile back in Leaving a Prosumer HX Espresso Machine On CAN SAVE ENERGY:

HB wrote:Rather than try to recall my college physics lessons, this evening I measured my Elektra Semiautomatica using the Kill-a-Watt. The cumulative kWh data from a cold start:

1 hour consumed 0.30 kWh
2 hours consumed 0.45 kWh
3 hours consumed 0.60 kWh

Based on the last hour of usage, it consumes around ~0.15 kWh per hour when fully heated, or 3.6 kWh per day (0.15 * 24). If you were so inclined to cycle it four times per day for two hours per cycle, allowing it to cool completely between each cycle, it would consume 1.8 kWh per day (0.45 *4). The additional energy cost of 24/7 operation in this case would be 1.8 kWh (around $0.20 in our area).

Given that the Semiautomatica's boiler is completely exposed, it's probably among the worst on energy conservation. If you search on "Kill-a-Watt" or "24/7", you'll find previous discussions of power consumption. Here's a few I skimmed:

Leave it on, or turn it off?
Do you leave your espresso machine on all the time?
Electricity Usage Monitor
Cost of leaving machine on 24/7?
How power hungry is your coffee hobby?

As an aside, not all commercial espresso machines need a long time to warm up. The two group La Marzocco Strada, for example, has brew boilers smaller than an Expobar Brewtus and a more aggressive thermosyphon action thanks to its saturated group design. With one flush for good measure, the Strada is ready to rock in 9 minutes flat.

(*) I measure by recording the temperature at the portafilter of a Scace II thermofilter; once it reports 2-3 minutes of steady-state temperature, I call it "ready".

I've measured both my Speedster & my Bosco using a Scace 1. Full temp stability with the Speedster is close to 1.5 - two hours from cold but you can certainly pull shots well before then. By fully temp stable I'm referring to the point where the PID cycling is reduced to its minimum rise/fall & temp during a shot is as stable as it is going to get. If the outside of the 1/2" thick side covers are warm to the touch you are pretty much there.

The big Bosco group needs a good 2 hours from cold to reach the point that a 2 second flush prior to shot prep will guarantee a 201°F peak shot temp & 3-4 degree drop during the shot. Prior to that (1.5 hours or less) you won't hit the peak temp & the temp drop during the shot is faster & to a much lower temp. The 2 second flush is only necessary after an idle period once the machine is fully warmed up.

homeburrero wrote:Agree completely with Eric. Get a heavy duty timer (grounded, at least 15 Amp.)

The power switch is robust - you won't wear it out so there's no reason to avoid using it other than convenience. But that convenience of having it up to temp when you need it is huge because it probably takes 30-40 minutes to be ready. You save a little on your electricity bill by turning it off, but if you turn it back on in 3 hours or less that saving is insignificant. You can use a kill-a-watt to measure, but I'm guessing that your machine (uninsulated nickel plated copper boiler w/ E-61) is similar to mine - averages about 100 watts while sitting hot and idle, and burns about 300 watt-hours to go from cold to ready.

Yeah I thought people had actually done test with a kill-a-watt meter and showed less use over all daily with being left on, vs turning on and off and then back on later in the day (as some machines can suck up power heating up)

HB wrote:I've read similar claims of lengthy warmup times and find them puzzling.

In my case it's simply the time it takes for the E-61 to hit its idle temp (Eric S thermometer.) I think that 30-40 minutes is common for machines with a thermosyphon restrictor and is a reasonable time for setting the timer ahead of your alarm clock. I agree you can flush the group up and get there faster when you really need to.