La Marzocco GS3 owners - Page 9

by **Peppersass** on Fri Sep 18, 2009 1:58 pm

Ken Fox wrote:Unless you regularly updose, I think that pre-infusion is probably of very limited to no value.

Been meaning to respond to this, Ken. I've read several posts saying that LM considers pre-infusion on the GS/3 primarily beneficial for singles. That correlates with other posts I've read that say pre-infusion has minimal effect on doubles. My own experience is the same -- not a whole lot of difference that I can detect in taste or pour integrity.

It seems intuitive to me, too, that pre-infusion would mostly help when updosing, but I think the GS/3's pressure ramp up is so gentle that pre-infusion doesn't add much, if anything. Perhaps with the large (huge) LM single basket there's more tendency for the puck to breakup in the early stages, and pre-infusion helps to keep it together. I wouldn't know because I've never pulled a single on any machine! :oops:

by **javabob** on Fri Sep 18, 2009 7:49 pm

(gulp) I just put in my order for a GS/3. I'm having repair issues with my Giotto Premium which triggered my itchy "click to order" finger! Two of the main reasons I chose the GS/3 is that it apparently can be up and running within a half-hour of delivery, and also that its footprint is quite small. (It's less than 2/3 the volume of a Cyncra, for instance.) Two quick questions: will it take a long time to program everything in or does it come ready to pull a typical shot? I was told that the serial number was in the 400's; what is the significance of this?

Also, let me send out a big "Thank You" to everyone who has submitted posts detailing their experiences with this machine; there's so much good information here that it really helped me with my decision.

by **Ken Fox** on Fri Sep 18, 2009 10:34 pm

javabob wrote:(gulp) I just put in my order for a GS/3. I'm having repair issues with my Giotto Premium which triggered my itchy "click to order" finger! Two of the main reasons I chose the GS/3 is that it apparently can be up and running within a half-hour of delivery, and also that its footprint is quite small. (It's less than 2/3 the volume of a Cyncra, for instance.) Two quick questions: will it take a long time to program everything in or does it come ready to pull a typical shot? I was told that the serial number was in the 400's; what is the significance of this?

Also, let me send out a big "Thank You" to everyone who has submitted posts detailing their experiences with this machine; there's so much good information here that it really helped me with my decision.

I'm going to assume that you already know how to make espresso and have a good grinder, so all you have to do is to adapt to this new one. If I'm wrong about that, than disregard everything below!

No matter what anyone tells you about any new piece of equipment, be it a new espresso machine, a new computer, or even a new printer, it always takes a lot longer than you anticipated. Problems crop up and sh*t happens. So I personally think it is ridiculous to expect that you can pull shots on this or any other machine 30 minutes after opening the box. For one thing, the machine can't possibly heat up thoroughly enough in 30 minutes, assuming you could fill it full of water and get it turned on in 1 second, to be ready to use in 30 minutes. This is not a Silvia level machine.

I expected to have my GS3 set up in an hour or so, and it took several hours including the need to drive 12 miles and back to the nearest hardware store that has a decent selection of brass plumbing fittings, in order to plumb it in. This is even with the advance knowledge of what fittings the machine came with and what plumbing stuff I had laying around the house. Some problems just can't be anticipated. If you plumb it in then getting the drip tray to drain properly could take time, depending upon your home setup. I never assume anything in a situation like this. What if the shipping company damages the thing en route?

As to programming it, assuming that the dealer hasn't done anything to the stock arrangement, it should work ok without having to program anything. I still haven't bothered to program in shot volumes, and I've had the thing for more than a week now, and this morning was the first time I used the Chrono function instead of a small kitchen timer. It isn't that I would rely on shot volume programming to end my shots, but rather I'd like to have something reasonable in there for unanticipated situations such as the UPS man coming to the door as I'm midway through pulling a shot. For the most part, basic simple usage of the machine is intuitive.

I can't tell you for sure how old your machine is, however my machine has a serial number in the high 500s, and was manufactured around 14 months ago, so yours is definitely older, maybe a year and a half old. Hopefully the dealer or LM has reflashed the firmware to the current version (mine was reflashed).

Good luck, and have patience! You will probably own this machine for a while.

ken

by **shadowfax** on Fri Sep 18, 2009 11:11 pm

Ken Fox wrote:I can't tell you for sure how old your machine is, however my machine has a serial number in the high 500s, and was manufactured around 14 months ago, so yours is definitely older, maybe a year and a half old. Hopefully the dealer or LM has reflashed the firmware to the current version (mine was reflashed).

How do you tell the manufacture date? Is that the XX XX in the 'DATA' field on the badge, just to the right of the serial number? My serial number is low-500s, and the data field is 06 08, which sounds like about the same time as yours. Probably they make these in batches, I guess. I wonder what the size is...

by **Ken Fox** on Fri Sep 18, 2009 11:49 pm

shadowfax wrote:How do you tell the manufacture date? Is that the XX XX in the 'DATA' field on the badge, just to the right of the serial number? My serial number is low-500s, and the data field is 06 08, which sounds like about the same time as yours. Probably they make these in batches, I guess. I wonder what the size is...

According to Babblefish, "Data" in Italian means "date" in English. I just assumed this to be the case before and only looked it up right now in order to respond here.

For my machine, it says "07/08" in this field, which I take to mean July of 2008, or 14 months ago. My Cimbalis have a date of manufacture as well, giving only the month and year. European convention (in fact, the convention everywhere except the USA and maybe also Canada) is to write dates in the form day-month-year, whereas in the USA we write them as month-day-year. So, when I want to make a reservation at a French hotel I write them and request une réservation pour une chambre le 21 oct. 2009, which would mean, obviously, a room on the 21st of October. In the USA we would ask for October 21st. None of this changes the fact that the month precedes the year except maybe in the time scheme used by the military, which I think (might) be preceded by the year.

My serial number is in the upper 500s, so that would comport with my machine having been made a month later than yours, Nicholas, and obviously, therefore, superior :mrgreen:

August is the most common month for plants to close for annual vacations, so it is quite likely that there aren't that many machines made in August of any year.

ken

by **Peppersass** on Sat Sep 19, 2009 1:07 am

Ken Fox wrote:My serial number is in the upper 500s, so that would comport with my machine having been made a month later than yours, Nicholas, and obviously, therefore, superior

Oh gee, Ken, that's too bad. I hear it was somewhere in the upper 500s when the infamous exploding steam arm slipped through QA... :twisted:

[for the literal minded, that was a joke]

Mine is #489, date 05/08. I guess that means they made 8-12 machines a week during that period.

by **misterdoggy** on Sun Sep 20, 2009 8:09 am

Hi Guys,

My machine number 0825 was built in 07/09 or this past July or the very current model I just picked up at the factory 2 days ago. Check out "Visit to La Marzocco" I posted pictures.

I had the luck to have it fired up and running in 30 minutes, but do not plumb in, which I would imagine takes a lot of time.

I got great microfoam first time out and the Steam Pressure shows 1.8, and since its more than enough I will not need to go to 2.0 as some recommend.

I've got a question if anyone knows the answer, when you program shot volume time, it does not let you set more than 30 seconds. Can this be altered, in the case you want 34 seconds. I know you can use the continuous button and stop when you want too.

I had a very long discussion with Roberto Bianchi the head of Production at La Marzocco about water hardness. I told him I was using 30ppm (french its 3 in Italian) using a brita to filter water out of the faucet which was 140ppm. I post this here as its the opinion of the factory that water softer than 70-80ppm can have an affect on the welded parts of the boiler. Too soft a water can be detrimental as several machines in Israel had problems. He felt that he would rather see me use a 70-80ppm water and descale once a year than use too soft a water, due to welding susceptibility.

I do not understand the science of Distilled water's effect on welding, but maybe someone knowledgeable here can weigh in. In any case, Roberto "suggested" that coffee would not taste as good using water that was too soft, and that 70-80ppm's should be just right. I know I have read postings about this subject where some feel 50ppm is just right. However, the welding issues are important too.

Just for clarification in Italy and in France dates are written day/month/year ie: 30/01/09

by **mmarxx** on Sun Sep 20, 2009 11:03 pm

Ken

May I inquire why you chose the GS3 over, for instance, the Dalla Corte or the machine du jour, the Speedster (I realize with recent price drops, the GS3 is significantly less expensive than the Speedster). From your posts, it appears that you have only had the GS3 for a little less than two weeks, but how does the GS3 compare to your modified Cimbali? Was it worth it?

Darin

by **Ken Fox** on Mon Sep 21, 2009 12:57 am

mmarxx wrote:Ken

May I inquire why you chose the GS3 over, for instance, the Dalla Corte or the machine du jour, the Speedster (I realize with recent price drops, the GS3 is significantly less expensive than the Speedster). From your posts, it appears that you have only had the GS3 for a little less than two weeks, but how does the GS3 compare to your modified Cimbali? Was it worth it?

Darin

Hi,

It was absolutely NOT WORTH IT, if the determination is to be made on the basis of the espresso it makes. This is because I had modified my Juniors to produce shots at repeatable shot temps, and because Cimbali makes good machines. Of course, I knew this before I bought it. I was looking for a new toy, and I had become a little bit bored with 14 years of using the same machine(s). The GS3 offered a bit more certainty about shot temps, and a different approach to making espresso.

I did not consider any other machine except for the Speedster. I talked with Andy S. about his Speedster several months ago and even made a couple of attempts to contact a dealer (who never followed through on his end). In the interim I decided that the Speedster (in addition to being too expensive) was too wide, and would take up more of my counterspace than I wanted to give up. In addition, there wasn't a really good place to put the outboarded pump and water connections below the presumptive place for installing the machine. Although I had considered getting 220v service up into my kitchen in my recent remodel, I had not considered the situation of a machine that was not self-contained.

At about 2x the price of a GS3 (or more, delivered), I don't think the Speedster is worth it. The Speedster has some neat features and I'd be delighted to own one, however the price strikes me as being a bit high for what it is, especially in a home application.

ken

by **shadowfax** on Mon Sep 21, 2009 1:01 pm

Moderator note: Discussion of water selection for the GS3 split to Minimizing Scale Buildup Without Causing Boiler Leaching. Continue reading...

misterdoggy wrote:I had a very long discussion with Roberto Bianchi the head of Production at La Marzocco about water hardness. I told him I was using 30ppm (french its 3 in Italian) using a brita to filter water out of the faucet which was 140ppm. I post this here as its the opinion of the factory that water softer than 70-80ppm can have an affect on the welded parts of the boiler. Too soft a water can be detrimental as several machines in Israel had problems. He felt that he would rather see me use a 70-80ppm water and descale once a year than use too soft a water, due to welding susceptibility.

I do not understand the science of Distilled water's effect on welding, but maybe someone knowledgeable here can weigh in. In any case, Roberto "suggested" that coffee would not taste as good using water that was too soft, and that 70-80ppm's should be just right. I know I have read postings about this subject where some feel 50ppm is just right. However, the welding issues are important too.


Contact Us	Legal disclaimer and copyright: This content and all its parts are copyrighted, all rights reserved. Content including all text and images in part or in whole may not be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission. Home-Barista, Home-Barista.com and related logos are trademarks of Home-Barista.com, LLC. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. By accessing this site, you agree to the terms of service. Overall speed: , current page: s, avg: s, max: s