Here it is:







The tea water measures 145 degrees F in the cup immediately after drawing, which is not hot enough for me. I guess this is simply a programming issue, yes?

Cheers, Ken

Hi Ken,
Congrats again on the GS3/P - I'm sure you will enjoy it!

WOW! That grate looks MUCH better than the original design...
It looks like it would actually allow water to drain down!

I'll have to see if these will be available in the USA.....

FlyingShot wrote:The tea water measures 145 degrees F in the cup immediately after drawing, which is not hot enough for me. I guess this is simply a programming issue, yes?

Yes, in a way. Mine is setup to draw direct from the steam boiler rather than mixing so it's pretty hot (on the second draw, not the first, due to water setting in the line). I believe you can change the mix with the thumbwheel located at the mixing valve, just behind the right side panel (RHS facing the machine)

Thanks Jon,

I will give the wheel adjustment a try. This machine is # 1132 - it came directly from Italy rather than through a US based distributor. It is therefor possible that this specs out a little different from the US machines, perhaps closer to European spec (is there a diff?)? So it is hard to say if this drip tray grate is the new replacement for all GS3 machines, although you wouldn't think LM would want to bother with two designs.

Ken

When I was having issues with my first GS/3, LM USA sent me a PDF file showing some upcoming possible changes to the GS/3 that were in the works. There were 5 proposed new drip tray covers; the one you have pictured, Ken, does not resemble any of them. Two of them looked like the old style ones, more or less, 2 were mostly wire mesh, and one had two oblong holes on both sides of center with perpendicular slot holes on the rest of it. I think yours looks cool, however I don't know that it will address the concerns expressed by some owners having to do with water spills. For the record, I've not had any problems with the old style cover.

The locking tabs on the drip tray have been present since machine serial #810 and upwards, which includes my new paddle machine. They are available for purchase for retrofitting to older machine owners.

If turning the mixing valve wheel on the RHS of the machine does not produce hotter water, I would suggest that you let the machine cool down (e.g. turn it off), unplug it, take off the left side panel, drain the boiler manually, put everything back together, then let the boiler refill. My machine developed an apparent airlock in the feed tube from the boiler to the tea mixer valve, and the result was cool water coming out the tea spout, essentially all unheated tap water with no boiler water. Draining and refilling the boiler resolved that issue completely. Since I was not in the habit of using the tea spout regularly, except as a way to exchange the water in the steam boiler about 2x a month, I think it is possible that with disuse an airlock can develop. I have been draining a cup of hot water out of the tea valve every couple of days since I drained the boiler, and the problem has not recurred.

We are all thankful that you did not take these pictures in the nude.

ken

Re: We are all thankful that you did not take these pictures in the nude.

Well, even the most studly among us can appreciate the form of Michelangelo's "David", so what's the problem?

Thanks for the advice on the tea water. It needs to be a little hotter for americanos.

Ken

Ken Fox wrote:I think yours looks cool, however I don't know that it will address the concerns expressed by some owners having to do with water spills. For the record, I've not had any problems with the old style cover.

Ditto. Owners who have complained seem to have their machines remote from their sinks and use their tea spout for washing duty. I'm not sure any design other than a non-NSF mesh grill would work for them. But, for the record, I think the new grill looks great.

Ken and Marshall,

With all the kinds of messes that are created and cleaned up in kitchens, I can't imagine that a few drops of water collecting on the drip tray grate would ever be a big issue for me. Glad you like the looks of it. It does appear to have the standard insulated wand with 4 hole tip. I can't say I have had any steaming performance problems. Do I recall hearing about tips with different sizes of holes affecting steaming performance?

Ken

FlyingShot wrote:Ken and Marshall,

With all the kinds of messes that are created and cleaned up in kitchens, I can't imagine that a few drops of water collecting on the drip tray grate would ever be a big issue for me. Glad you like the looks of it. It does appear to have the standard insulated wand with 4 hole tip. I can't say I have had any steaming performance problems. Do I recall hearing about tips with different sizes of holes affecting steaming performance?

Ken

Steam tips are a complex subject and I'm no expert on them, however the tips on the GS/3s have not been a major issue. The issue that has been talked about a lot is the standard issue "no burn" wand sold in N. America vs. the "burn me" wand sold elsewhere and available as an option on N. American machines. Supposedly the "burn me" wand has better performance.

I've never had any issues with the "no burn" wand myself, however I'm not all that interested in milk drinks, as I've made pretty clear in my posts. After I've had my morning cappa I have no interest in using milk for the rest of the day. In fact, other than a situation where a GS/3 is making a whole lot of drinks everyday for a whole bunch of people (decidedly not the norm), I don't know why people regard this as being very important. The remarkable feature of the GS/3 is its temperature stability in making straight espresso, something that no one is going to notice in a milk drink. There are many machines that cost a whole lot less that are at least as good for milk drinks, if that is what you seek. But then, that is just my opinion.

ken

FlyingShot wrote:With all the kinds of messes that are created and cleaned up in kitchens, I can't imagine that a few drops of water collecting on the drip tray grate would ever be a big issue for me.

The issue is not with droplets setting on the grate, but rather with runoff from fairly modest quantities of water on the tray (i.e. it runs straight off the side and onto the counter below).

The new design shows slots in the middle running perpendicular to the slots around the perimeter. It seems to me as though this design directly addresses the issue of water runoff.

Hopefully, this design will become available to us in the USA soon

Thanks again,
Jon

Jon,

It seems to be fine - I haven't noticed a problem with water running off the side. Not too much different from the mesh screen on the Vetrano I used to own.

Ken