So the GB/5 steam arm was delivered today. For those interested, you will need a GB/5 arm or a similar La Marzocco machine to use the Steam Dial. They offer an adapter for Olympia Cremina machines. Super easy to swap out my stock no-burn arm for the burn-me GB/5 arm and equally easy to screw on the Steam Dial. I didn't have a chance to make a latte as I got home somewhat late, but I did froth a 12oz pitcher at 1/4 opening and it was surprisingly controllable yet powerful. For reference I was previously using the 2 hole tip that came with my M58. The 4 hole tip was too big and was usable on the 20oz pitcher (although taxing on the boiler) and too fast for my skills with the little pitcher. Changing out the steam arm to the GB/5 arm immediately solved my wet steam issues. It will take some time to get used to the burn-me arm, but I think this is going to be fun to play with. I hope to get some time to really test it out this weekend.

I made a latte before heading to the office this morning and so far I like it. My latte art skills are terrible, but it was very easy to start a rosetta. I was using a 12oz Toroid and I think I will switch over to my EP Basics 12oz because the whirlpool is a bit unstable due to the very strong action of the tip. The Toroid helped with the stock steam arm and tip, but I think I will have more control with a regular pitcher. It will take some getting used to cleaning the much hotter burn-me style arm and tip. A wipe with a wet cloth takes care of it, but it is not as easy to keep clean as a no-burn setup.

The difference in steam performance is noticeable on my machine. I had previously tried pulling the teflon sleeve out of my stock arm a couple of weeks ago and saw no difference. The larger ID of the GB/5 arm along with the Steam Dial produces very dry steam and seems to have no taxing effect on my relatively small steam boiler (at 1/4 opening). I look forward to using it more and trying larger aperture sizes with my 20oz pitchers.

Negatives that I have noticed so far seem limited to increased difficulty in cleaning and aperture size changing when you wipe it down. It is very easy to rotate the tip when you are cleaning it and it will take a bit of time for my brain to recognize the pictographs denoting opening size - it is possible to confuse 1/4 for 3/4. I may look to find some way to mark the 1/4 position for easier reference since the factory markings can be easy to misinterpret. In fact, I would have preferred numerical markings instead of the fractional circles.

I steamed a 20oz pitcher using the 1/2 open setting for a hot chocolate. I'm low on whole milk and the toddler gets priority on that, so I used skim instead. The 1/2 setting was faster than the stock 4 hole tip while having a similar draw down on the boiler. A strong whirlpool was easy to maintain the whole time. This was using a 20oz EP Basics pitcher. I'm not really sure I'll need my Toroid pitchers anymore. This tip makes it very easy to get a strong whirlpool going and the microfoam is better than I was ever making with the stock tips.

It's taken me a long time to warm up to it. But now I like it. I feel like it's a "tool" with two brakes or two gas pedals, so to speak... Lots of control for every pitcher size and quantity needed. But it took a lot of time to get there.

I can see it's benefits but won't be getting one. Commercial machines with 2 steam wands have the advantage of using different tips on each wand, one for smaller one for larger pitchers of milk. At home I rarely steam, just a cap weekend mornings so don't need it here either. Unless I get it simply as another toy to play with... Which of course means it will likely happen at some point.

I'm not sure LWW intended for this to be targeted at the home market, but it may find a larger user base there. I think the possibility to accidently change settings when you clean it would be more trouble that it's worth in a commercial setting. For the home user without a giant steam boiler, it (in my case anyway) seems to solve the issue of finding the Goldilocks tip that may only be ideal with one size pitcher.

I did use my EP Basics 12oz pitcher this morning instead of my small Toroid and found I either needed to open up the aperture above 1/4 or perhaps change my technique as I had a little more difficult time getting the whirlpool started. That setting was almost too aggressive with the 12oz Toroid.

Looks like it would be more difficult to keep clean...

It is more difficult to keep clean than a tip on a no-burn arm, but I don't think it would be any different than cleaning any other burn-me arm tip. You just use a wet cloth to wipe it and the surface is clean.

The honeymoon is kinda wearing off on this thing. I removed the cap for cleaning and in the process the o-ring sheared. The o-ring grooves are not benched and still sharp from manufacturing. I sent an email to LWW earlier today. I'll have to scour the hardware store tomorrow and see if I can find one close. Right now there is a leak at the cap due to the sheared o-ring and frothing performance has gone down the tubes due to the suction through the leaking cap. We have hundreds of o-rings at the office so I should be able to find something there next week.

Autozone, Napa or similar should have o-ring kits that are cheap. I bought a whole assorted box once when I messed up an o-ring while rebuilding a brake caliper. Great little set to have and I'm sure there is a size that would work.