annp wrote:So will we have an article pretty quickly after the GS3 reaches market called "How to Insulate the Boiler of your GS3?"

It may prove challenging. The two boilers are literally touching each other:


Left panel removed; larger steam boiler in back, smaller brew boiler in front.

I wrapped a towel around the gooseneck and grouphead. While it ruins the aesthetics, it keeps the back of the house cooler.

Just out of curiosity... What size (diameter) is that portafilter?

Standard LM issue: 58mm.

HB wrote:I wrapped a towel around the gooseneck and grouphead. While it ruins the aesthetics, it keeps the back of the house cooler.

The brew boiler and group were engineered for temperature performance when UNINSULATED! I hope you remove your beach towel well before commencing any temperature logging experiments.

annp wrote:I'm not sure about the brew controls as I'm used to a sexy little levetta. I'll miss the sexy little levetta, but you cannot have your cake and eat it too.

Isn't the production version going to have a GS2-style paddle group as well as the volumetrics?

AndyS wrote:The brew boiler and group were engineered for temperature performance when UNINSULATED! I hope you remove your beach towel well before commencing any temperature logging experiments.

Of course, but I doubt the performance would suffer if the steam boiler was insulated. Heck, it might improve. In any case, I removed the small cotton kitchen towel covering the grouphead at least an hour before doing a slightly modified version of the WBC protocol. Why modified? As Chris noted in his Pro's Perspective:

malachi wrote:If you are an experienced barista, the learning curve for this machine is short. Other than learning to use the controls and learning to program the controller, little will be new to any barista. In fact, the hardest thing for most people to get used to is not having to do so much. It was hard for most everyone to stop their attempts to manage brew temperature. Repeat after me: Flushing isn't necessary.

OK, flushing isn't necessary, so I skipped the initial thermal equilibrium flush in the protocol and kept the "cleansing flush" at the end. Since this is an informal review, I don't plan on spending the time to generate enough data to be considered statistically reliable. However, based on the two runs I did complete, the shapes of the curves were very consistent with a slight rise to the end.

annp wrote:First, I'm glad you have the GS3 to play with, Dan.
So will we have an article pretty quickly after the GS3 reaches market called "How to Insulate the Boiler of your GS3?"
Ann

From a controls standpoint it is WWAAYY easier to make a lossy system stable than try to deal with one that won't give up its extra energy.


Sean

HB wrote:I doubt the performance would suffer if the steam boiler was insulated.

LM has an insulation wrap for the machine and have been experimenting with variations on it. So insulation may or may not make it onto production versions.

HB wrote: It may prove challenging. The two boilers are literally touching each other:

Whoa! Everything is shoehorned in there! So much for insulating at home.

Regarding temp accuracy...

I have a funny feeling the Scace device will be useful, at least initially for the GS3.

I was gonna get one anyway for the temp mystery in my kitchen that calls itself Anita...

Ann

The thermofilter is great for diagnostic purposes, but I certainly would expect one would not be required for a production version GS3. I'm not a coffee professional, and yet I accurately judged the (incorrect) display temperature offset without one. Of course, that trick only works for coffee with which I am very familiar.

As for Anita's temperature mysteries, I recommend Eric's E61 thermocouple adapter. I installed a permanant one on La Valentina and did dozens of thermofilter tests as part of a planned experiment on Saturday. The reproducibility of the first two pulls wandered a bit, but the accuracy of the remaining pulls made the GS3 jealous.

HB wrote: As for Anita's temperature mysteries, I recommend Eric's E61 thermocouple adapter. I installed a permanant one on La Valentina and did dozens of thermofilter tests as part of a planned experiment on Saturday. The reproducibility of the first two pulls wandered a bit, but the accuracy of the remaining pulls made the GS3 jealous.

I'd hoped that a production model would have less of a discrepancy between gauge readout and actual temp - it better for the price!

I'd also looked at Eric's adaptor but figured that the Scace device would ultimately be more flexible for other machines - unless I get something that requires a 53mm portafilter.

I know Anita isn't my long term machine, so I am a little reluctant to buy equipment specifically for it.

The GS3 is my ultimate choice because it is plug and play, but due to the lack of firm production information, I may be investigating other dual boiler options - and drilling my counter.

Ann

annp wrote:I know Anita isn't my long term machine, so I am a little reluctant to buy equipment specifically for it.

You are killing me! You add yourself to the list to purchase a $4500 machine and hesitate to spend less than $100 for a plug-n-play modification to your current setup? You could probably sell it a year later and recover most of your cost... so now we're talking about ~$50.

And now a moment for one of my mini-rants...

I'm reminded of a recent discussion with Bob Barraza. He was showing me a timer to reduce his grinder waste to less than a couple tenths of a gram. He tsk tsk'd my volume measurement technique because it wasted a gram or two per shot. It makes economical sense to fuss about minute waste reduction in a shop pulling hundreds of shots a day, but in my home, a month's savings wouldn't amount to enough coffee to make a few espressos! I toss out that many in a week just experimenting - and this week I've tossed out dozens. If one wants to save money, get a top-end grinder and a French press. Espresso preparation at home is the least cost effective way to enjoy coffee. Economize on stuff like tampers (inside joke), not coffee.