How easy or difficult is it to adjust the temperature on one of the PID vibiemme double boiler machines? Apparently they come factory set at 200 F, but that is the temperature in the boiler, not the grouphead, so i am just wondering how easy these machines are to regulate compared to the HX setup. Thanks.

EDIT : IIRC, the boiler comes set much higher than 200°F, more like 220°F

I have both a Vibiemme Domobar Super HX w PID and DoubleDomo PID.

As with any DB, there is a delay between adjusting the boiler temperature and the shot. You can adjust the shot temperature but flushing a LOT of water through the DB, but it makes no sense.

An HX is more flexible in adjusting the temperature, but at the expense of time. That being said, if you flush an HX down, you have to wait a bit for it to recover if you want to brew hotter on the next shot on a short interval.

If you want to change coffee on a shot by shot basis, get an HX. If you change coffee infrequently, either will suffice.

There's not a huge difference in water usage. I use about 1L / day for 3-4 singles on either machine.
See HX espresso machines waste water - or do they?

You push the up button to increase, down button to decrease

Once you make the change, the machine needs to sit for about 15 minutes to stabilise at the new temp. The PID offset is around +25 degrees F if I remember correctly.

Thanks guys. It's not easy to figure out which c. $2000 machine to buy without ever actually seeing or using it, basing the entire decision on anecdotal evidence! Your help is greatly appreciated.

I'm not sure if you are looking at new or used, but keep in mind that the Vibiemme DB is about to be upgrading and shipping soon I believe.

I'm in the same boat....looking to spend around 2k and at the moment shooting for a DB.

The frustrating part of the research is that each of the major retailers understandably seem to stock only one type of machine in that class: Chriscoffee for Alex II Duetto, Wholelattelove for the Brewtus IV, and 1st-line for the Vibiemme. It makes comparison shopping and conversation difficult with the retailers.

Hello there
I did reply to your email early this morning
thanks

PS the new VBM DB machines have the offset configured so what you see on the display is the grouphead temperature (the previous one did not)

LATrapp wrote:I'm not sure if you are looking at new or used, but keep in mind that the Vibiemme DB is about to be upgrading and shipping soon I believe.

I'm in the same boat....looking to spend around 2k and at the moment shooting for a DB.

The frustrating part of the research is that each of the major retailers understandably seem to stock only one type of machine in that class: Chriscoffee for Alex II Duetto, Wholelattelove for the Brewtus IV, and 1st-line for the Vibiemme. It makes comparison shopping and conversation difficult with the retailers.

Yes, I just ordered the new model from Stefano. Now for a few more weeks of waiting.

I considered all the machines you mention, plus the Mini Vivaldi. It is frustrating doing all the shopping in purely virtual terms!