Man, those are all very nice set ups. Thanks for sharing.

shadowfax wrote:That is a cut-to fit sink mat that I got at Bed, Bath & Beyond here in the US. It's just a rubber grid of rubber circles. I cut out every other one to promote maximum airflow while still protecting the cup warming tray (and dampening the pump noise). I got the idea from Ian (cafeIKE) in Eliminating Noise From Vibration.

I had the one he used for a long time on my Quickmill Vetrano, and eventually it discolored from the heat. I also found it imported a funny smell to the cups. The one you see below, I can't find online anymore. I love it, though. It's been through the dishwasher a number of times, and it's still grippy and doesn't smell funny when it gets really hot (important, because the GS3 steam boiler puts out some serious heat in the back of the warmer). They're a little ugly, especially compared to the mirror stainless grid below. But I've always found the reduced noise and scratches it a fair tradeoff.

<image>

Hmmmm gives me an idea.... I will check around here for something like that. I wonder what substance yours is made out of. Plastic, pvc, rubber ??

misterdoggy wrote:I wonder what substance yours is made out of. Plastic, pvc, rubber ??

I'm not real sure what it's made of. It's translucent and pliable when compressed, but smooth and shiny in texture--not porous like rubber. I assume it's some type of soft plastic, but I'm really just guessing.

Would something made from silicone work for something like that?

I had little half semiphere sticky silicon bumpers under my cup tray and they've pretty much melted to discs at this point. I think plastic will handle the temp more than silicon, but YMMV.

I think they're doing some good things with silicone now. A quick check of Wikipedia says that it can withstand temperatures of 675°F. Dream Farm--the maker of the oh-so-wonderful Grindenstein--says their Vebo can withstand temperatures of 500°F. It may be worth it to buy one of those lattice trivets made out of silicone--from a decent manufacturer--just to give it a try.

Silicone baking pad is good enough for our cookies in the oven. Can't imagine it dying on top of an espresso machine. Le Creuset good to 536 F.

Mark

True, as I have some silicon heat pads too. The silicon bumpers I have must just have a lower melting point. I know they're very squishy, prior to seeing any heat, and the silicon heat pads are flexible, but not squishy. Different compounds I suppose.

I just can't imagine a drying rack being able to withstand 250+ temps unless it's of the right compound.

Salvatore Little Black and Red One, Ranchilio MD-50 Grinder

Been pulling shots with the Salvatore since early April of this year. Used a PID'd Gaggia Classic for about 10 months prior to that, along with the Ranchilio MD-50

Beans I grind to pull shots with?..been roasting my own exclusively since July 08'. Probably one of the more important aspects of this hobby for me, having very fresh beans, Here's my current roasting set up:

I roast in the garage on top of a freezer chest

And I gotta have an espresso machine project, here it is-

HX One Group Futurmat Rimini. The Salvatore looks tiny in comparason. I'm in the process of re-assembling the Rimini. I took it totally apart, stripped, refinishing, repairing, rebuilding. Mostly cleaning but the frame was beadblasted, powdercoated, the exterior covers (sides and rear) were painted black and clear coated, the back splash and top trim piece you see in this pic along with the lower trim panel were sent out to a hydro dipper. I chose a carbon fibre theme. This pic doesn't do their work (hydro-dip.com) any justice


Jake
Reddick Fla.

]

Here's a pic of my current setup with my cimbali M20 lever in the background a couple of Mazzers and my junior in the foreground. I love the contrast between the two machines, the lever almost always pulls a mellow, soft shot while the junior tends to separate the flavours quite a bit more. The same type of difference occurs between the Robur and the Major. The Major being a little softer, the Robur a little frisky. I'm still working on having the M20 panels done - the side and back panel have been 'black' chromed and the next step is to do something with the matt grey frame. I'm looking into a chrome lever cover which will be a huge upgrade over the tacky plastic cover that came with the machine. The combo keeps me very happy for the moment.
-Ian