Hi

Does installing an accumulator (with something like a FloJet run off a bottle) provide your machine with NO inlet pressure fluctuation, or simply less fluctuations than without it?

I'm looking to set up my new Vivaldi II S1 off a 5 gallon water bottle, and have read many many posts here on this and other forums. A setup that seems to be recommended is to have a FloJet pump the water out of the 5 gallon bottle. Some people run that directly to their machines, while others "even out" the fluctuation the FloJet causes by using an accumulator. So is it simply less fluctuation, or no fluctuation.

I have the opportunity to run a static tank elevated about 2 and a half feet above the espresso machine. Would that be a better option than the FloJet/Accumulator setup? As the tank emptied out, surely the inlet pressure would decrease, so unless I kept it continually topped up (which is an option) I don't think that would address my inlet pressure fluctuation issues.

Any and all thoughts/experiences would be gratefully received.

Thanks

You can setup your static tank in a manner that keeps the pressure constant. I'm not sure how best to describe this to you, but here is an attempt based upon a simple example.

If your tank is a bottle with a hole at the top all you need to do is to put a one hole stopper into the top opening and to put a tube into the hole that runs down to near the bottom of the bottle. In this way you set the pressure differential since the air entering the bottle to replace the water is always going out the bottom of the tube. I can't "prove" the physics to you but I can say that their actually is a name for this kind of bottle and it does work.

Good luck,
Mark