Hey hey, I didn't claim to be an expert! But man, I'd love to be trying some of your guys' experiments.

@BP

FWIW I spoke to Ben, the resident Slayer expert at Clive, regarding all things Slayer last week and he said the Aquatec system (I'm using an Aquatic 5853 + regulator + accumulator) I have would feed the Slayer without issue as long as an accumulator & pressure regulator are used...

I am not specifically familiar with the Aquatic 5853 but I did look up the specs. All that you said is certainly correct but the Aquatic falls a tad short on pressure and the accumulator should be a 2 gallon unit. The ideal install would be a 100 psi pump (very similar to the Aquatic) discharging into a 2 or 3 gallon RO rated accumulator and then to a pressure regulator and on to the machine. The accumulator would be pre-charged to about 7 psi on the air side.

So what is the minimum pressure requirement for the Slayer?

Incoming water pressure is 3-5 bar (43-72 psi). Incoming flow rate is 5.7 lpm (1.5 gpm).

Thank you Ben

Alrighty...I've been quiet for some time now. Checking back in now that I assume a lot of folks have gotten their Slayers in.

Regarding the burnt flavors I was getting for a while, those sort of just went away after about a month of using the machine. I'm not sure if there's a break-in period or something (Slayer says no), but it was literally from one shot to the next that the terrible flavors went away.

I've also run into a little more temperamental behavior as I noticed a sharp increase in flow (i.e., shorter shot duration) immediately after my last deep cleaning/backflush routine. I double checked that everything was put back in place and that the shower screen wasn't on weird or something, but nothing that I can tell. Regardless, I had to bump my K30 down by around 2 full notches to compensate, and it's still flowing a little faster than I'd like.

I'm feeling like I need to wipe the slate clean and start over by re-calibrating pre-brew flow rate, and do some experimenting with finding the best way to dial in a new coffee...anyone who's had their machine for a while now have any good recommendations? Do you always stick with the same pre-brew flow rate? Do you always shoot for a certain pre-brew duration and number of grams in the cup before hitting full brew? If not, when do you change it?

Side note: I had the side and rear panels powder coated turquoise. if I were to do it again, I'd make sure to remove the T-shaped pieces under the X-legs, but I left them black. If you look close enough you can tell, but it's not super noticeable with my black countertops.

I wonder if line pressure fluctuations are causing your flow issue? FWIW, my shot times have been ramping up as well. I assumed it was due to the K30 breaking/seasoning in? The first thing I did when I got the K30 was reset the zero point to a true zero.

I've got a regulator on the line, so fluctuation shouldn't be an issue.

Yes, I saw that you do. However, I wasn't sure if this is connected to a direct plumb or to a pump system. The reg would prevent over-pressure, but not under-pressure. I was thinking about this because I am currently having problems with an undersized pump. The pressure at the machine momentarily falls to 8 bar until the pump kicks in (minimum ON is 40psi).

Ordered May 17th, 9 weeks and a day later made it here today. So far...nice crate!




Because of shipping delay last week and because I wouldn't be able to drive over to Clive Coffee to get it until Saturday Ben offered to buzz it over to Vancouver. Thanks!

Unfortunately it's still in the Jeep since we transferred it from his rig to mine about 4:30. I had to sky to a 5pm to 6pm meeting (going over final financials new Vancouver & Cook Portland location) then home and just finished dinner now pushing 8pm. May or may not actually be able to get it uncrated before Saturday. But I'll manage to suffer through with the Vesuvius.