Should there be a plastic washer between the steam wand and tip? I'm not sure if I lost mine or something, but I find steam tends to bubble out from the seal for a few days after I do a proper Cafiza cleaning.

It does look like there's something there. I tried to get it off to measure it for you but it's on there pretty good. Maybe contact the place where you bought the machine to see how easy it is to get a replacement, or try the hardware store?

good luck

I've struggled with finding a tip I like for my Andreja Premium ever since I got it. I tried the stock tip, a one-hole tip I made by plugging a stock tip with JB Weld and drilling a hole in the center, and the no-burn four-hole tip that Chris recently started carrying. But I recently got the one-hole tip that Expobar is now shipping with the Brewtus III, (from Todd at Whole Latte Love) and I'm getting my best results by far. It's tapered and allows you to surf the tip very easily.

Hi Peter. Glad to hear you found a tip that works. Jeff mentioned that tip as well and I liked it on the Brewtus-III for the short time I had the machine. If it fits this wand I'd be willing to try it but I'm loathe to order anything from WLL again. I did try plugging one of the holes on the larger-holed tip and it worked ok.

I'm using the tip with the 2 small holes and I think I'm doing what Chris suggested. I have no problems whatsoever with bubbles, unless I mess up big-time, and no problem getting some really nice foam.

To get another leap in improvement I think I need to have an experienced person there with me who can tell me things like, "that's too thick/thin for latte art", or "you're pouring it too slow", or "Oww! Get off my #@$% foot!!"

I still might order the 4-hole tip from Chris one day but I'm doing well with my current technique so I'm not in any rush.

I finally got around to trying out a different tip with my Duetto today. I ordered one of the Pasquini 4 hole tips that Chris' Coffee sells. It's... very powerful. With the valve open part way, the pressure drops to 1 bar, and full open is more like 0.5 bar with extremely wet steam. I guess the Duetto is not up to producing this much steam?

I steamed a couple of 12oz pitchers of milk as I usually do (except with the valve only partially open), and the result was almost comical. Instant soap bubbles, horrible screaming and tearing noises, and no way to control the process at all. I will give it a shot with a 20oz pitcher tomorrow, which might work better.

Hi Bob,

I'm still using the 2-hole tip with the small holes with great success so I haven't been motivated to get the 4-hole. Here are a few ideas that have worked for me; I hope they aren't so painfully obvious that my suggesting them insults your intelligence.

• Do you have enough milk in your pitchers?
  
• What temperature is your steam boiler set to? I've experimented with having it as low as 245 and as high as 255. Right now I have it set to 253. Maybe bumping yours up will help with the additional pressure loss with the 4-hole tip.
  
• Have you purged the steam wand before you begin to steam?
  I find some water accumulates even if I let it sit for a couple of minutes after purging, so I always purge once the boiler comes up to temp until it seems the steam is really dry, maybe 5-10 seconds, then again just before I steam.
  
• Before steaming I drain some water from the hot water wand then wait for the boiler to come back up to temp. I thought I read that this creates more room in the steam boiler for steam.

Please keep us posted on how it works out

I've tried 3 additional tips other than the original Izzo 2 hole tip, and the one that works great for my Izzo Alex (not the duetto) is the "Single Hole Steam Tip for Expobar Insulated Steam Wand". Not too powerful as the Nouva Simonelli 4 hole or the original Izzo 2 hole, and not too slow as the Isomac 2 hole, just right for my beginner skill level.

sdavidp wrote:

• Do you have enough milk in your pitchers?
  
• What temperature is your steam boiler set to? I've experimented with having it as low as 245 and as high as 255. Right now I have it set to 253. Maybe bumping yours up will help with the additional pressure loss with the 4-hole tip.
  
• Have you purged the steam wand before you begin to steam?
  I find some water accumulates even if I let it sit for a couple of minutes after purging, so I always purge once the boiler comes up to temp until it seems the steam is really dry, maybe 5-10 seconds, then again just before I steam.
  
• Before steaming I drain some water from the hot water wand then wait for the boiler to come back up to temp. I thought I read that this creates more room in the steam boiler for steam.

(replying to an old post I never saw)

I'm very familiar with everything you mentioned, and I have experience with a number of other machines that use 3 and 4 hole tips. My Duetto is set at whatever the default steam boiler pressure was for the original model. Something like 1.3 bar? It's simply not up to the task of steaming using the Pasquini tip I mentioned. I assume the holes are too large.

I am thinking of just replacing the steam wand and and hot water tap completely with the new versions, which will get me new valves and the current 4 hole tip. After using machines like the Vivaldi and Strega that have excellent controlled high power steaming, it's tough to go back to the Duetto's anemic 2 hole tip.

Bob,
I did the replacement wands with new tip and actually went back to my favorite, the "New" Isomac 2 Hole Steam Tip with Smaller Holes from CC. It actually makes silkier foam than the 4 hole tip for me....I can't remember for sure on the older arms, but this tip requires the adapter CC sells for the newer arms. I think you have the older arms and it may not require an adapter. This tip is a bit slower than the 4 hole and the original duetto 2 hole tip, but for me makes a thicker more consistent microfoam for me. YMMV, but it is an inexpensive experiment.
I have found steaming pretty effortless, and can get thick stand up foam, or thinner art wet paint style by varying the time steaming....sdavidp has a good technique description.
The newer insulated wands don't seem to perform any differently, but are said to have replaceable valves. I'm not sure I would change them unless you are having valve sealing problems.
Another key ingredient for the old style steam wands it to make sure to open the valve all the way. This makes a significant difference. Also if you want more steam performance, crank the pressure up to 1.4-1.5bar. The pressure gauges in these are not necessarily dead accurate and yours could even be reading low. When you do crank it up watch the steam tank OP valve for weeping. Some people have experienced that with the earlier OP valves that had a lower release pressure (and mine actually wept at a lower pressure than rated) and one symptom of that is indications of what appears like rust on the inside of the machine around the steam tank. This can be cleaned, but is an annoyance. There should be no stains inside the machine if you have routed the steam anti-siphon valve water to the tank or tray.
Still havin' fun with my Duetto 1.5! It has been an amazingly consistent producer of great caffeine for 3 years.....