I am a new (three week) owner of a GS/3 and have had similar issues and seen many posts on CoffeeGeek.com regarding these items - some of which are a couple of years old. So I thought I would see how people would answer this topic currently, with all experience to date.


1. I have ordered the four-tip hole from Espresso Parts, which I expect to arrive tomorrow. But I cannot imagine that it can cure the problem of condensation leaking into the pitcher when you turn off the steam at the end of the milk prep process, which seems to create a lot of bubbles, ruining microfoam no matter how well you have done until then. So question 1 is, does it deal with the "leak" of condensation at the end?


2. Even before the problem with the leak of condensation, is the microfoam tight with the new four-tip hole, I am having trouble getting any serious amount of microfoam with the wand and tip that came with the GS/3. (I want to make sure that this is not a problem of my being a hobbyist, and not a professional barista.)


3. Is it clear that you can get the new wand (non-cool touch) in the United States?


4. For a brand new (three week) owner, do you have to pay for it or will Franke provide it to me or to the distributor for free? And how long will it take to get one? And finally on this score do you or how much do you have to insist that you need the new wand, or is this problem so widely commented upon that Franke provides as a matter of course.


5. Should I contact Franke directly? I negotiated pretty hard with the distributor on price, so I don't know how much interest it will have with post sales support if this issue rises in some minds to a mere "consumer preference". (Don't get me wrong, the distributor has been superb so far. Extremely nice and responsive.) I, however, feel as if this issue rises to the level of a design defect, and that something ought to be done for those who are unhappy with the outcome. In that connection, are distributors putting on the wand as part of "warranty" support? Or is that an extra charge as well.? (I am loathe to do it myself as this is not a strength of mine!)


6. Finally, does the new wand really "cure" the problem? I am not into change for change's sake. And want to be conservative here because I know my skill level is less than "world class". By analogy, I know that getting a new golf club does not make one a professional golfer! But from reading here, my definite impression is that it will change the result for milk prep. Do you agree?

I had the four hole tip from Espresso Parts NW, still have in fact, however i have not tried it out since I fitted the new steam wand and mount.

I have not seen any "leaking" condensation with any of the steam tips I have used, and I have four or five different ones.

You do have to purge the condensed water from the original wand for quite a few seconds to get rid of it all before steaming, but this is virtually eliminated with the new steam wand as I believe that because the connecting pipe is brass it stays hotter whilst the teflon pipe is a lot cooler allowing condensation to form.

The GS/3 is a commercial machine and as such it can be much more critical and demanding of your technique steaming milk.

I have heard that Chris's Coffee had several in stock.

I would have thought so since everyone else has had to pay for it, and, as far as I know it is not standard equipment yet.

Don't know about design defect, i think that that may be pushing it a little far, design choice for home users possibly. I should imagine that if you order your wand through your dealer who supplied the machine that he would charge you for fitting it. The majority of owners I have read about on the various coffee groups have fitted their own after purchasing it direct from their relevant importer. I would contact Franke if you are unsure.

The only thing that the new wand "cures" is the length of time spent purging condensed water from the wand itself and give you better drier steam, it does make steaming easier however it will not in itself improve your skill as a Barista.

For myself it was well worth the change not only for the drier steam and less condensation but also the excellent stainless steel mount for the wand.

What do you mean by "condensation leaking into the pitcher" after steaming?

malachi wrote:What do you mean by "condensation leaking into the pitcher" after steaming?

I second that question.

Perhaps I was not very articulate. Drops of water dripping from the steam wand immediately after the steam is turned off. If I lower the pitcher too fast - big bubbles. If I wait for the steam to stop, water drips into the pitcher, also causing bubbles, albeit much smaller.

This may well be technique. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Dan

Thanks for your note - intended to do that in the second line of my posting. Next time I'll include a link.

Best.

AndyinTexas wrote:Perhaps I was not very articulate. Drops of water dripping from the steam wand immediately after the steam is turned off. If I lower the pitcher too fast - big bubbles. If I wait for the steam to stop, water drips into the pitcher, also causing bubbles, albeit much smaller.

I don't want to make this sound like I'm missing the point, but why don't you just turn steam off quickly (with tip fully - FULLY - submerged) and then pull wand out of pitcher while pulling pitcher out from under wand?

The drip comes VERY fast after the steam is turned off.

AndyinTexas wrote:The drip comes VERY fast after the steam is turned off.

Very fast, indeed. I would describe it as spitting when the steam cuts off. By that time, though, the wet steam has had its effect. I can get decent tasting milk, but never pretty - better with the Espressoparts tip, but not great. I have made much better looking (and slightly better tasting) microfoam with a GB5 and an Andreja despite having more practice on the GS/3.

I've ordered the new wand.

Matt

Weird - I never had this problem (and I was working on the "cool touch" wand). Milk was on par with what I'd get from a full size LM machine as long as I purged the wand well before steaming.
Shrug.

I usually steam a small amount of milk (5oz). That might explain the Andreja's superiority, but not the GB5, which is calibrated for larger volumes. I also use 2% milk, and do better with Lactaid than with the local organic milk. There are so many variables....

I noticed this morning that the milk was better if I purged for much longer than I thought was necessary - 8 seconds instead of 3.

Shrug indeed!

This novice is here to say that the difference in the (Espresso Parts) four-hole tip is light night and day.

I am very satisfied with it. I am sure there is lots of room for improvement, but now I have more than a fighting chance.

By the way, I purge for a long time as well (eight or so seconds is probably close to what I do), and it does make a noticeable difference to the result I get.

Thanks all for the good ideas here.

FWIW - I didn't like the stock tip at all.
I switched to an old style 4 hole LM "acorn" tip and it was brilliant.
3 sec probably insufficient for a cool touch wand. I basically just purged until it wasn't sputtering at all.
In general, I never steam more than about 3oz of milk.

I upgraded the steam wand, and am delighted with the results. As others have reported, drier steam, less plastic. Better microfoam.

But....

Does anyone know the exact description of the two little brass screws that attach the wand pivot (part F.1.015) to the frame? One of them sheared off while I was installing. I unscrewed the bit left behind with pliers, and the wand is sitting happily in place (Memo to self: Read all the directions before starting work. Yes, I know.), but I'd like to get a replacement screw in place to assuage my guilt. I'm hesitant to remove the one remaining.

Thanks,

Matt