Wiring/plumbing requirements for 220V La Marzocco GS3

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cruzmisl
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#1: Post by cruzmisl »

Hi All,
I'm hoping someone with a LM GS3 can help me out. I'm building a new house and plan to have a 220V GS3 on the kitchen counter. The builder needs to know what type of 220V plug the machine uses and where on the bottom of the machine the plumbing lines are so he can drill the granite in the right spot. Would anyone be able to help?

Thanks!
Joe

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trumz
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#2: Post by trumz »

Take a look at the installation guide and template on the LM USA site.

http://www.lamarzoccousa.com/support/

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Peppersass
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#3: Post by Peppersass »

EDIT: I was writing my post when trumz posted his excellent advice. I looked at the installation guide and template, and have some comments to add to what I say below. First, the position shown for the input hole is definitely not where it is on my machine. LM must have changed it for more recent machines. There were some modifications done after my machine to reduce noise, and these required modifications to the chassis. Second, I see that LM has the water and electric hoses going through the same hole in the counter. So ignore my comment about that maybe not being the best idea! Third, I think LM's placement of the hole is a little too close to the drain box hose barb. IMHO, an inch or two further back would be better.

I can't help you with the 220V plug because mine is the 110V model. But I can help you with the plumbing connections.

The center of the hole for the input water line is about 1-1/4 inches from the left edge of the chassis and about 9-3/4 inches from the front of the drain box. The hole is about 1-1/4 inches in diameter, much larger than the braided input hose.

The connection for the drain is a hose barb screwed into the back of the drain box. The barb is in the center of the machine, about 6 inches from the front of the drain box.

There's a fair amount of flexibility in placing the hole(s) for the input and drain lines, but the ideal place is probably about 10-12 inches from the front of the machine, either centered from left-to-right, so it's in line with the drain hose barb, or placed half the distance from the left edge to center so it's midway between the input hole and the drain hose barb. At this location, the hole is below the chassis floor of the machine, which is about 3 inches above the counter.

The distance from the front allows a descending angle for the drain hose. Closer to the front of the machine may require too steep a bend in the drain hose. Closer to the back of the machine may put a portion of the drain hose under the bottom of the brain box, which sticks down below the floor of the chassis, causing the angle of the hose to flatten. I recommend that the rear edge of the hole be no further than 13-1/2 inches from the front of the drain box to avoid the bottom of the brain box.

That said, the placement I chose is under the brain box and it works. I chose the location because I didn't want the hole in the middle of the counter. I thought it would be less conspicuous more toward the back of the counter so that if we ever move the next owner could put something like a toaster or container over it, or use it to install a sink.

Details: I drilled one large hole, the center of which is about in line with the rear feet of the machine. It's about 4-1/2 inches from the left side of the machine. The diameter is large enough for the braided input hose, the drain hose and three power cords (GS/3, outboarded motor, grinder.) Probably better to run the water and electric lines through separate holes, which may be required by code. Although the angle of the drain hose flattens out when it reaches the bottom of the brain box, and the hose is angled to the left, it seems to drain fine. There's no evidence of residual coffee in it. Sometimes when I've moved the machine around the drain line flattens out and the drain runs slow, but then I just reach under the machine and pull on the hose to steepen the angle. There are some hose clamps under the counter that I use to hold the shape.

javabob
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#4: Post by javabob »

Also... the builder may need to know roughly where the power, water supply and drain need to be in order to prepare everything under the counter, but I would suggest holding off on actually drilling the holes until you have the espresso area completed and the machine in place. You may want to move the machine around a little bit. That's what I requested of our builder and counter installers they had no problem with doing it that way.

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Peppersass
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#5: Post by Peppersass »

Another comment: I see that LM recommends using a tee to connect the GS/3 drain with a sink drain. That's relatively easy to do and you don't have to install another trap or connection to the sewer/septic line. It's probably fine if you connect to a nearby sink. But note that when two drains share a trap, there's no noise isolation. Your GS/3 drain box may act as a megaphone and amplify the sound of water gurgling down the drain of the sink.

I found out about this the hard way. It wasn't possible to connect my GS/3 drain hose to a nearby sink, so I connected it with a tee to the open drain tube of a washing machine in the basement. Really easy to do, but it had the unfortunate consequence of the GS/3 drain box amplifying the loud sound of the washing machine draining. Quite a shock to anyone in the vicinity of the kitchen. After a few episodes of that, I installed a dedicated trap for the GS/3.

Note that there's a whole science to installing traps. Science (and building codes) require adequate ventilation, which usually means there are maximum distances the trap can be from a vent pipe. Otherwise the water will get flushed out of the trap and there will be no odor or noise isolation. The GS/3's drain volume is so small that I didn't worry about this, but you may get some flak from a building inspector if you do the same. Our local inspector happened to notice the connection when inspecting some new bathroom plumbing and asked me what it was for. I told him, and his reply was, "I'm not going to look at that." See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

Note that if you have problems with the sound of the drain your GS/3 shares, and don't want to install a dedicated trap, you can put a bend in the GS/3 hose to create a little trap. You'll need some hose or pipe clamps to hold the shape. I did this before installing the dedicated trap. Crude, but effective.

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erics
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#6: Post by erics »

. . . and plan to have a 220V GS3 on the kitchen counter
I would give that 220V option a second thought or two. At the normal 110V power, this machine is very temperature stable and a 220V machine might have reduced resale value.
Skål,

Eric S.
http://users.rcn.com/erics/
E-mail: erics at rcn dot com

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Peppersass
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#7: Post by Peppersass replying to erics »

Eric is right. If you go with a 110V machine, just make sure the circuit is 20A. That way you can run the boilers in either Full or Half mode. Full mode allows both heaters to be on at the same time. Half mode alternates heating, with the coffee boiler having priority. Half mode is designed for 15A circuits. Half works fine, but Full recovers more quickly.

Moxiechef
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#8: Post by Moxiechef »

I used a 2" grommet at the very back of my counter that I feed the power, water supply and drain tube through. Be sure to allow for the back of the cabinet below the counter if you choose to go all the way to the rear.

One of the main reasons I did this is so that if I ever sell the house, there is not a large hole in the counter in an odd area.

Also pictured is the drain tail pipe with the inlet for the drain.

I contemplated the 220v as well and even pulled the wire/circuit for it but only used one hot and run the outlet as 110v. The GS3 on 110v 20amp dedicated circuit has a lot of power and pulling back to back to back espresso doesn't phase it. But with the 220v circuit in reserve, I've got flexibility for future machines, even a smaller commercial unit.


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Peppersass
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#9: Post by Peppersass »

That's a good shot of the lack of clearance for the hose when the hole is past the front edge of the brain box. I ended up raising my machine by putting each foot on 1/2" high blocks (2" x 2" sample squares of Corian counter material.) The blocks tend to slip out from under the feet when I move the machine, so I've been meaning to look for taller feet with compatible screws but haven't gotten around to it.

It looks like there's some coffee residue in the hose because it's not going into the tee at a downward angle.

Moxiechef
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#10: Post by Moxiechef replying to Peppersass »


There is coffee residue in the tube but in 18 months it hasn't presented any issues. I do flush a decent amount of water through it while cleaning the drip tray ever so often.

I just haven't taken the time to turn the tail pipe and cut the drain tube and secure it to the side of the cabinet. I'm sure that the first time it clogs I'll quickly find the motivation to finish the job. :)

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