All-Clad Presso - the minimalist pour over espresso machine - Page 2

[hbuchtel]

Oh no!



They broke right at the end of a shot, I was squeezing the arms against the legs as well as pressing, perhaps being in the lowest position with this extra pressure is what did it.

I saw a man about making some new arms out of steel as nobody seemed willing to try welding them (is it possible to weld aluminium?). It'll cost 2-300 yuan ($25-35). I'm thinking about having a shorter pair made as well so I can put in less water while still raising the arms to their highest position.

Does anybody want a pair? Not sure how much postage would be . . . also not sure of the result yet!

Henry

[another_jim]

In the States, All Clad distributed the machine with their usual lifetime warranty. This is the second case of the arms breaking; so it's probably a design defect rather than a one-off failure. It may explain why All Clad stopped distributing.

[hbuchtel]

Well, after consulting with his boss the young guy at the machining shop told me it would be too much trouble and too expensive ($60) to make new arms, so he gave me a business card of a guy who could weld aluminum and sent me off to the car parts district. After a pleasant hour-long Sunday morning stroll in the rain I found the shop, 15 minutes and $2 later I went home with this-



It works. It ain't pretty, but it works. The bulk of the new material does touch the rim of the plastic chamber but it isn't a problem. The two espressi I've 'pressed' so far were unintentionally fast (about 10 sec.) so I don't know how it will hold up to a finer grind (or better distribution/tamp, as the case may be!). Here's hoping!

Henry

[hbuchtel]

In the States, All Clad distributed the machine with their usual lifetime warranty. This is the second case of the arms breaking; so it's probably a design defect rather than a one-off failure. It may explain why All Clad stopped distributing.

A pity, huh?

When I bought mine I first wrote the company to ask if it was possible to buy one in China (this was in October, long after they started selling them at TJMaxx etc) and the response was that they are looking for a distributor in China and would I like to be notified when that happens.

So maybe the company is not dead? It would be great if they could release it again with a few changes . . .

Henry

[another_jim]

So maybe the company is not dead? It would be great if they could release it again with a few changes . . .

Presso is a UK company; and still going. All-Clad was the US distributor. I would have dropped the machine in their position too. There's several design defects -- the excessive air gaps in the cylinder, and the weakness of the arms. The upshot was that Presso, while calling it an espresso machine, instructed people to use French Press ground coffee and perhaps 2 to 3 bar pressure on the handles. In essence, it's a bait and switch machine in its current incarnation.

If you're thinking of finding or acting as the distributor, I would insist on a corrected design before touching it.

[hbuchtel]

several design defects -- the excessive air gaps in the cylinder (...)

In my experience the problem with the extra space under the piston is that at the end of a shot there is still a lot of water left in the chamber- a real pain if I want to examine the puck or especially if I am making more then one drink- I have to either spend 30 seconds leaning on the arms to push all the water out or take out the PF and hope it doesn't dribble all over the counter!

Does your plug take care of this problem?

Henry

[another_jim]

Yes it does. Before I put it in, I tried overfilling with water too eliminate the airpockets, and got the same mess. Your technique doing this must be better than mine though, since I also diluted my shots.

[hbuchtel]

Yes it does. Before I put it in, I tried overfilling with water too eliminate the air pockets, and got the same mess. Your technique doing this must be better than mine though, since I also diluted my shots.

What do you mean by diluted? Not enough pressure?

Hmm.. would a large air pocket have the effect of slowing the ramp up of pressure? (Pre-infusion? Thinking about Jepy's experiments with pressure profiles) If you put enough water in you could get a full 2oz with water still left in the chamber . . .

My 'technique' is fairly straightforward, start with the arms down, pour in water while raising the arms (do both slowly), then when the piston is at a good height stop raising the arms while continuing to pour water. I'll stop when there is a little water covering the top of the piston and no bubbles come up through it.

Sometimes it is necessary to jiggle the arms to coax the air out.

I wrote down everything here- http://unmodifiedpresso.blogspot.com

Henry

[mathias]

- A clever single disk neoprene or silicone showerscreen and group gasket.

The "Peppina Marries MiniGaggia" thread made me remind this comment. Any chance of a photo of this showerscreen?

[hbuchtel]

The "Peppina Marries MiniGaggia" thread made me remind this comment. Any chance of a photo of this showerscreen?

Hey Mathias, sorry this took so long, but just in case you are still thinking about it here are two pictures-





As you can see from the second picture the dispersion screen is level with the rim of the basket . . . much different then most espresso machines! I don't have any experience with other machines so I can't say how much of a difference this makes to the espresso.

Henry

[mathias]

Great. Thanks for the photos!

Mathias

[hbuchtel]

I recently finished making a replacement piston for the Presso. The original hung on for about 5 months of daily use, then started developing several cracks.

The replacement I made works, but has two problems.

The first is that I cut the bottom of the piston to fit perfectly into the bottom of the piston-chamber, but if the alignment is off by a little bit the piston does not go all the way down. I would suggest to anybody making one that they simply lathe the bottom so that it fills most of the space, this way it is not likely to get stuck.

The second problem is that the diameter of the cylinder of PFTE that I was working is a tiny bit smaller then that of the original piston. What this means is that it is possible for the round 'washer' to be forced out of it's slot, sending a gush of water all the way up to the ceiling . . .

For the next one I will definitely use a lathe. I tried sticking it on the end of a power drill and this resulted in awful alignment. I kinda lucked out in that if I turn it in a certain direction the 'washer' does not get spit out while under pressure.

Here's a picture-



Henry

[starry]

I'd like to weigh in with my story about broken arms. I bought one of these a couple of years ago and was disappointed with the lack of crema and other problems with it's performance so I attempted to "boost" the extraction pressure by grinding the beans a bit finer. The result was a big surprise! Hot water and coffee grounds in MY FACE and all over the kitchen. The piston hit the ceiling! Fortunately I was not badly burned, but it could have ended up much worse. Use these machines with caution and don't attempt to obtain pressures that are too high. If anyone needs piston or other parts, let me know!

[hbuchtel]

I'd like to weigh in with my story about broken arms. I bought one of these a couple of years ago and was disappointed with the lack of crema and other problems with it's performance so I attempted to "boost" the extraction pressure by grinding the beans a bit finer. The result was a big surprise! Hot water and coffee grounds in MY FACE and all over the kitchen. The piston hit the ceiling! Fortunately I was not badly burned, but it could have ended up much worse. Use these machines with caution and don't attempt to obtain pressures that are too high. If anyone needs piston or other parts, let me know!

Funny coincidence, I was just about to post some photos of Presso shots 'cause I recently got a new (original) piston.

I had a similar experience when my Presso's arms broke, then again when the piston cracked . . . fortunately both were in the winter and the hot water didn't get to my skin! Recently I've been making only regular doubles (avoiding ristrettos) which flow a bit fast (~25 seconds), I'm hoping the piston will be able to take this amount of strain!

If only the company would update it with a smaller diameter piston ...

Henry

[Worldman]

It is interesting to see this thread still going and even more intriguing to see the interest this device has engendered.

While I have no interest in the Presso, I am trying to buy some stainless steel scrap from All Clad whose US office and plant are just ~5 miles down the road form my home in Pittsburgh's south hills. Here is a picture of me at their factory in front of some stainless steel stamping blanks.


Actually, these are stainless steel clad aluminum stamping blanks which must have the aluminum separated from the ss for either scrap material to be of any use. This separation is done by an outside company in Belle Vernon, PA named: Life's Work (http://www.lifesworkwpa.org/). Life's Work provides employment to handicapped persons and is, in my opinion, a most worthwhile effort. The facility uses mentally retarded folk for this work.

Here are a couple of pictures I took at Life's work.


Bravo! All Clad - both for the making the Presso and for giving employment to the folk at Life's Work.

Len