Buyer's Guide to the Elektra A3 - Page 2

[HB]

As Ken Nye mentioned earlier in this thread, he bought the A3 for his office. He and I have been exchanging notes offline on managing brew temperature, getting the best extraction, etc. I don't always explicitly mention it in buyer's guides, but I generally corroborate my findings with owners during the research phase. It saves me time and adds further support (or not!) to the guide's recommendations. There aren't many A3 owners, so it's great to have Ken going through a discovery phase similar to my own. Look to hear more about that soon...

After months of using bottomless portafilters, I've come to strongly prefer flat-bottomed (or nearly flat) portafilters. The one for the Cimbali Junior is the best in this regard and also has impeccable finishing. Any cast markings are filed down and buffed to a mirror finish. It also has a heavy, thick bowl for heat retention and all-around manly-man feel.

Elektra doesn't go for the industrial look, instead opting for old-world charm:



It has the Elektra eagle on the top of the handle. If you look carefully, you'll see casting lines in the photo above. I suppose they were unavoidable given the matte finish of the bowl in compliment of the handle. Still, the lines are disappointing in light of the otherwise flawless exterior of the A3.

Notice that I changed the portafilter spout to the squared-off La Marzocco open-style spout. The narrow distance between the spout ends allows it to easily catch the two streams in a single cup, plus as an the added bonus, the spout acts as a nice "ledge" for tamping on the countertop's edge. This avoids the possibility of picking up grinds and who-knows-what by tamping with the spouts directly on the countertop. Even with this minor modification, this fancy Elektra portafilter hasn't surplanted my fave, the Rancilio commercial. It would have had a chance at winning my affections if Elektra's portafilter handle was longer. Too bad, it's really pretty.

In reading this thread, you may have noticed that I hold my specific thoughts on a test machine "close to the vest." Most of that choice is in keeping an open mind, and a small part of it is an adversion to making declarations I might later have to retract. It's my cautious nature, and anyway, I see no need to rush to judgement. A lot of money is involved for those considering machines in the Elektra A3's price range, so a few months' of careful evaluation doesn't seem excessive.

That said, Chris Tacy's recent write-up of the Mia does highlight something I've noticed in my own limited use of commercial equipment: They are simply easier to use than semi-commercial espresso machines. A dual boiler obviously has the advantage of simplified temperature management, but even the commercial HXs are noticeably more "civilized" than their less pedigreed colleagues. The unadulterated commercial experience in your kitchen is indeed alluring and I rue the day these high-end heavyweights must be packed up for their new owners.

Why don't I buy one, you ask? Well, it's not only an issue of money, but spousal agreement. My wife agrees that Elektra is the most attractive of all the machines I've evaluated, but it's too imposing for "her kitchen." Lest I forget, it's her realm and I'm an invitee only by her good graces. I say this in jest, since the truth is she's been exceedingly tolerant and supportive of my projects.

[HB]

What one does for research...

I made several decaf straight espressos tonight and one cappuccino. Pulling a good decaf is always more difficult and can expose extraction problems that don't surface with the more forgiving regular coffee, so I always include some decaf in the series. I'm not fond of decaffeinated coffees, but the A3 handled it as nicely as one could hope for. The extractions were even and made for enjoyable drinks. The third shot had no traces of bitterness and flirted with some sweetness.

Notes: Both the regular and decaf were roasted this past Tuesday. The decaf ground 2-1/2 clicks finer and I pulled them shorter than the regular, extracting one ounce double ristrettos.

[Ken Nye]

It's time to start posting some of my experiences with the A3. I installed the machine about a week ago, and I am starting to get a feel for it. These initial reports will be kept brief. As time rolls on and I become more in sync with the A3, I will report more extensively.

On an aside, don't expect the kind of review that was recently posted by Chris on the Mia..... That dude is a writing machine! To put it delicately, my writing skills tend to... suck. Kudos to Chris, that was an excellent article.



Currently I am running the A3's boiler at 1.1 bar. It utilizes a Sirai p-stat, so the band runs about .2 bar, (it kicks in at .9 and cuts off at 1.1 bar). At this setting I am acheiving stable temps between 202 - 203F. Temp drop off during extraction is minimal, aprox. 1 - 1.5F. I won't waste time describing the temp curves in greater detail, because my findings were almost identical to those shown on Dan's chart (shown earlier).

It is important to note that the Elektra group heats up very quickly, and an initial flush is required prior to every shot. After any idle period, 8 - 10 seconds seems to do the trick. During constant use a shorter flush of 3 - 7 seconds is still necessary, depending on how quickly you prep your next shot. The water is fairly easy to "read" during the flush, initially the flow is violent (boiling), but will taper down to an appropriate stream when the temp is right. It is more dramatic than the flow on a traditional E61 group.

BTW- Group pressure is set at 9.0 bar. I experimented at 8.0, 8.5, and 9.0 bar. The latter produced the best results in the cup. I found better body and mouth feel with the higher pressure. It also seemed to produce a better overall extraction.

The group screen on the A3 is unlike the common E61 type. It screws in to the group and is not held in place by the gasket (hopefully elektra offers various gasket sizes). Upon removal, I found that there is also a brass "diffuser disc" behind the screen, which is held in place by the same center screw. It has ten disperstion holes in a circular pattern. The group itself distributes the water through four holes. It seems that a very small chamber is formed where the disc and group meet. This assembly is very easy to clean, more so than a typical E61. As far as performance is concerned, the center screw and lack of dispertion holes in the center of the group seem to cause a bit of (mild) under extraction in the center of the puck. I will report more on this when I switch to a naked PF. My old style Faemas do not fit this group, a Rancilio is on the way. On an up note, the diffuser disc is a customizer's wet dream. I see several custom discs in my future utilizing various hole patterns as well as different depths. Speaking of depth, the screen on the A3 sits a bit deeper in the PF than on an E61, making it sensitive to overfilling the basket, (something that I am accustomed to doing). This is not a negative, just something to get used to. Also, the screen on the A3 is convex, and performs noticeably better with a convex tamper.

As far as shot quality goes, the A3 has been impressive. I have been getting results nearly on par with my Faema E61. The body and mouthfeel have been excellent. The complexity of the blend that I work with has been coming through with little loss. I will report on this topic more extensively in the near future as I get a better feel for this machine. I would like to gain a better understanding of the pre infusion process used by the A3, and hopefully 'tune' it to my advantage. With time, I also hope to gain more control over the temp range throughout the extraction, allowing me to tweak my shots and bring out various qualities in different blends.

The steaming is equal to most commercial machines that I have used. The stock four hole tip is excellent, and I see no need to change it. Nuff said.



More to come...

[Ken Nye]

Earlier in this thread it was mentioned that this machine was installed in my office. Actually, it has found it's way into my kitchen (thank god my wife loves espresso). The reason that I bring this up is that it will be installed in my new office in the fall, and I am extending an early invite to any HB members who might find themselves on the northshore of Long Island, NY to stop by and play with the A3. We will be building a small lab at our office with two or three machines connected and running, as well as an open bench for testing new machines. I have been wanting to do this for quite some time, a place to test equipment, cup new blends, and create new products without the pressure of dealing with customers lined up out the door. Although we will not be open to the public, the door is always open to HB folks.

More to come...

[HB]

Ken's comments prompted me to pull down the A3's diffuser disk, dispersion screen, and gasket for a picture. The brass diffuser disk is shown with the puck-side facing upward towards the camera and the dispersion screen is shown with the puck-side facing away:



The diffuser disk design is similar to the La Spaziale S1's, except the A3's is larger in diameter. Elektra's screen is slightly domed and sets within the ridged circle of the diffuser. The gasket is actually a big O-ring, similar to the Elektra Microcasa a Leva's. A quick tug with a dull knife tip brought it down for cleaning.

I've chemical backflushed the A3 a few times since its arrival, but it's been over twenty shots since the last one. There was a thin line of coffee build-up along the perimeter of the O-ring and a smidgen under the edge of the dispersion screen. An E61-type dispersion screen might be a teenie bit cleaner after similar usage because it has no ridges to trap coffee, but I have no complaints with either.

I agree with Ken that the shape of the screen seems to favor a convex tamper. Early on I noted good evenness of the water dispersion over the surface of the puck. The water jet breaker on my own machine produces a more "ragged" stream, but on the other hand, the space behind the screen seems larger, resulting in a higher tolerance of minimal puck-to-screen clearance. Locking / unlocking the portafilter with a dime on top of the puck and then checking for a slight impression gives the A3 optimal space for even dispersion / puck expansion, leading to a nice even extraction with lots of body and mouthfeel.

PS: Ken, I will absolutely stop by your shop / test lab when I'm in the area. Gotta find an excuse to drive the family northward...

[TimothyJohn]

Dan,

I'm very glad and excited to see that you are doing a review of the A3. I know that it's been on your short list to review. As you know I recently purchased one in late March. Unfortunately, I am still in the process of building the butler's pantry in which the machine will be housed. When I received the machine, I made some modifications to the design of the room - one of which was to make sure that the machine and the grinder had its own part of the counter top space. Also, that the beauty of the machine and the wonderful emblem on the back would not be hidden. It will be its own espresso bar in the pantry. I'm doing the work myself so it's taken some time. However, the machine will be directly plumbed and tied directly into its own circuit. I'm just itching to get that machine up and running, but will be looking forward to your reviews in the meantime.

Thanks.

Tim

[HB]

Tim,

Thanks for the comments and encouragement. BTW, you're certainly a man of stronger will than I. If I had purchased the A3 in March, there's no way I could patiently wait for renovations to complete! But feel free to post your thoughts on your A3 in this thread when you've got it online.

[TimothyJohn]

Dan,

There isn't a day that goes by when I'm not thinking about that machine. I've taken it out of the box many times just to look inside and out. I've read the manual front to back (in the languages I know). However, the pantry will house the machine, a sink, and a dishwasher, as well as cabinets for serving ware. I'm building them myself, so it will all be custom made. However, you have now given me more inspiration to get things moving along.
The machine is incredibly built, without sacrificing aesthetics. There was so little information out there about the A3, that I'm just really psyched that you are doing the research.
I plan to document the process (through writing and pictures) of creating this room around this machine, setting up the machine, and finally working with the machine.

Tim

[srobinson]

As we start the next phase of testing on the A3, it moves over to my house for a full installation. Now I am not saying that Dan does not do a thorough test, but drains running into the sink and water lines springing up out of the existing sink holes just will not fly at my house...thus a proper install was in order.

As I state in my subject line, I really love my wife and as part of this test I have now added to my list of the sexiest things that she has ever said to me. The list to date tops with:

1) Honey, you need a larger TV....when I was pining for a German Loewe HD TV
2) Honey, go ahead and buy a Porsche...when I was pining for my 911

and now:

3) Honey, go ahead and drill through my Corian so you can try out a new espresso machine.

She is the perfect woman.

So with the spousal green light the installation began... Fortunately drilling Corian or other solid surface counter tops is very straight forward. Pilot hole to start the hole saw, I chose a 2" hole for the water and drain line and capped off the hole with a computer-line hole collar.



I used masking tape just in case the bit skipped, but everything went fine and in 30 seconds we were through.



This is the first permanent install that I have done at this house so I used one of the kits from Chris' Coffee that had the T valves, stopcocks, softener, carbon filter and pressure regulator all together.

The next step in the install was the drain line. In running this under sink, where I had both garbage disposal and dishwasher draining, I decided to install a new drain neck between the two sinks and after the disposal. After a little creative PVC work, I had this ready to go.



I decided to tie into the drain line that Dan already had on the machine with 1/2" poly weave tubing and made sure that I had a good drop on the line to drain correctly. Set up was quick and began testing the drain and in short notice had water all over the countertop. Made sure the tray was not running over, checked the level of the machine to give it a slight forward tilt and kept getting water. Turns out that there was a loose connection under the machine where the poly connects to the copper drain pipe. I had assumed that this was tight from Dan's install, but I was getting leaks. A quick tightening of the collar and she was draining away. I was using the short legs on the machine, so it fits very low to the counter top. If doing the same, you need to make sure that you have the hose clamp screw off to the side so you don't risk scratching your countertops. I also ran my drain line very tight, so another disadvantage to this approach is that you must disconnect if you are pulling the machine out to work on it if you have it installed under a counter.

Next, the focus was on the water line was very straight forward. I used 3/8" line which Dan suggested in order to provide strong water feed and Dan had noticed some line noise coming into play with one of his 1/4" systems. I did a brass connection fitting with a poly T off the cold water line and then set up the following order: Cut-off valve, Softener filter, Carbon Filter, Pressure Regulator, Cut-off valve, machine water line. Using the plastic tubing in a snap and give you the capability to do some some temporary runs to check out the system before everything is buried under the sink. You can see the basic run here:



Dan stopped over at this point and we dialed in the final line pressure at roughly 20lbs and double-checked the brew pressure gauge reading at the group head with a portafilter gauge. Dan had done a nice trick on his gauge where it is not fully tight, so that you can simulate a shot coming through to eliminate any false pressure.

I finished up with the final filter placement and cut the final lines and I was fully operational and the A3 was in its new temporary home commanding the countertop.

[srobinson]

With the A3 now plumbed in we start to take a look on how this baby fits into a home environment. While we all dream of a commercial machine at home, I hopefully can give you some insight as to whether this is practical and what some of the trade offs are.

With a clean install, the A3 now sits on the counter in all her glory. The dimensions on this machine are:

Width: 13.5 inches, Depth: 19.5 inches and Height: 17 inches, weighing in at a whopping 77lbs. To give you a rough idea of what you are dealing with, the template that I used to see how much counter space I needed had to be created from two sheets of newspaper. It's big for a single unit, but it is livable. Here is a wider shot of my install that shows it with Rocky and my 6 burner Viking cook top.




Now with the placement that I used, one of the disappointing factors you will deal with, is that one of the most beautiful features of the machine will be hidden from sight...and that is the great logo on the back.




To me that is like buying a set of scudera shields for your Ferrari and mounting them in the trunk...but I digress.

There are many features that I really liked on first glance on the A3. They added some nice touches, starting with the cup tray on top. There are actually two vent trays. They neatly fit at an offset so you get air and heat circulating, without the risk of water from your cups dripping down into the machine.





I was also very pleased with the quality and ergonomics of the controls. The dual dial was sharp and well marked, the pull lever had a nice feel and click during operation and I really liked the steam and water levers.



These were very straightforward to use and I felt that they almost gave me another set of hands, since I did not have to dedicate the finger control that dials require to operate them. They are multi-directional and can be finessed when full power is not needed. The wood grained bake-lite was a nice feature as well. Now I'm thinking how to get these in Carbon Fiber.

The final feature that I will mention in this post is the quiet operation of this machine.



The front plate says Super Silent and it is. Most of the time you are looking for the front light or putting your hand on the side to see if she's on. It will wake up to refill the tank and you hear the pump during full operation, but it made less average noise than my refrigerator and its automatic systems.

So on initial inspection the commercial is fitting in nicely in a modern kitchen environment. It carries a big footprint, but the fit and finish, sound, heat generation, and basic operation do not ask for significant sacrifice. When I compare this with other friends who have brought commercial appliances in-house (AGA ranges, commercial stoves etc), the A3 required almost none of those trade offs.

[srobinson]

A friend of mine has recently purchased an early 80s Ferrari and he says owning one is like dating a supermodel: beautiful to look at, expensive maintenance and extremely hot tempered....but when he's driving it, he's the king of the world.

After a couple mornings with the A3, I started to wonder whether the design engineers from Elektra and Ferrari both attended school together because I saw some of the same traits.

As I have mentioned before, I am focusing my comments on using these machines in a true home environment and some of these observations would be laughed at in a commercial environment, but the goal here at Home-Barista.com is making the world's best espresso at home.

Since I have not installed a timer on this machine yet, my routine is to turn it on at night and have it ready to go when I first wake up. On the first morning with this machine, I found that you need to be on your toes to control some of its strength and power. Now I will stop short of saying that the first few minutes with the A3 is violent, but I had to take a few pics to show you what you are in for.

A full pull on the hot water handle will leave you with a spa treatment that will clear your head enough to make sure that the spout is fully pointed to the drain:



First pull of the group lever will also remind you of the importance of a cooling flush:



And a quick hit of the steam handle reminds you of the power of a four hole commercial tip:



While all of these are easily controllable with a bit of practice, you will find that your spotless supermodel from the night before leaves a bit to be desired in the harsh morning light.

[srobinson]

I wanted to get another quick post in before I headed out of town for a couple weeks and talk a bit about the shot process with the A3. Since most of you know me from my lever write-ups, I am the real newbie on the HB team when dealing with commercial grade machines. My attack plan on the A3 was to focus on technique, take a few hints from Dan and play away.

The Grind

After doing my post on the Pavoni/Elektra comparison, I thought that I had been using a pretty tight grind to get some of the ristrettos that I showed in my write-up. What surprised me the most is that I had to dial back 2-3 notches on the Rocky to get an ever finer grind. I found it almost impossible to choke the A3 which shows the strength of this machine as I tried to find its limits and got one pull stretched out of over a minute of extraction.

The Tamp

To start diagnosing my pulls I decided to use a naked portafilter and based on the recent discussion on the board did some initial experiments with both convex and flat bottom tamping. I use a standard distribution technique with no pressure on the final sweep across the basket. I found my best tamps finished with the top edge of the tamper pretty even with the top of the basket.



One observation that I am going to have to play around with a bit more, is that when I did this same level with the convex bottom, that I would overfill which would make lock-in on the A3 close to impossible. So this week I stuck with the flat bottom to work on my consistency.

The Temp

As Dan mentioned in his earlier posts on this machine, we are trying to be a bit more practical in our initial uses of it and focus on the feel of pulling a shot, rather than breaking out the thermocouples with the first pulls. I think a good home machine is one you can build a routine to, get a rhythm with and get a feel for. In getting some advice from Dan on how long to flush before the pull, he simply said Listen, and damn if that did not become my mantra this week. As I showed in my earlier post, when the group is hot the start of a pull will really sizzle and spray on the group screen. What you are looking and listening for the water to settle to 4 clear streams and the steam noise to subside. When you are ready to go it will look like this: (I will ask your forgiveness on the dirty grouphead...I did take this shot after my pull....mea culpa)



The Pull

Once you reach this stage you are ready to lock in and pull the lever. I was finding myself with a rhythm of about 6 seconds from the end of the cooling flush to locking in and pulling the handle. I was surprised with the good shots I got this week. I ran into minimal channeling, no gushers and I got fairly consistent by the second day with the machine. Here is a quick pic with some older beans and not my best glamour pull of the week:



My compliments also to Lino and his handiwork on the portafilter. Damn nice.

The Shot

And here is what you get for your hard work:

[HB]

For those who may be wondering about an update to this thread on the Elektra A3... Steve is away on vacation this week and will resume his commentary next week, afterwhich I'll begin the wrapup in preparation for the final published review.

[srobinson]

Well I am finally back from work travel and a week of vacation and can get back to HB and good coffee with the A3. In looking at the pictures of my last post, I was shocked that I posted some with a dirty machine, so I thought I would outline how to clean the group head and also point out to you another fascinating Italian design feature of the machine.

In looking at the A3, it looks like a simple task to drop the group head and give it a good scrub. First step is simply to remove the screen with a straight blade stubby.



Screen and dispersion disk separate easily and cleanup begins with a snap.



Next logical step is to get a metric allen wrench and remove the three screws on top of the head.



Moving all three screws you notice that the head is free, but will not release. Does it unscrew? Does it slide forward? Is it up and out? NO to all three. Further inspection shows that it is held in place by a fraction of a millimeter of the guard below it.



At this point I am scratching my head over this design. I must be doing something wrong, but the only logical solution that I can find is to drop this guard. Now while the allen nuts are commercial finished steel, the four 7mm nuts are chrome and the guard is chrome and the rear ones are so tight against the body of the machine that you must use an open ended wrench. As I have mentioned in other posts, I play around with old cars and I get nervous when I wrench around painted surfaces, lightweight alloys and I really tighten up when I put wrenches on chrome....one slip and you are off to the yellow pages for powder coating and plating shops.

Fortunately the nuts loosen easily and the head could now be removed easily.



Note to Elektra...Fix this

[srobinson]

Well I am finishing up with my time with the A3. It's going to be sad to see this one go. We'll be bringing in Junior as the next machine to add a different perspective to the prior review.

With regards to the A3, the machine really impressed with me with quality and consistency of good shots I could get from it. I believe that it is true that with these higher end machines that you end up with less variables to deal with rather than having to work around the shortcomings of the machine.

The A3 delivered in all aspects. Temp management was easy, setup was straightforward and operation was effortless. I spent one night just trying to pull bad shots with it...finger tamping, convex tamping, flat tamping, no tamping, under dosing, over dosing and I wrote to Dan on how impressed I was on continuing to get very solid shots from it.

I was also impressed with the mouth feel of the shots with the A3. As you know, I love the levers mainly because of that thick, smooth shot that you can consistently get. The A3 will spoil you in this area. Due to the power of this machine, I could really grind down and build some ristrettos that you could stand spoons in.

I talked to my wife to get her input on the livability of the machine. She loved the coffee and loved the ease of steaming that allowed for instantaneous lattes. She liked the styling but felt that it did dominate counter space. We both agreed that if we did a dedicated coffee bar in the house that it would be a perfect machine....if just sitting out then you may have to compromise space..this thing has presence.

I did my high volume run on it last weekend at a dinner party for 8 and it performed flawlessly. My favorite quote was from a buddy who had just spent about 2K on a Jura. I asked him how espresso was from his machine compared to the A3 and he said "Coffee from the Jura is like kissing your sister. It classifies as espresso, but it is not what you are pulling out of that Elektra."

So the A3 passes the home test with flying colors and will be the second Elektra to pass through my doors after the Micro Casa. These machines are truly beautiful and if you have a chance to evaluate them in your search then please do....they are quite elegant trophies.

Dan and I will do a final jam this weekend as we swap out machines. Many thanks to Chris' Coffee for the opportunity to use this machine...if only for a short while.

[puffinjk]

I would like to thank Dan, Ken, & Steve, what a great review for a new owner(one week). This review gave me a good heads up on a lot of stuff, making my first encounter a pleasant experience.

I got a marzocca portafilter with a triple basket and rancilio bottomless portafilter, all from chris coffee, what a nice experience this was.

About my Elektra, she performs just as reviewed, I agree with Steve about her stability. We have not had a bad shot yet.

Thanks H.B. Jim

[HB]

Peter at Counter Culture offered a more "challenging" blend (acidic, complex, demands higher temperatures, more elusive sweetness) for a final round with the A3 this morning. After a quick jam at Steve's place, we swapped the A3 for the Cimbali Junior. Look for Steve's final impressions of the A3 this week and Junior soon thereafter.

Organizing the SwagFest judging will keep Team HB pretty busy. In the meantime, please post any final questions about the A3 that you would like me to look into before I start the final writeup. Thanks Steve for your review comments! Honestly I'm glad to have the A3 back, if only for a few more weeks.

[srobinson]

Like an old Hall and Oates song....She's gone....going to be the Devil to replace her.

Dan dropped by yesterday morning for an early jam session as I showed him what I had learned with my short time with the A3. Shots were flowing, the kitchen was stuffed with high end equipment and Dan and I both got babysitting credit by doing this while the moms were out....life is good.

We did some great pulls with some super fresh Black Cat and then we played around with Peter's new blend. While we had a couple sink shots while warming up, we got a great round of solid shots and got to discuss quite a few merits about this beautiful machine. I had been joking with Dan about the stability of the machine and even he was impressed with one of my no-tamp shots that scored around a 7-8.

Once we had it humming, we tried Peter's new blend and both of us were very impressed with the complexity of this new espresso. Very earthy at the start and finished with a nice citrus bite. Reminded me of some excellent French white wines where you got multiple layers of taste building the overall experience.

But all good things must come to an end and as such we disconnected the Elektra and introduced Junior into the house. To soften the blow I will be testing one of the new doserless Mine-Es. So by the time the wife came back home, a new setup was fully in place.

My nine year old daughter noticed the change right away. "Dad, this machine does not have as much stuff on it as the last one and it is not as shiny".....and so we begin the acclimation of yet another machine into the home test.

Thanks to Dan for all the help and best of luck in the write-up. We should be putting the final touches on the review in the coming weeks... For everyone who contributed to this thread thanks for the comments and the hits and thanks to our sponsors for giving us the chance to test these great machines.....off to the next one.

[HB]

Between SwagFest, an update to the Feature Spotlight on Espresso Grinders, a new baby, and a summertime cold, I'm behind on the originally planned publish date for the Elektra A3. It will be a few weeks longer. Chris Nachtrieb, owner of Chris' Coffee Service, took the news in stride and I appreciate his understanding.

Over the weekend, I mentally started listing the mundane but necessary items for the final writeup. For example, how long does it take to heat up? Although some leave their machines on 24/7, that's simply not an option in North Carolina during the summer. To determine the approximate warmup time, I stuff the basket with sponge filler and lock it into the group with a thermocouple wire pressed tightly against the dispersion screen. The datalogger records the temperature every minute and the maximum. Once it settles on a upper bound (197F), then it's safe to assume the rest of the machine is warmed up. From start to finish, approximately 75 minutes. That's a little faster than the Cimbali Junior, I assume because (a) although the Elektra has a larger boiler, it has a more powerful heating element, and (b) Elektra's thermosyphon aggressively moves heat to the grouphead.

Since returning back from Steve's place, I noticed that the extractions were notably off; many of the shots channeled heavily along the backside. At first I shrugged off this relapse to my lagging mental acuity brought on by lack of sleep (new baby) and the cold. But the problem continued into day 2. It was time for some diagnosis.

Blaming the equipment is many home barista's first instinct. Not me, I faulted my technique. Checked my notes, looking up ideal headspace, grams of coffee, tamper type, flush amount, ... and rechecked. Head cold or not, something wasn't right with this machine. The clue was right in front of me and the answer was plainly spelled out below the driptray:


Installation requirements are clearly stated in the Owner's Manual too

I had loaned the pressure regulator to Steve during the A3's sejour at his place and neglected to reinstall it (at the time I wondered "I need to re-regulate the brew pressure? It shouldn't have changed."). Why did I think to look under the driptray to reconfirm the proper inlet pressure? My clue was the static pressure shown on the brew gauge:


Static pressure reading after pressure regulator was put back in place (machine is cold)

So instead of the gauge over 4 bar (bad), it's now closer to 2 bar (good). Apparently the preinfusion design relies on low inlet pressure to function optimally. Moral of the story: Read the Owner's Manual and plan to buy a pressure regulator, period.

With that little mystery solved, Elektra's back to her old forgiving self. Now if I could just ditch this cold, I would properly appreciate the result.

[puffinjk]

Hi Dan, very interesting info on your inlet pressure. I do not have a regulator on my machine, and after reading your thread I checked my gage at idle and guess what, between 2 to 6 bar depending on what my well pressure is doing at the time. Needless to say a new regulator and gage is on the way, it will be interesting to note any improvement after it is installed.

Thanks Jim