Cimbali Jr = sour everytime, why? - Page 3

[HB]

I'm glad to see this come to a happy and cost-free conclusion. I would like to capture what you've learned to improve the Performance section of the buyer's guide. The excerpt below explains the routine I used:

To summarize the early-morning startup routine: Big Flush, pause three minutes, Double (flush), pause one minute, Mini Flush, pause one minute, Mini Flush, pause one minute, Mini Flush, pull your shot. Precisely following the suggested pause times to the second are not critically important and I integrated this into my normal preparation routine of gathering cups, cleaning out the grinder, measuring beans, and so on.
...

Keep in mind that the above suggestions are for those who really, really want to squeak the best shot from Junior straight out of the gate. If you're a "keep it simple" sort of person, the abbreviated routine after five or more minutes of idle time is just one step: Press Big Flush. There's no need to wait more than few seconds for the temperature to rebound before beginning the extraction. After the flush, lock in and press Double for a metered shot, or the Free Pour button to start the pump and a second time to stop.

Did you try this and it didn't work for you? Or does what you figured out work better?

[SamuraiE]

Yes, I tried your routine way back when....

....on my machine the 1 min pauses you suggest just bring the temp back down to the 88-91 C range (in the cup). I remember reading on another forum about a guy with a big HX (Wega) who just finished inserting a temp gauge into his grouphead and he said the info he gleaned made him realize that he needed warming up flushes and not cooling flushes. I think that is exactly what is happening with my machine....any idle period is bringing the group temp way down and the quick 60 ml flushes at short intervals are the only way to bring it back up to a really perfect brew temp.

After last night's victory...I began playing with machine again today...I've found that the lowest boiler setting that will still give me about 94 C in the cup is 1.2 bar (anything under that and I can't get a temp over 91.5 C. I have decided to go with that and have set the group pressure at 10 bar....today's shot was very, very smooth....the smoothest ever.

[HB]

Thanks for the epilogue, though it still makes no sense to me. The Junior that I evaluated would be running very hot at 1.2 bar, too hot for most blends I use, and would take minutes for the grouphead to cool down one degree, not seconds. Maybe it's differences in temperature measurement techniques, ambient room temperature, or blend choices that accounts for it, I don't know (*). Anyway, all that matters is what's in the cup, and that we can finally close the book on The Mysteriously Sour Second Shot. Whew!

(*) Well, I do have one theory that would explain the difference and it's mechanical in nature, but let's not go there. It works, right? Time to move on. Oh, by the way, reading your "I DID IT" whoop-fest on CG, I didn't notice any mention of others who may have helped out, if just a teenie-tiny bit. Did you forget in all the excitement... ?

[SamuraiE]

Dan, seems like most of the guys at the 'other forum' also jog over here, too (everyone I know reads both)....that's why I didn't mention names...sorry....And I have mentioned this site and the great advice in other posts. Do you really read that thread? Man, you guys are bored! Thanks to all...and to all a good night.

[bigjp]

Oh, by the way, reading your "I DID IT" whoop-fest on CG, I didn't notice any mention of others who may have helped out, if just a teenie-tiny bit. Did you forget in all the excitement... ?

Whoa! Our little thread really does get read by the BIG guys....Dan, I'm blushing here. Partly because you actually read the thread and mostly because I said so many stupid things.