Fiorenzato Bricoletta, steam tips and insulating boiler

[miKe mcKoffee]

Insulated the boiler yesterday using the 1" ceramic fiber blanket others have used, left the ends uncovered. With stock Mater pstat set 1-1.2bar idle cycle time went from 85-90sec to 120-125sec, 33% or so gain. May or may not later insulate the ends.

Today the 2-hole steam tip arrived from EPNW (to compare with Gold Pro from 1st-Line which I've been using) Haven't steamed any milk with it yet just compared simulating with 3oz cold water. About the same time as Gold Pro but different pattern. Will obviously need to play with some real milk. Both the boiler kicks on at first and will go back off, taking about 35sec to 140F and shutoff (for carry).

For the heck of it put the 4-hole that came with the Bric back on. I only had it on part of the first day and IIRC the boiler pressure would drop rather than rise with it. Well, heated 3oz cold water and boiler pressure initially dropped (normal for all tips) and then rose very slowly and never went off before finishing heating water to 140F and mucho faster about 20sec. Ok, got a larger pitcher and tried 6oz cold water. Still just rose very slowly and was at about 1.05bar when I shutoff at the same 140F temp and same 35sec time as with 3oz and either of those two hole tips. Looks like the 4-hole now is the perfect match for the Bric's power, I'll just have to learn to tame it!

[mrosco]

This may be a stupid question but.....did you insulate the boiler primarily for performance enhancements or energy savings or both? I recall a conversation with Jim at 1st-line when I bought the machine that air flow could be impacted by insulating the boiler and potentially harm the "brain". I don't remember exactly what was said or the context of the conversation but what I left with was the designer of the machine knows what they are doing (which is far more than I can say for myself!). Am I taking the conversation out of context or is there some validity to this? On a side note, do you use a timer with your machine. I have yet to purchase a surge protector and timer for mine. There doesn't seem to be a good 20A timer/surge protector that fits well together and much of what I'm finding is way more than I need. Right now I turn my machine on before I go to bed so it's nice and hot when I wake up. I'll let you know how much my electricity bill goes up

I'm anxiously awaiting the results of the "MONSTER BRIC PROJECT" to see what enhancements Chris comes up with!

[miKe mcKoffee]

Both. Energy savings and to see what if any performance benefit there would be. Performance wise too early to really tell. FWIW I'm not the first to insulate my Bric's boiler. To allay the concerns expressed by Jim I believe the important thing is not to cover any controls or lines. I don't see how lowering overall temperature reaching "the brain" could damage it.

Timer wise yeah, 20A 110V timers are hard to find but Google and you'll come up with some options. That said I'm running mine on an X10 15A appliance module. (been using X10 stuff for a long time) Been using it a couple weeks with only one "gotcha". If the boiler heater happens to be cycled on when the time to turn off hits it won't. My solution is to have two off times staggered 1min apart. Yeah I know the module is rated 15A and the Bric' more, but that's when everything running on the Bric'. The module does not get even warm to the touch. Unlike some applications I've used them really pushing them long periods. I've been using these X10 modules for over a decade, running just under 40A worth of Christmas light display off multiple of them! (and gone on vacation light/TV/radio scenarios etc) Oh, I'm not nor do I plan on using a surge protector.

When I got my Bric' I said I was going to wait for the "Monster Bricoletta" project before making any modifications. And I'm waiting. So I've replaced the vacuum breaker, insulated the boiler, and a CEME pstat arrived yesterday yet to be installed. But I really am waiting before making any modifications!