Isomac Mondiale - Advice & help

[rudedude]

Hi,

Relatively new to this board and seeking advice and help on a new machine step up from my dead Rancilio Silvia. The look of the Isomac Mondiale has captured my eye (my wife). Reviews/info on the machine are scarce, so hoping this post will generate some feedback advice and opinions.

1st-line is now unpacking the first shipment of Mondiales. I made a mockup of the size from cardboard and was a bit taken back when I placed it on my counter. Is this thing really that big of a beast? I used the following measurements to make my box:

16.75 inch high
13.25 inch wide
19 inch deep + 4 inch more for portafilter handle for 23 inch total depth.

Can anyone tell me the dimension from the back of the machine to the front of the "face" of the machine. The 'face' being the flat surface where the wands and gages are etc? What is the dimension of the drip tray and how high up is it from the bottom please??

It looks like it will fit it on my counter and under the cabinet (no cup space), but looks like it takes up the majority of space, is it difficult to work around? Does the portafilter handle and steam wand jut out and get annoying to work around when doing other things in kitchen? It will be right next to my stove top, not that other machines are that much smaller only an inch or two here and there, but what is your experience please? The smallest I've found is the Salvatore Machine, but looks more boring from the pictures of it. Any thoughts on how the two compare?

Also, can anyone tell me about the noise level of Rancilio Silvia Vs. Mondiale vibe Vs Mondiale Rotary or Salvatore? I've only ever had the Rancilio Silvia, I've had friends comment how loud the Rancilio machine is. I only noticed when I was trying to make a drink when my family was sleeping, it seemed too loud then. I wonder if mounting and internal insulation construction of these larger machines make a significant noise dampening effect on vibe pumps? I just don't want to regret getting a vibe pump. Can you draw any comparisons for me?

Any other comments or feelings, regrets? Your help and advice is really appreciated if I didn't love the pictures of this machine, I'd definitely move on, but it looks gorgeous! Other machines I should look to?

Thanks again!

[HB]

1st-line is now unpacking the first shipment of Mondiales. I made a mockup of the size from cardboard and was a bit taken back when I placed it on my counter. Is this thing really that big of a beast?

Yes. See Isomac Mondiale dimensions.

Can anyone tell me the dimension from the back of the machine to the front of the "face" of the machine. The 'face' being the flat surface where the wands and gages are etc? What is the dimension of the drip tray and how high up is it from the bottom please??

I'll defer to David Morris (beta14ok) since he has one in his kitchen...

Also, can anyone tell me about the noise level of Rancilio Silvia Vs. Mondiale vibe Vs Mondiale Rotary or Salvatore?

David's is the rotary model pump and it's very quiet. It's hard to generalize about vibratory pump noise levels because the reverberation of the casing and components is responsible for most of the noise, not the pump itself. There's even variation in noise levels from machine-to-machine of the same model that may trace to a slightly different routing of some tubing. Eliminating all the noise from sympathetic vibration in my machine wasn't easy. Ultimately I decided to just "outboard" the pump to beneath the cabinet; now it's as quiet as most rotary pump machines. It's possible that the Mondiale vibratory pump model will be quieter than your Silvia, but given the large interior space devoid of sound absorbing materials and fancy casing, I wouldn't bet on it.

[beta14ok]

Can anyone tell me the dimension from the back of the machine to the front of the "face" of the machine. The 'face' being the flat surface where the wands and gages are etc? What is the dimension of the drip tray and how high up is it from the bottom please??

dimension from the back of the machine to the front of the "face" of the machine = 11.5 inches

What is the dimension of the drip tray and how high up is it from the bottom please??

dimension of the drip tray = 7 inches deep and 10 inches wide. It has a nice elegant curve, so the depth dimensions is max, on-center, under the portafilter
how high up is it from the bottom = the drain fitting is ~ 2 inches above the counter-top. The front lip (on-center) is 3.5 inches above the counter-top. These dimensions allow for a grade which funnels liquids out the drain. I have never had drain flow problems once I switched to 5/16 inch I.D. drain tubing. I have the front lip of the drain tray flush with the edge of my counter....which still leaves some nice space for a wet bar-towel on the counter under the tray for wiping the steam-wand.

tell me about the noise level of Rancilio Silvia Vs. Mondiale Rotary

I've owned 3 espresso machines....so I can only speak about Mondiale in comparison to those:
1) A Krups steam toy which was returned to the department store, for a full refund, from whence some family member purchased it as a gift....and unwittingly started me on the path of espresso enlightenment......I am grateful!
2) A Rancilio Silvia which I sold shortly after I bought the Isomac Mondiale. Wonderful machine. Very robust, but required me to use my feeble brain far too much to "get-it-right" for great espresso shots. Also, the heat-up-cool-down for milk-based drinks was a pain! I prefer lattes after dinner
3) The Isomac Mondiale which is my current machine...and will continue to be, until I have the "space" and the "green" to score one of Kees van der Westen's beautiful machines....I just love the SciFi look of his machines....wonderful eye candy.....oops sorry....dreaming again....

The Mondiale rotary is the quietest of the three. Except for the brief, frightening sound that it makes when the boiler auto-fills. That doesn't happen very often in normal use thanks to a large boiler. But the normal espresso pulling sounds are much quieter than Silvia. If I ever have my own place again, I will probably remove the rotary pump and locate it remote from the main chassis, to make it even quieter. Truth is....the grinder will probably always be the weakest-link in the pursuit of a quiet kitchen!

I still love Mondiale. I make very good espresso, easy very day.....If I pay attention to what I'm doing, I can make great espresso....and I love the direct plumb water feed and drain! and all of the other stuff I already talked about (see the hyperlinks above in Dan's response).

Regards,
dmm