Once home my first order of business was to take the machine apart. That must be the mechanic in me but I like to know how things are put together. You would be surprised what you can learn by looking under the covers.
The Lusso single group ships with a single basket, double basket, one double spouted portafilter, a stainless steel coffee spoon and a useless plastic tamper. The users manual is rudimentary at best but that is commonplace, a funnel is also provided for filling the boiler. You will need to order a proper tamper with the machine.
The Lusso single group is a relatively compact machine. Unlike many of the popular lever machines, the boiler in the Lusso sits horizontal in the frame. The boiler is also quite large holding 3 liters of water. The owner's manual lists the dimensions as 36cm wide, 23cm high and 28cm deep. That gives the machine a short but wide footprint which makes it very stable. The case is a dark charcoal gray with fine metal flake to add a little bling to the appearance.
On the front of the machine, in the upper left face is the amber heating element light. Below the light is a matching amber illumined rocker switch and under that is a water low light. Dominating the front center of the machine is the spring assisted, actively heated lever group. Yes, I said actively heated. There is a mini thermosyphon system in the group. To the right of the group is the boiler pressure gauge and boiler level sight glass. The sight glass has a red backing stripe in it to make the water level easier to read.
The drip tray cover is a sheet of perforated stainless steel with a very small recess. The holes in the drip tray are relatively small with large spacing between each hole. My limited time with the machine has already shown me that it will hold a lot of water. That drip tray cover lifts off by the front. There is a recessed lip that goes behind the stainless steel backsplash. That prevents water from running out the back of the drip tray and into the internals of the machine.
Under the cover is the removable stainless steel drip tray basin. The basin lifts out of the frame for easy emptying. There is a good half inch clearance between the bottom of the drip basin and the table top. If you were so inclined, it would be easy to drill a small hole and retrofit a small drain line in the basin. The basin holds 16 ounces filled to the very top. If you wish to empty the drip tray without spilling you would be advised not to exceed 10-12 ounces.
The Lusso does have a cup warmer. While limited on space it will easily accommodate two rows of 4 Illy demitasse cups or 4 demi and two 5 ounce cappuccino cups. However, to refill the boiler you must remove the cup warmer. Since there are no handles on the warmer so you must remove any cups before removing the cover to fill the boiler.
Once the cup warmer is removed you have access to the top of the boiler. The boiler fill opening is a short raised tube that is caped with a black plastic screw on cover. The Lusso is supplied with a small funnel that fits into the boiler fill tube. That makes filling the boiler much easier.
To the left of the boiler fill is the emergency pressure release valve and to the left of that is the steam wand fitting. To the right of the boiler fill is the water tap fitting. The control knobs for both the steam and water tap are located on their respective side of the frame. They are basic but effective; both are attached to the control stem with a recessed slotted screw. Make note, there is no vacuum breaker on the boiler. False pressure must be bled off as well as the vacuum released once the boiler cools. This makes the machine less suited to operation on a timer.
To access the pressurestat, level box, level probe, heating element, and high temperature limit breaker, you must remove the outer shell. To remove the shell you must remove both the steam and water tap knobs. Once removed you can tip the machine up on its back for easy access to the bottom mount bolts. The outer two 10mm bolts hold the shell to the frame, the inner two bolts hold the boiler to the frame. Once the two bolts are unscrewed the shell can be removed from the frame.
Once removed, the pressurestat can easily be accessed and adjusted. If you trip the high limit breaker you may need to remove the shell to reset it as well. If you have small bony fingers you may be able to press it from above with the shell on. If you have short ham hock sized hands like me, you will need to remove it.
The Lusso has a level probe and level box, a feature normally found on commercial machines. There is a level probe in the boiler and a rudimentary level control box. If the water level drops to low, the machine will illuminate a low water light and power off the heating element. It would be nice if other manufacturers included a level cutoff. If I had a dollar every time I read a post where someone let the boiler get low and blew a heating element I would have a cabinet full of coffee. That is not an issue with the Lusso. The heating element is mounted at the lowest point in the boiler. The owner's manual shows the element rated at 1000 watts, the sticker on the bottom of the frame lists 1200 watts.
The group is on the Lusso is small. The 45mm portafilter makes the group skinny. I am not sure how the spring and piston are removed from the group. The piston chamber is solid on top so the piston and spring must get removed through the base of the group. The shower screen is not screwed in so it must pry out. There must be some kind of retaining collar above the shower screen. One of the unique features of the Lusso is a small thermosiphon. The group is actively heated via a thermosiphon. The group is not bolted to the boiler but to the front frame of the machine. That prevents the Lusso from overheating like other boiler attached groups. That is also responsible for the extended warm-up time, you must allow the thermosiphon time to do its job and heat the group to operating temperature.
The lever hinge assembly looks a lot like that of the Elektra Microcasa Leva. There is fixed hinge point on the piston shaft and a roller pin that moves as the lever is pulled. The lever is the same length as the Microcasa Leva but appears to be slightly thicker. The lever also feels easier to pull. I have no way of measuring the spring tension, but the lever on the Lusso is noticeably easier to pull than the lever of the Microcasa Leva.
The basket on the Lusso is tiny! The double basket will drop inside the double basket of the Microcasa which will drop inside the double basket of the millennium group LaPavoni, which will drop inside a Faema style 58mm basket. The size is very apparent when you put the tiny little tamper beside a 58mm tamper.
I think that covers the physical build and design of the machine. Tomorrow I start pulling shots.
One last note, the power cord on the Lusso is long, I mean real long. So you want to put the machine on the countertop but the electrical outlet is 6 feet away. The only problem you will have is where to coil the extra power cord. I have to measure it but has to be 8 feet long.
