Buyer's Guide to the Elektra Microcasa Semiautomatica - Page 2

[another_jim]

A couple of follow up notes; first the good news, then the bad:

Doubles: In the review I said that the singles were spectacular, while the doubles were roughly the same as E61 machines. In the meantime, I've gotten better with doubles too. The trick is to dose the E61 style basket it comes with with only 14 grams, rather than the 18 or so one gets using normal dosing methods. At first, you'll need a 1/10 gram scale to get it right, since theirs no real landmark on the basket for dosing.

Pstat Woes Many recent buyers, perhaps even most, have experienced sticky pstats which fail to turn off properly (or sometimes at all). The Mater brand pstats have a prior history of having this problem en masse; possibly due to a production defect in their plant. My advice is to replace these with Ceme pstats. I've done this, and it works better. If you do get the sticky mater, you can turn the stat off by rapping the machine's base with your fist on the left side, close to where the pipe with the HX water enters the boiler. Obviously, this is just to get the heat off, it's not a fix. I've posted instructions on how to make the switch in this thread.

[howard seth]

Jim,

Thanks for the update.

However, the 'how to replace the Mater with the Ceme stat' instructions are not easy for me to understand. What is COM and NC?

Is it at all possible to show an illustration? If I felt I would not screw it up - I would replace that sticky Mater stat. (I really do like this machine otherwise)

By the way - after descaling my Semi last night - the pressurestat seemed to behave this morning - but I have the feeling it will act up again....

Howard

[another_jim]

However, the 'how to replace the Mater with the Ceme stat' instructions are not easy for me to understand. What is COM and NC?

In general, I don't encourage people who have no experience fixing things around the house from doing machine repairs; but I guess everyone has to start someplace.

There are two wires with slide on connectors hooked to two of three tongue-like connectors on a pstat. the ones you want are labelled COM (common) and NC (normally closed), the one you don't want is labelled NO (normally open).

0. unplug the machine, allow it to cool, and empty the water tank
1. remove the driptray, remove the Philips screw you see under the tray, put it on a box somewhere. Lay the machine down with the black plastic base towards you, and pull off the base (you may need to use a screwdriver or knife blade to lever it off, it fits snugly. You will see the innards of the machine displayed.
2. The Mater Pstat is a black cylinder with a small box attached, and two wires attached. It is mounted on an l-shaped pipe going into the boiler and is aligned horizontally. It is **not** the box connected to the flex hose from the pump; that's the boiler fill solenoid. See the pic in the review.
3. Have a rag or sponge handy. Use two spanners to open the fitting screw between the pipe and the pstat. Take off the pstat, wipe any water that leaks out. Then ease off the two wires.
4. Take off the little cap with the paint mark on the Ceme, and give the set screw a half clockwise turn (towards the minus sign embossed in the case)
5 Attach the two wires to the Ceme, COM and NC (which wire goes where is not important), and use the spanners to reattach it to the pipe.
6. Put the machine upright, add no water to the tank, don't put on the plastic base, and fire it up.
7. When it reaches the right pressure range, and if the pstat isn't switching off at the right place, unplug the machine, tip it holding the base and tank, and adjust the setting screw about 1/6th turn in the right direction, fire it up and check if it's right. Repeat until you have it properly adjusted. The Ceme has a .2 bar deadband, so ideally have it turn on at the bottom fo the green zone, and turn off at the top.
8. Put the base back, fill the tank, and fire it up.

If you don't feel confident doing this, give the instructions to someone who does this sort of stuff, it's not a tough job.

Now you owe me a good lunch

[howard seth]

Thanks for the details....on the 'pressurestat switch'. (Now I have to find someone who does this sort of stuff.)

Howard

[harris]

Jim,

Has your rating for doubles changed with more time under your belt? ("Score is 9.25 for singles, 8.5 for doubles")

Also, has the drip tray become a non-issue or a bigger pain in the butt during your ownership?

I am on the edge of purchase ..... so any additional thoughts that might help would be appreciated.

h

[another_jim]

Has your rating for doubles changed with more time under your belt? ("Score is 9.25 for singles, 8.5 for doubles")

Yeah. It turns out the relatively low doubles score is because shot quality suffers a lot if the puck expands into the shower screen. The singles basket takes 11 grams before that happens, while the double starts touching at 17. The doubles are much better up to 16.5 grams. If you like larger doses, move to a triple basket.

Also, has the drip tray become a non-issue or a bigger pain in the butt during your ownership?

Sometimes three vices make one virtue. The group needs a short flush, the cups need to be warmed and the drip tray needs to stay dry; so if you flush into the cups, they are warm, the drip tray's dry, and the group is happy. I empty the drip tray once a day, it takes roughly 10 shots of 3 way discharge to overflow it. I'm not quite sure if this is a sparely elegant solution or just a work around.

[Rjob749]

I have a Leva and just got my semiautomatica in UPS.

I filled the boiler per instruction and the on light indicates, but it seems to not heat at all. Any ideas?

I know you said it takes about 45 minutes to heat, I have waited well beyond that. Bummer, hope it works.

[howard seth]

When I received my demo Semiautomatica from 1st line about 14 months ago - I had a similiar experience - it would not heat up and I thought I had a broken machine. Not so.

It turns out the heating element needed to be reset. Perhaps this is your issue. I would check with your supplier first - but I was told to remove the little yellow cap located on the underside of the machine - and push a reset button inside. Make sure to unplug first and get the water out of reservoir because you have to carefully lay the machine on its side to get at the bottom. It worked from then on - the heat has been good the last 14 months. ( now the 'sticky pressurestat potential' is what I worry about.)

You would think you would be warned about the need to reset - but anyway - I hope that is your problem - as it is easily fixed.


Howard

[Rjob749]

When I received my demo Semiautomatica from 1st line about 14 months ago - I had a similiar experience - it would not heat up and I thought I had a broken machine. Not so.

It turns out the heating element needed to be reset. You would think you would be warned about the need to reset - but anyway - I hope that is your problem - as it is easily fixed.
Howard

Howard,

Thank you for picking up on my post. I was hoping it was something like this, I'll wait until the supplier opens this AM and give them a call. The machine has power so it definitely is not getting power to the boiler and your solution sounds like it should work, I had given a cursory look to a reset button.

All of the pumps operate mormally as well. I'll suffer along this AM with my espresso from the 9 year old Leva which is working well. Roger

[Rjob749]

Well, as you can imagine I couldn't reisist the temptation to pop the little yellow cap as it made all the sense in the world it would be a reset button.

Howard, you are "the man". Two thumbs up. We are heating up as we speak.

Thank you again for your assistance. Roger

[HB]

...split from the Lever Espresso Machines Smackdown...

honestly, we espresso drinkers cannot even be 100% sure that this brew temperature control is all that important to the excellence of taste in the cup ( -> Semiautomatica review).

As an interesting side note, I bought an Elektra Semiautomatica a couple months back. It came from the factory with a higher pressurestat setting than Jim's and requires a longer flush; measurements using a Scace II show it has a nearly flat temperature profile, not the high hump Jim reported. I assume it's a difference in usage because my other espresso machine (La Valentina) does the same thing, i.e., low(ish) pressurestat setting > longer rebound > higher hump, high(er) pressurestat setting > very short rebound > very small hump.

[Fullsack]

Pardon the off topic comment...


As an interesting side note, I bought an Elektra Semiautomatica a couple months back. It came from the factory with a higher pressurestat setting than Jim's and requires a longer flush; measurements using a Scace II show it has a nearly flat temperature profile, not the high hump Jim reported. I assume it's a difference in usage because my other espresso machine (La Valentina) does the same thing, i.e., low(ish) pressurestat setting > longer rebound > higher hump, high(er) pressurestat setting > very short rebound > very small hump.

The sweet spot setting on my Semi is set where the heating element kicks off right as the needle hits the bottom edge of the green zone. I think I got that setting from Jim and that he adjusted to there, down from the original factory setting.

[CoffeeOwl]

Pardon the off topic comment...


As an interesting side note, I bought an Elektra Semiautomatica a couple months back. It came from the factory with a higher pressurestat setting than Jim's and requires a longer flush; measurements using a Scace II show it has a nearly flat temperature profile, not the high hump Jim reported. I assume it's a difference in usage because my other espresso machine (La Valentina) does the same thing, i.e., low(ish) pressurestat setting > longer rebound > higher hump, high(er) pressurestat setting > very short rebound > very small hump.

Wow! Now you should have a get-together for superior-taste battle.
OK, more seriously - is the temp manageable with some hx-water-dance magic? (what will the lever guys do to us for these off-topic comments..?)

[CoffeeOwl]

I don't understand why the singles would brew under much larger pressure then doubles due to the lack of OPV on the machine. I know it's probably a stupid question and shame that I don't understand that, but anyway... so please I welcome anybody's explanation, Thanks!

[HB]

I don't understand why the singles would brew under much larger pressure then doubles due to the lack of OPV on the machine.

Because a vibe pump's actual brew pressure is inversely related to the flow rate:



Faster flow, lower pressure, slower flow, higher pressure. An over-pressure compensates by allowing some water to escape when the flow is slow, effectively creating a max pressure line in the chart above. Jim's diagram shows how this works:


From Vibe pump's OPV (over-pressure valves) explained

I've measured the Semiautomatica's brew pressure with a Scace II thermofilter at 9.3 bar. The thermofilter flow rate simulates that of a double espresso. Sorry I haven't attempted to simulate a single espresso flow (e.g., with a needle valve), so I don't know the Semiautomatica's brew pressure under those conditions.

[HB]

OK, more seriously - is the temp manageable with some hx-water-dance magic?

Brew temperature management of the Elektra Semiautomatica is trivial. It has no thermal memory -- nada. I cannot think of an HX espresso machine that is easier when it comes to temperature management (the Elektra A3 comes close). The flush and go method works perfectly -- no fuss, no muss. The Semiautomatica isn't without its quirks: Laughably small drip tray, very sensitive to updosing, demands meticulous cleaning. Jim covers the details in his very well-written review.

[CoffeeOwl]

Dan, thank you sincerely very very much!
Now I undesrtand.

With regard to Semiautomatioca's motorcycle quirks, of course I have read all the Buyer's Guide to Semiautomatica and I tend to accept it - as I am going to not use it very much on daily basis... (my Vivaldi singles are excellent )
OK, so it looks like Motorcycle first, then a lever for the sake of the hand-down approach.
No no no no. Lever first.

[Fullsack]

Brew temperature management of the Elektra Semiautomatica is trivial. It has no thermal memory -- nada. I cannot think of an HX espresso machine that is easier when it comes to temperature management (the Elektra A3 comes close). The flush and go method works perfectly -- no fuss, no muss. The Semiautomatica isn't without its quirks: Laughably small drip tray, very sensitive to updosing, demands meticulous cleaning. Jim covers the details in his very well-written review.

I believe Jim recommended a 12 second flush, (couldn't find that post). I am getting better results with a 6 second flush. It could be because of a difference pstat settings or that I am using a coffee that gives better results with a higher temp.

[another_jim]

I flush two to five seconds (depending on blend) past the point the boiling stops. The boil on mine stops at around 4 to 5 seconds. I think there may be some thermal memory, or at at least a walk up effect, since the second shot is generally better than the first. I now flush till the end of the boil while I'm grinding, and the extra few seconds as I put in the PF. However, I'm not entirely sure that this tweak makes for a big improvement.

[another_jim]

Some more wrap up thoughts on the Semi:

I've been disappointed with the largish number of pstat and other minor failures that have been reported. Either the machine is selling like hot cakes, or it is buggier than the other HX machines. I think the latter is the case, which means that like many Italian manufacturers, Elektra may be shooting itself in the foot with poor QC (although Williams Sonoma still lists the machine and grinder at a hefty premium over our vendors).

Despite that, I bought a second one No, I'm not crazy; here's why.

-- For the Titan grinder project I got two identical PIDed and OPVed Silvias to use as an espresso lab. These are 800 watt machines, and with the mods, can be adjusted to produce identical shots; in other words, they make the perfect home two group espresso lab ... or so I thought.

-- Turns out while the Silvia's shots are very tasty, in flavor terms they are like looking down the wrong end of a telescope. What's easy to tell apart on an E61 is hard to tell apart on a Silvia. The Semi turned out to be the real telescope, the shots were very easy to tell apart (although sometimes this produced decidedly less than tasty shots).

-- So when it came time to do the "Beat the Robur" series, I ended up mothballing the Silvias and pulling successive shots on the Semi.

It dawned on me that the Semi also runs at only 800 watts, and so will also make a perfectly good two group home test machine. Varying pressure or temperature are out; but that is a league for high tech types, and I can't really compete in it anymore. So in future, I'll do coffee, roasting, and grinding experiments with the prettiest (detached) two grouper on the planet.

I'm not sure if Dan ever did a shootout between the A3 and the Semi; if he did, I'd be interested to hear the result.