Search found 755 matches

by hbuchtel
May 29th, 2019, 8:11 pm
Forum: Blog
Replies: 77
Views: 20629

Comments on Decent Espresso DE1+ Review

Thanks John for the review! I'm interested in how much electricity the Decent uses. Do you have a way of measuring or calculating that?
by hbuchtel
July 17th, 2016, 12:34 pm
Forum: Espresso Machines
Replies: 110
Views: 9870

Astoria Argenta SAE-1J

They could try unscrewing one of the pressure valves on top of the boiler and peering inside with a flashlight
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by hbuchtel
July 12th, 2016, 9:27 pm
Forum: Espresso Machines
Replies: 110
Views: 9870

Astoria Argenta SAE-1J

Nice, I've got one as well, branded as Laurentis. Chert is correct - the gauge shows brew pressure and boiler pressure. These things are tanks, and are easy to buy parts for. I believe the OEM is called CMA, and they are branded as Astoria, Laurentis, and Rio machines
by hbuchtel
January 18th, 2016, 12:18 am
Forum: Lever Espresso Machines
Replies: 11
Views: 429

Caravel - coffee fines in boiler

Do you happen to know which generation of Caravel you own? I know that the later models feature a valve built into the piston which should prevent this from happening, but going from memory I believe that the first generation models did not have this feature, so if you have one of these and you are ...
by hbuchtel
December 22nd, 2013, 10:56 pm
Forum: Repairs, Restorations & Mods
Replies: 53
Views: 2015

Late Model Caravel Thermostat: Vestigial? Fixable? Replaceable?

I don't think that gor's idea of how it is working and mine are contradictory: the difference is that gor described how the various elements interact once the mass of water is already near boiling, while I described how they interact when the machine is warming up. There is a great amount of heat be...
by hbuchtel
December 22nd, 2013, 6:08 pm
Forum: Repairs, Restorations & Mods
Replies: 53
Views: 2015

Late Model Caravel Thermostat: Vestigial? Fixable? Replaceable?

Continuing my little thought experiment above, I do think that the late-model thermostat would be able to keep the water at a constant brew-temp if left on for hours--it is just that it has a hard time getting the temp up high enough right from the get go. IIRC (my Caravels are in another country ri...
by hbuchtel
December 22nd, 2013, 12:59 pm
Forum: Repairs, Restorations & Mods
Replies: 53
Views: 2015

Late Model Caravel Thermostat: Vestigial? Fixable? Replaceable?

I agree that it is a thermostat (I have the same model, and remember puzzling over it as well). A slightly different hypothesis for the water temp problems: the thermostat only knows how hot it is in its particular location on the interior wall, separated from the water by the kettle wall, heating e...
by hbuchtel
October 8th, 2013, 11:26 am
Forum: Cafes and Get-togethers
Replies: 38
Views: 5598

Alpha Dominche STEAMPUNK Brewer in Cafes

What a coincidence, I opened this thread just to post a photo of the Steampunk and Modbar at the new Glassbox here in Ann Arbor! {image} A quiet morning at Glassbox Coffee I usually get espresso there, but last time I went I tried the (Roseline) Kenya on the Steampunk. Very very clean cup that was a...
by hbuchtel
October 8th, 2013, 10:44 am
Forum: Lever Espresso Machines
Replies: 20
Views: 1344

Boni Little (Caravel type): How to remove piston?

+1 It looks like removing that small rod or pin that goes from front to back at the top of the piston chamber is essential. In the photo below (from Francesco's site linked above) you can see that the rod was removed: {link} Take a look at "this post", where we can see how to take out
by hbuchtel
May 20th, 2012, 9:11 am
Forum: Grinders
Replies: 292
Views: 44854

Pharos - Removing Grounds (voodoodaddy mod)

Wow . . . ok, I want that