I can't believe it, I bought a 1.5 year old very lightly used GS3 MP this weekend. I did not really expect to, but I felt it was just too good of a price to pass up. So, I guess I will sell my Duetto II, that has served me so well. I have had 3.5 years of flawlessly reliable daily use from my Duetto, but I am really excited to have the bigger steaming capability of the GS3. I have used it just a few times now, and all seems to be going well. I am excited. I plan to initially just use it with the reservoir for awhile.


I understand, I will have to get used to more TLC and maintenance with the GS3 MP. I have wasted half a day searching old posts on the GS3, and to be honest, I am a little confused.



So since mine was manufactured at the end of 2013, I suspect it has the latest firmware and the upgraded vacuum breaker valve with drain.

(1) I only want to to use it daily in the morning before work. Is it OK to use the "Machine ON" programming for a few hours rather than leave 24/7 on? How long does it need to get up to proper temperature?

(2) Is it really necessary to drain the boilers monthly? If so, is there a picture or video tutorial on how to do this properly?

(3) I understand the electronics are vulnerable due to the location and being unsealed. How often to you need to take the machine apart to inspect for leaks? Does the breaker need to be replaced prophylactically (6 months)? Do the O-rings for the MP too? Or, can you wait for some symptoms to develop then replace/rebuild these.

I apologize for the the basic questions. I am searched out. Thank you in advance for your experience/advice.

wsurfn1426 wrote:(1) I only want to to use it daily in the morning before work. Is it OK to use the "Machine ON" programming for a few hours rather than leave 24/7 on? How long does it need to get up to proper temperature?

(2) Is it really necessary to drain the boilers monthly? If so, is there a picture or video tutorial on how to do this properly?

(3) I understand the electronics are vulnerable due to there location and being unsealed. How often to you need to take the machine apart to inspect for leaks? Does the breaker need to be replaced prophylactically (6 months)? Do the O-rings for the MP too? Or, can you wait for some symptoms to develop then replace/rebuild these.

1.) I would put a machine like the GS/3 on a timer, so I vote yes.

2.) What? I've never heard of draining the boilers monthly.. No, it is not necessary.. the water tank however, does need to be cleaned fairly regularly.

3.) I'm not sure, but I'd assume no.. an actual GS/3 owner could chime in more on this.

wsurfn1426 wrote:...

Congrats!

1. If you will only pull shots in the morning, program the machine's internal timer to come on 1 hour before you plan on pulling the first shot. If running in full power mode both boilers will be up to temp in about 18 minutes, with the brew boiler taking the longest. Can't give you a figure on running in half power mode as I never timed mined power up while only using ~10 amps.

2. I know the manual calls for the boilers to be drained monthly, but I test the water coming in and coming out. The only difference I ever see is a slight rise in the pH on the steam boiler, which makes sense since you are venting out pure h2o in the form of steam. Because it's on the alkaline side, no harm in having a higher pH, though the water does get to tasting a little flat, so if you plan on using the steam boiler water for Americanos you might want to drain more often or pull a lot of water out to the steam boiler to replenish it with fresh lower pH water.

3. I open mine up every few months (just pull the side panels, which takes all of about 20 seconds total for both sides). The leaks you are talking about were on very early models, and it sounds like yours at only 1.5 years old is the much newer design with newer seals. No need to replace the vacuum breaker as it's completely rebuildable. The only thing that wears is the O-ring. I replaced mine at 8 months along with the Teflon seat, though that was totally unnecessary, so I won't next time. The O-ring is about $1.40, and the entire job is about as easy as you'd expect. If you can change oil in a car, you can rebuild the vacuum breaker. The group head's seals last much longer, or at least mine are. I've heard of some going 3 years before being replaced (signs of wear are a drip out the group head with the paddle in the off position), so my 15 months might have quite a bit of life yet. Only time will tell. Portafilter gaskets need to be replaced about every ~6 months, unless you have the silicone Cafelat's, which I highly recommend. You should get years out of those.

Unlike open reservoirs, the GS/3's (and I'm sure the Linea Mini's) is enclosed, so you never get the film build up like you do in the open reservoirs, provided you are only using good water. I only put good water in my machine, and I've never needed to clean the reservoir. It's still squeaky clean. If when you take the lid off you can smell anything, the previous owner used poor water.

Post #5 on Dan's review covers the changes nicely.

Cheers!

Thank you for posting Merle. That helped a lot.

Are you in Austin?

Because I am not in the market for a GS3 either, but I was about to take a road trip yesterday.

Congrats

I program mine to come on every morning. If using 'half' power, allow about an hour and 1/2 for the coffee boiler and steam boiler to be at the required temp (which also allows plenty of time for an idle portafilter to be heated as well).

Enjoy!

I'm the guy from Austin who just got a similar deal. I love it!

The only issue I have had is the group gasket is too thick, and under pressure the PF will literally back out and fall out. (It's messy.) I have replaced the gasket, same issue. I also tried the thinner gasket as well as the silicon gasket. Both the thinner one and the silicon one allow the shower screen to flop around. Evidently the shower screen seats against the gasket, and the thinner gaskets are not thick enough. Is there a shorter screw? Some other solution?