Nuova Simonelli Appia II Compact innards
-
wearashirt
- Posts: 228
- Joined: 10 years ago
Hi everyone!
Posting here some internals of the Nuova Simonelli Appia II Compact. For everyone's perusal. The backmost copper tubes enter the grouphead, and the copper tubes in front of it seem to be the thermosiphon return water. (Check the hydraulic plan available in the NS website). The grouphead is just this silver rugged metal material, that's visibly smaller than the smooth copper-colored grouphead of the Aurelia, in various tear-down videos online.
I very quickly and recently changed opinions about HX vs DB machines, favoring the former because I only realized now that HX machines don't let brew water touch the heating element. It just gets charged with heat, then it's on its way towards the brew group. Furthermore, it's less expensive and consumes less energy. (I believe it's a watts per liter index). I do recognize the copper vs stainless steel differences in espresso taste, though I've never compared. Hopefully it will not be a major issue.
Maybe someday I'll get a DB machine, maybe I won't, or maybe I'll upgrade the grinder first. Whatever goes in the business!
In the recent expo here, I pulled shots of my own beans on it, and it was good. A CAVEAT HOWEVER, is that the machine claims Soft Infusion System (SIS), but the moment I pressed the shot actuator, espresso flows within 1-second. I will give further feed back on whether Appia II really does have SIS, once I bring it home and then to my shop. Because my junior machine is a Breville 870XL with a modded grinder, and it does have pre-infusion which is wonderful. (Also group-attached pressure gauge, even more wonderful).
More on pulling shots:
Since it's a single, external rotary pump, in my testing, I learned that it was best to actuate the groups individually. Here's a little table of what happens -->
Methodology: testing without coffee or blanks, reading the boiler/pump gauge, fed from water reservoir
Results:
Group 1 only (9 BAR)
Group 2 only (9 BAR)
Group 1/Group 2 staggered (6BAR then compensate to 9 BAR)
Group 1/Group 2 simultaneous (6 BAR ONLY NO COMPENSATION....)
Espresso too fine (10-11 BAR)
It's gonna be my first pro machine in my first espresso booth. Wish me luck! Fill you guys in with more pics soon, because the web info is scarce of Appia II compact reviews, how-to-dos, and internal photos.
Posting here some internals of the Nuova Simonelli Appia II Compact. For everyone's perusal. The backmost copper tubes enter the grouphead, and the copper tubes in front of it seem to be the thermosiphon return water. (Check the hydraulic plan available in the NS website). The grouphead is just this silver rugged metal material, that's visibly smaller than the smooth copper-colored grouphead of the Aurelia, in various tear-down videos online.
I very quickly and recently changed opinions about HX vs DB machines, favoring the former because I only realized now that HX machines don't let brew water touch the heating element. It just gets charged with heat, then it's on its way towards the brew group. Furthermore, it's less expensive and consumes less energy. (I believe it's a watts per liter index). I do recognize the copper vs stainless steel differences in espresso taste, though I've never compared. Hopefully it will not be a major issue.
Maybe someday I'll get a DB machine, maybe I won't, or maybe I'll upgrade the grinder first. Whatever goes in the business!
In the recent expo here, I pulled shots of my own beans on it, and it was good. A CAVEAT HOWEVER, is that the machine claims Soft Infusion System (SIS), but the moment I pressed the shot actuator, espresso flows within 1-second. I will give further feed back on whether Appia II really does have SIS, once I bring it home and then to my shop. Because my junior machine is a Breville 870XL with a modded grinder, and it does have pre-infusion which is wonderful. (Also group-attached pressure gauge, even more wonderful).
More on pulling shots:
Since it's a single, external rotary pump, in my testing, I learned that it was best to actuate the groups individually. Here's a little table of what happens -->
Methodology: testing without coffee or blanks, reading the boiler/pump gauge, fed from water reservoir
Results:
Group 1 only (9 BAR)
Group 2 only (9 BAR)
Group 1/Group 2 staggered (6BAR then compensate to 9 BAR)
Group 1/Group 2 simultaneous (6 BAR ONLY NO COMPENSATION....)
Espresso too fine (10-11 BAR)
It's gonna be my first pro machine in my first espresso booth. Wish me luck! Fill you guys in with more pics soon, because the web info is scarce of Appia II compact reviews, how-to-dos, and internal photos.
