This topic is already smeared all over the planet, but I find it more interesting that way. Life is messy, right? I keep hearing Vaclav Smil:

"I can make it more coherent, but if I do, then it becomes prescriptive. And prescriptions don't work, because I don't have the answer. I cannot say, do such and such for 30 years and then suddenly we will all live happily ever after (he is talking about the march of technology and how it impacts economies and the environment). Life is messy, so I am deliberately uncoordinated because you never know what pattern will emerge."

OK, dialing in the Pharos has not been easy... the mechanical component of dialing it in is child's play; but the waiting while your body tries to get rid of the excessive amount of caffeine in your system, well, that's quite a challenge. I think I've watched every dvd in my collection like 10 times

Getting much more crema with something from Sweet Maria's called Liquid Amber that is now over a day post roast.... and tonight I'll try some Moka Kadir? that I roasted last night, also from same place. I'm not seeing as much crema as I see on youtube videos, but I think that may be because I'm not monitoring the group head temp yet (thermocouple is in the mail). For you gurus out there, from flicking a pstat machine to 'on' , about how much time do you let lapse during a full cold shutdown until you get the correct grouphead temp to draw a good pull? I'm winging it on temp, but even with my pro's 16 cup capacity, I"m using enough water through the grouphead to draw only about 2 or 3 pulls before having to refill the reservoir, which sounds like I'm using way too much water. The trouble is, prior to getting the Europiccola, I've never really been into straight shots, just the milk drinks. But now, I've been sipping the dainty cups of espresso straight to try to develop more direct taste sense on these pulls. I'll let you know how I'm doing soon as I stop climbing the walls. Really interesting super smoky aftertastes... hmmmm, I think I like it! My pulls are getting better slowly, near 25-30 seconds or thereabouts. At the very beginning of the pull I don't see any drops coming out the bottom, though (but I'm using a standard portafilter, not a naked one); is this an indication of too fine a grind? I haven't choked one yet, working my way up a tad finer at a time and feels like I'm right on the line at the very start of the pull but as I get lower feels a touch loose. Is your lever pressure constant? I notice I tend to put more pressure at the very start and then back off slowly or the pull goes too fast near the end.

It took me about an hour to rebuild the grouphead when my gasket kit came in yesterday; pretty straightforward and boy was it dirty! But since then, I've noticed much more consistent pressure and a longer, slower pull (probably the piston seals were letting too much pressure seep by). However, near the end, about 2/3 of the way down, the lever sometimes stutters ever so slightly, a light catch/release... not bad, just a slight vibration that is over quickly. Its not pressure related, feels more like a rough spot that will work its way out eventually. Is this a sign my plastic sleeve needs replacing? I have not yet given up on the idea of making my own brass or phosphor bronze sleeve, by the way. Also, my brass stock for my piston has arrived and I plan on making one soon, but have to order the metric taps first. Excuse me, I have to go run 50 miles. Be right back.

Hi Walt,

It seems you are flushing too much water for cleaning/warming purposes. You should be able to brew and steam 6-7 cups with 1.6L boiler 3/4 full easily.

I don't think you need to worry about warming the machine. You only need half pumps to raise the group temperatures. You don't need to take water from the group to warm up. Cooling the group is more important after the shots.

As for cleaning, I ramekin cold water under the group. Take the cold water in by raising the lever and then flush it back by lowering. In this way, I can rinse and also the cool the group after each shot without using my reservoir.

Hope it helps.