Post a pic of your home espresso setup... - Page 132

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carlhpretired
Posts: 3
Joined: 14 years ago

#1311: Post by carlhpretired »

Some photos of new Rocket Giotto Evoluzione - with plumb in. Just upgraded from PID-controlled Silvia.
There really is a noticeable difference in the cup (and channeling is history!)





On the filter cartridge head:

The left gauge is the inlet water pressure to the house - normally 60-85 psi.
The right gauge is the outlet pressure from the pressure regulator - set to 30 psi.

I've installed a shut-off for the water supply inlet to the filter cartridge so that I
can isolate the espresso machine from the water supply, for extended periods if necessary,
without having to shut off the cold water supply for the sink.

The white plastic shut-off valve coming out of the bottom pressure regulator outlet
has a quick-disconnect hose fitting. This permits easy installation of a short length
of plastic hose that empties into a bucket, to purge carbon fines after installing a
new filter cartridge (without having to disconnect the espresso machine's supply hose).

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sweaner
Posts: 3013
Joined: 16 years ago

#1312: Post by sweaner »

How does that drain line drain for you? I think that when I do this I may need to install some type of pump device to get the drip tray to drain well.
Scott
LMWDP #248

carlhpretired
Posts: 3
Joined: 14 years ago

#1313: Post by carlhpretired »

I had a slight problem with draining at first, but by reducing the length of the drain line so that it is
stretched just slightly taut all the way from the machine to the drain connection under the sink, it
now drains perfectly. Also, I used 1/4" I.D. silicone tubing instead of the 3/16" I.D. silicone tubing
that came with the machine.

s1267712
Posts: 3
Joined: 13 years ago

#1314: Post by s1267712 »

here is my home setup it is an ecm giotto classic that I breathed some new life into. The chrome on the sides was peeling, so I powder coated them black, I think it came out pretty sharp. I am still working out the bugs in my espresso making, but it is coming along nicely.



Aaron
Posts: 383
Joined: 14 years ago

#1315: Post by Aaron »

Nice revived machine and setup. The black sides look nice. You don't typically store your milk pitchers on the top of your hot machine right? Or do you cool them off before use?
“The powers of a man's mind are proportionate to the quantity of coffee he drinks” - James McKintosh

s1267712
Posts: 3
Joined: 13 years ago

#1316: Post by s1267712 »

I typically keep the large milk pitcher on top of the machine, I use it to catch the water when I flush the group. The small milk pitcher is usually in the freezer, I'm not sure why its on top of the machine.

decaf_Ed
Posts: 116
Joined: 15 years ago

#1317: Post by decaf_Ed »

Every now and then I get around to tidying up the extraneous stuff that controls my flush-free HX... Creating the fully programmable HX espresso machine?
Flow restrictor effect on cooling flush
I finally got a metal cover installed, and this is the way it may stay for another year or three. So after condensing from five PIDs to four, strictly for packaging reasons, this is how the machine now looks.

The two black buttons on the bottom are circuit breakers, one for low (28) voltage, one for high (120). The toggle switch turns off active controls while leaving the temperature displays active.
The electronics box simply hangs off the top side ledge of the Expobar, hooked in by a 20-pin connector shown here on the left:

The external box contains the four PIDs, four SSRs, and two 28V transformers for the film heaters.

Not quite as obvious is the "nose cover" on the group head, covering the heaters and insulation. This was made from the bottom of a "stainless steel wine cooler".

I'm actually very pleased with the performance, considering this started out as a "proof of concept" but turned out to be a fully-functional prototype.
Espresso machines - coming up to temperature via induction
(The red curve in the link above is the mode I now use all the time.)
The machine is used many times per day, every day, going on about two years now. I've got it set now so I only have to adjust two PIDs in order to change the temperature, which reduces the incentive to put all circuits under a single controller.
I don't really recommend a project like this to anyone other than those that have a lot of time they need to expend, unless they're really good at custom small-scale plumbing. About 80 percent of my time on this project was towards all the plumbing mods (the only external hint is the red valve wheel in front).
The easy way to get to flush-free nowadays would be to start with a double boiler, where you wouldn't need any plumbing mods, and just add some heating circuits (and maybe insulation) at the group head, and/or in that area.
Or give up your principles (save water, save time, preserve sanity, etc.) and just live with the flushing.
-Ed

Aaron
Posts: 383
Joined: 14 years ago

#1318: Post by Aaron »

decaf_Ed - Maybe I missed it in your attached thread, but what is the red metal knob on the front used for?
“The powers of a man's mind are proportionate to the quantity of coffee he drinks” - James McKintosh

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cannonfodder
Team HB
Posts: 10497
Joined: 19 years ago

#1319: Post by cannonfodder »

Self destruct or does that launch the rockets?
Dave Stephens

decaf_Ed
Posts: 116
Joined: 15 years ago

#1320: Post by decaf_Ed »

Aaron wrote:decaf_Ed - Maybe I missed it in your attached thread, but what is the red metal knob on the front used for?
Basically it's the "variable thermosiphon restrictor valve", a.k.a. 1/2" gate valve.
(It was alluded to in the second link of the post...Flow restrictor effect on cooling flush
The picture in that post shows the original return pipe, the first "variable restrictor" mod, and the current return configuration.)
This valve, on the thermosiphon return, is used to throttle the thermosiphon down slow enough so that my 3-watt fans can have an effect on cooling (or flip toggle switch to fill the liquid-propellant rockets). There's a solenoid valve in parallel with it (not all that obvious in the picture, behind the gate valve body) that's opened if the thermosiphon stalls, via the "too cold" alarm in either of two of the PIDs.

-Ed

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