Izzo Alex Leva - Page 3

#21: Post by **arcus** » February 25th, 2015, 12:25 pm

spressomon wrote:Objective information about Leva's performance is long overdue: Thank you for providing valuable, in your hands, information about the Leva.

I agree. Great info!

#22: Post by **TomC** » February 25th, 2015, 1:06 pm

spressomon wrote: Qs: Maybe I missed it...can the Leva be operated on a normal 15A 110v household circuit or does it truly need a 20a circuit? And how long does it take to get all that mass heat soaked/up to full operating temp?

Funny you ask about the power requirements. I have an email in to Chris Coffee Service as we speak to see if I can use the 15 amp to 20 amp adapter that they sell with the Duetto. My apartment maintenance manager told me that all my outlets are capable of 20 amp loads. The Leva draws 1750w, I might be covered if it stands on its own without anything else. I'll update when I know more. But to be clear now, it comes with only a 20 amp plug and that's what it's plugged into.

It takes about 30-40 minutes to heat up. I'm giving it a month to see how much it changes my power bill without turning it off though. I like having it on whenever I'm in the mood.

#23: Post by **JohnB.** » February 25th, 2015, 1:35 pm

Qs: Maybe I missed it...can the Leva be operated on a normal 15A 110v household circuit or does it truly need a 20a circuit?

You would be pretty much maxing out a 15A circuit or even going over depending on your outlet voltage.

TomC wrote:It takes about 30-40 minutes to heat up.

I'd bet that it takes at least twice that long before that big group becomes temp stable. Even though the group felt hot to the touch after a 45 minute warm up I found that the big Bosco group needs 1.5-2 hours to hit its prime. Despite multiple flushes it wouldn't hit the 201°F peak temp that it will hit every time after a "full" warm up.

#24: Post by **TomC** » February 25th, 2015, 4:18 pm

Yeah, I don't think I've ever had mine stone cold. I was fortunate to test it out before buying it, and when I got it home, the group would still burn my hand if I touched it when I set it back up. I've turned it off over night to work on the steam wand and woken up the next morning and the group is still warm enough to be slightly uncomfortable to hold more than about 2-3 seconds. The manual says 45 minutes. It's nice with a PID, you know exactly what the heat of the boiler currently is, and it gets the boiler up to temp extremely quickly. With a boiler mounted dipper, flushing only heats the group so I can coax it along quicker with flushing. I agree that it doesn't equate to thermal equilibrium though. But I haven't bought the thermofilter setup from EricS yet, it's still being built. So I don't have a set data point.

I have pulled many shots on it after only 35-40 minutes though, and they're great. That being said, I don't have any properly aged medium or light roasted beans for espresso, most of what I've been using is very developed dark roasts that I've been pulling at a boiler temp of 240. In about 2 more days I'll have plenty of different coffees to pull and those will need to be pulled with a PID temp of around 258-263 with the group thermally stable at that heat.

#25: Post by **JohnB.** » February 25th, 2015, 5:19 pm

.

TomC wrote: With a boiler mounted dipper, flushing only heats the group so I can coax it along quicker with flushing. I agree that it doesn't equate to thermal equilibrium though. But I haven't bought the thermofilter setup from EricS yet, it's still being built. So I don't have a set data point.

Looking at your photos the leva appears to have a frame mounted group just like the Bosco making it a hybrid dipper. Biggest difference I see is the shorter tube between the group & boiler on the Leva as the Bosco has the shot water reservoir right behind the group.

I have pulled many shots on it after only 35-40 minutes though, and they're great. That being said, I don't have any properly aged medium or light roasted beans for espresso, most of what I've been using is very developed dark roasts that I've been pulling at a boiler temp of 240.

I'd expect that some of those dark roasts you've told me about would benefit from a lower shot water temp. Run some tests after you get the thermofilter with a 45 minute warm up from cold & see what you get.

February 27th, 2015, 10:13 am

TomC wrote:The Leva is very, very unforgiving of technique. Dose and grind live on a razors edge, but when nailed, I get shots I've never had before on the Strega ( I can run the Strega without a pump and essentially "match" the effects of a classic Italian lever and it still doesn't trump the Leva).

TomC, when you say "unforgiving" do you mean the difference between a "God" shot and a good shot or the difference between a good shot and a sink shot?

Thanks.

February 27th, 2015, 10:19 am

The puck looks like it sits low in the basket for a given dose, but it's actually quite close to the shower screen. Because of the greater depth of puck relative to a pancake shaped 58mm basket, the coffee is more prone to crack and channel. Some of these problems I'm encountering are only temporary. until I get a proper fitting tamper. Fresher blends that you may be able to get away with using on a 58mm are still likely a day or two from being best in a deep narrow puck. At least that's the impression I'm gathering so far.

March 2nd, 2015, 10:33 pm

TomC, another question for you.

How much volume do you get in the cup on the average double (assuming you pull the cup when it blondes, etc.)?

Thanks.

#29: Post by **FotonDrv** » March 4th, 2015, 11:13 am

Very interesting Thread!

#30: Post by **TomC** » March 5th, 2015, 1:36 am

thm655321 wrote:TomC, another question for you.

How much volume do you get in the cup on the average double (assuming you pull the cup when it blondes, etc.)?

Thanks.

I haven't measured it since it's obviously going to be a lot of crema and I'm more interested in drinking the shots or making capps before the crema dissipates and I'm not going to be bothered with scooping it off. But the better answer to your question is that the shot volume also depends on basket choice and dose, since the space above the tamped coffee bed will alter your shot volume, more space between the puck and dispersion screen, the larger the shot.

All in all, the shots don't blonde as quick as they do on my Strega, I can get larger volume shots on the Leva than I did on the Strega.