The patent drawings look like the earlier model with the solid piston.

Peacecup, are you using a packed double basket with a single pull ?

figure 5 in the image at the bottom shows the type of piston with the two V section O-ring seals mounted on the piston itself. On the earliest model I have- a grey machine- this part is made of alloy. The later (also grey) machine I have has a stainless steel cyclinder- but still the type with the seals on the piston. The later grey machine has an improved catch for releasing the entire boiler/group part.

The patents do show the little lever/clamp on the lid- this is rare and I have only seen it on the yellow caravels.

My rough guess on dating the machines:

yellow =early
grey =middle
red/orange = late

I have just purchased one of the yellow Caravel's and am awaiting the shipment. I hope it doesn't have the alloy piston...It does have the little lever on the lid...

I just did it again (pulled another great shot!). The basket was FULL, I mean less than 1 mm from the rim. The amazing Caravel requires basically no headroom, and it seems to perform best without any. At the beginning of this thread I was puzzled by my shots blonding early, even with a moderately full basket. Now I've found the solution, a VERY FULL basket.

I use the following routine - FILL the basket (its full AFTER tamping), lock it in around 201-203 F (probably bean-specific), life the lever to the top, push down for one Fellini, lift again, second Fellini, lift again, and pull the shot. The flow is just above a fast drip, i.e. a small steady stream at full lever pressure (basically as hard as I dare to push the old girl).

I'm pretty sure mine is a double basket - it holds around 14g, although I haven't weighed it yet (I will soon).

Oh, and BTW, Doug (if you're out there) - I've discovered what the O-ring on top of the piston is for. It keeps water from leaking out over the top when the lever is raised all the way up during preinfusion. I know this because I damaged mine putting it in (it was spec'ed a little too fat), so now I leak if I go too far up.

PC

My MellowYellow - no catch, stainless piston, three seals. There's a photo somewhere on this thread. Also, mine has a thermostat, which also works remarkably well, considering its just a piece of spring-steel. Not only does its work well for normal use, but I foolishly left my machine on DRY, OVERNIGHT, and the thermostat kept kicking off to ensure that the heating element did not burn out. So, even after such a stupid mistake, MellowYellow STILL ROCKS!

PC

Make that one seal, one piston O-ring, and one little-hole-in-the-middle-of-the-piston-face O-ring (see page 1).

Oh and here is the direct link to the patents themselves:

http://www.google.com/patents?id=0dZnAAAAEBAJ&dq=salati

http://www.google.com/patents?id=kXVzAA ... ker+salati


I have three grey machines- all subtly different. All have thermostats. None have the catch. One has a smaller depth group handle. All three have the two seals on the piston setup- one alloy the other two stainless. All are a little different...

I can understand leaving one on overnight- when the thermostat is working well it is very easy to leave the machine and forget about it. I have always found that it cycles on and off very well and doesn't seem to overheat. I have never quite boiled it dry yet... On another I have reset the thermostat so that it doesn't go off at all. I almost prefer that setup- I just switch the machine off when it reaches a rolling boil.

It is romantic to think of a Caravel in an Italian mens club (sorry ladies) somewhere in the late 60's- constantly boiling away- being topped up every so often- and turning out a stream of tiny potent short blacks... ahh.

I just found another Milanese patent from the same era: this machine is definitely related to the Caravel in some way- anyone ever seen a real version of it? Looks vaguely familiar to me...

14g sounds like the double basket, Peacecup. The single holds 6 - 8g and is flat bottomed.

sorrentina, let us know how the yellow machine works out. That's the one I refer to when I say solid piston, where water flows into the cylinder from beneath the piston, not through an o-ringed hole in the piston itself. I find it tricky to get a full cylinder with that model.

I hope it works as well as my others (actually I was hoping better) It is a great looking machine- there are several differences to the machines I have- the machine is not labeled Caravel at the front- instead their is a VAM logo on the side... what is it? A castle tower?Not the little Cravel ship I am used to.

here are the ebay pictures:







by the looks of it- the basket has a flat bottom- so may be a small sized basket?

that little lever/switch type thing on the lid I have not seen before... perhaps this is the earliest model- the one where it is not so easy to remove the piston for cleaning...



All my other machine came with the deeper 13-14 gr baskets.

sorrentinacoffee wrote: I just found another Milanese patent from the same era: this machine is definitely related to the Caravel in some way- anyone ever seen a real version of it? Looks vaguely familiar to me...

<image>

Hi all,
This machine is a "Caffomatic". Closer to the design of a mk1 gaggia gilda than of a caravel in fact.
I'll try to find a picture.
Best,
F

The other Milanese patent reminds me of the 'Neowatt' (mainly the lever arrangement) on page 5 of the "Incomplete List of Gravity Fed Levers" thread.

Am I right that we now know of examples of both a yellow and a grey machine which have the two different types of seal on the outside of the piston (v/u-cup and o-ring)? So maybe the yellow and grey were options at one point. Also doesn't that dual-seal-type model come after the dual u-cup model?

[Edited because I was wrong about how the baskets look and I can't tell if that's a single or not.]