Way to go, Aaron.
keep us in the loop!

Oh yes, very nice...a VAM Sphinx not exactly a Cravel with the boat on the side, but the Sphinx is a goodie for sure. Even rarer. and yours has the little special device for raising the kettle lid...an extreme engineering touch, so much machineing and work that went into that little lever mechanism which does that one thing, pop up the kettle lid, and nothing more....amazing to think of the work that went into that particular small detail. and by the looks of it the kettle release knob on the rear top....you got all of the bells and the whistles as well. and to top it off you snagged it for 45 euro while the rest of us were sleeping. It just may have been destiny at work here, as we look every day or even every hour and sure missed this one!!! Congrats and enjoy!

I think I've found the relation between Arrarex and VAM.
VAM made the heating element. http://www.applicazionivam.com/eng/home.htm

Guys, I'm tempted...

I understood what I could from reading here and elsewhere but still don't know what's the best possible find (cost not a criteria). It seems they come with different features. Can someone shed some light on the difference between this one and this one?

Here's a pretty good summary: http://www.orphanespresso.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=30&chapter=60

Thanks Hal, so it's basically always safe to assume if the original paint is gray, it's the better model with more features and better build. Right?

Functionally they're apparently the same although I only have experience with the grey one. It is supposed to have the best build and I'm impressed with the quality of mine. I've never purchased from Sorrentina but I think that's the one I would probably buy. If I read Doug's article correctly it will be, overall the easiest to work with and a better build. I think I'd call Doug or Barb about theirs though before making a decision. They are as objective as any retail vendor I've worked with.

Just to chime in and hope not to create any confusion.....we have had/handled/or are in possession of about 15 Caravels....gray, orange, yellow(ivory) and red. All of the machines perform identically and all are a bit different from each other but there are certain trends. The differences lie in the location of the electrical control knobs, the type of lever and pf grips, the type of piston seal system, type of piston installation locking system and gerneral build quality (usually translates to the gauge of the stainless steel kettle lid).

Electrical control knobs: power switch either on bottom rear or on right side lower, thermostat knobette top rear or lower rear
Grips: black tapered plastic with metal ends or carved white/black plastic with no fittings
Piston seals: u cups fit in channels on piston body or o rings fit in channels inside the cylinder itself
Piston installation lock: top twists and throws two short rods into holes in cylinder top or single pin that goes through the entire cylinder and piston mechanism cap

In addition some machines have a kettle that snaps in at the rear and others have a large knob at the rear top which acts as a kettle lock and release mechanism.
So, the differences are minor as the function of all the machines is identical....pf size and cylinder size the same, kettles and levers are interchangeable to different bases, etc but in general:

Gray Caravels have USUALLY but not ALWAYS:
-power switch lower rear thermostat knob top rear
-u cups on piston body
-twist and lock piston installation
-tapererd black plastic grips
-snap in kettle (no release knob)

Orange Caravels have USUALLY but not ALWAYS
-power switch lower rear or on side, thermostat knobette top rear, bottom if machine has kettle lock knob top rear
-o rings inside cylinder, piston body smooth
-single pin through piston installation
-carved white or black plastic grips
-snap in kettle or snap in kettle with rear release knob

Light yellow or ivory Caravels can have combination of these elements. peacecup's caravel has u cup seals and ours has o rings.

Build quality varies but in general the gray models seem to have a thicker gauge stainless kettle lid than the orange ones. The gray paint is generally glossy while the orange is a semi matte wrinkle type paint. Ivory is semi gloss. Red body color models are, in our experience repaints.

Oh yes, one more feature, the rarest and most desireable of all is the kettle lid "raiseattore" . a very few models have a tiny machined lever system on the front of the kettle lid that acts to raise the kettle lid about 1/2 inch. It does nothing else but this, and the trouble they went through for that little device is amazing.

Our keeper machine is a sloppy red repaint with a push/pull power switch on the side, the 'raiseattore lever", the big kettle release knob on the back, thermostat set knob on bottom rear, cast aluminum lever handles which are strangely tapered, chunky white grips on the lever and black on the pf, light gauge kettle lid, and solid brass piston with no little hole in the bottom, and more feet than a centipede.
So there ya go.

Doug, WOW! With your online article and now this excellent walk-through post, we have it covered. Thank you!

Does anyone have a clue as to what's the max possible brew pressure like on the Caravel?

Usually I'm interested in those things, but it really isn't important with the Caravel. If I found out it was only 4 bars its what I experience in the cup that counts. Because its a manual lever though, I suspect its a function of how tight you grind and how hard you push.

orphanespresso wrote:Just to chime in and hope not to create any confusion.....we have had/handled/or are in possession of about 15 Caravels....gray, orange, yellow(ivory) and red....

So there ya go.

Doug, thanks. Amazing article.

The max brew pressure on a manual lever is ultimately a function of how good the seals are, since you can press down with quite a bit of force on the lever. Since pressure=force/area, if everything else were equal, it is easier to attain higher brew pressure on a narrow-diameter piston cylinder than on a broader one.

The Caravel has a relatively narrow cylinder (and so conducive to higher pressures) but a relatively short lever (less mechanical advantage) and the seals that are mounted in the cylinder wall are not the most robust and tend to give under great pressure. Nonetheless, you should be able to get more than 4 bars of pressure on the Caravel, especially with well-fitting seals and some Dow 111. From the orange machine I had, I'd guesstimate 6-7 bars was the comfort zone.

Regards
T

Doug, it gives me GREAT pleasure to point out a "feature" on certain Caravels that you, in your nearly brilliant treatise left out:
Certain models have a removable group screen with that little clip (my "loaner" did), while other models have a permanently installed group screen.
I will sleep VERY well tonight

BTW...Happy New Year to you, Barb, Mr. Dan Kehn, and all my wonderful friends here on HB.

And to get you to give up that loaner was a minor miracle. To send off a Caravel to a leverhead on a "kick the tires and drive it around the block" basis was a major leap of faith but like the old Randy Neuman song "it's just amazing how fair people can be". No dancing bears here but we are fairly deep in Caravels, and snow.

There is another small difference.
Some Caravels have a ridge around the edge of the cast housing, and some don't
http://www.orphanespresso.com/images/3%20Caravels%2001.jpg
The red one in the middle has the ridge, the others don't.
Just something I happened to notice.

Happy new year to everybody here!

I don't know about any of the differences, other than those superficial one easily observed in photos. Doug seems to have done the most thorough review of the different models. There may be important differences in the way that they work, but maybe not.

I can say that the one I have (yellow with a ship, photos at the begining of this thread), is very reliable and easily maintained. The weakest link is the very small o-ring in the center of the piston, which needs to be replaced occasionaly. One should keep a supply on hand.

With a new cup seal on the lower end of the piston I can exert as much force on the lever as the spring-steel lever can stand. It must flex considerably, and would be interesting to video. The machine is remarkably well-balanced, and even without the rubber suction cups I can apply a lot of pressure without it moving around or tipping. ONE DOES NOT WANT THE MACHINE TO TIP OVER!!! (caution the drink you are about to enjoy is HOT).

How much pressure? Not sure, but it must be considerable, considering the small diameter of the piston. Let's just say it can pour very thick, crema-laden shots even with commerical-roast Italian beans. With fresh beans its just espresso mousse...

"and a happy new year...let's hope its a good one..." John Lennon

peacecup wrote:With a new cup seal on the lower end of the piston I can exert as much force on the lever as the spring-steel lever can stand. It must flex considerably, and would be interesting to video. The machine is remarkably well-balanced, and even without the rubber suction cups I can apply a lot of pressure without it moving around or tipping. ONE DOES NOT WANT THE MACHINE TO TIP OVER!!! (caution the drink you are about to enjoy is HOT).

I wonder if having to replace seals frequently isn't an indication that the Caravel is being "overdriven." I like this quote from the Caravel manual on the OrphanEspresso website:

The right grinding of the coffee is important to get a thick cream coffee effortlessly. Milling too big: do not get cream, coffee has not been fully exploited. Milling too fine: the effort required to lower the handle is too high, it is useless to insist press.

It is possible to get shots such as Jack describes without "standing" on the machine by using a steady, firm, application of pressure.

Hal,

I have only replaced the seal once, after having got the machine. I don't do handstands as a rule, but was trying to explain that a lot of pressure can be applied if its wanted.

orphanespresso wrote:And to get you to give up that loaner was a minor miracle. To send off a Caravel to a leverhead on a "kick the tires and drive it around the block" basis was a major leap of faith but like the old Randy Neuman song "it's just amazing how fair people can be".

My mama didn't raise no fool. :lol