Hello all,

I am new to the forum. I just got my Gaggia Factory 16 from WLL yesterday... What a great deal. The machine is beautiful.

I noticed that the first time I powered it up and relieved the pressure, it would only get to about 500 to 600 mBar.

The espresso was anemic with all grinds at this pressure. I figured out how to remove the bottom cover, and turned the pressure stat up to 1.0 Bar... Now it works great. What a difference!

I thought it might be helpful to make this post in case anyone has a similar situation...

Best to you all...

MM

The espresso was anemic with all grinds at this pressure. I figured out how to remove the bottom cover, and turned the pressure stat up to 1.0 Bar... Now it works great. What a difference!

Thanks for the info, MM. It makes me want to tinker with my Factory 8, which does not have the BAR gauge. I wonder how those of us with 8-cup Factories or LPs can measure BAR to make those adjustments. Does anyone know?

You can do it by temperature.... Get a thermometer and hold it in the water stream without the portafilter... The increase in temp is proportional to the increase in pressure...

Also, if you have hard water, you will need to run at a higher pressure because the boiling point is depressed...

jamhat wrote:Thanks for the info, MM. It makes me want to tinker with my Factory 8, which does not have the BAR gauge. I wonder how those of us with 8-cup Factories or LPs can measure BAR to make those adjustments. Does anyone know?

You may be able to fit a gauge to your steam arm- but to the point of your question- Does you espresso taste burnt or bitter? If it ain't broke.......