Received my order from 1st-Line today. Long work day & the Reg Barber 45mm tamper has not yet arrived. So this is literally an out of the box quick 1st impressions.
The construction as hoped for is good but no real WOW factor. Bends, welds, enameling(purchased the black model) are fine. One flaw is a dimple on the chrome plated housing that the groups attach too. Relative to Isomac Tea, the steel seems to be of a thinner gauge. The unit looks like the single group Ponte Vecchio Lusso (PVL), but they squeeze in the second group. As in the photos the water wands sort of block the pressure gauge. There is one set of thermo-syphon tubes to heat the groupheads exiting the boiler centered between the two groups. It like the water line to the groupheads must split in the housing that the groupheads are bolted to. Portafilters are 45mm similar in quality and mass to the Elektra MicroCasa a Leva (MCaL). Internally from what is visible without removing (single bolt) the plastic inner cover that has a marking SAMA on it there is not much to see. The boiler with the pressure relief valve, the thermosyphoning line, the single line feeding the groupheads and the sight glass/pressure gauge lines. Simple functional elegance. The pressure gauge is marked in PSI & Bars. The sightglass is nice to prevent overfilling. There is a built in auto shutdown in case the water level reaches a critical low level. Also there is a warning light that is activated if the water level reaches a low level. It works. Heated & drained the 1st tank load of water. Light went on well before the boiler was close to empty.

The FLAWS at this point that I perceive are: Maybe the thermofuse. Owners manual 1st states "apply to a service center", but later in the manual notes "Thermo switch protecting the heating element with manual rearmament". Sure hope under the inner cover there is a user manual reset switch. Placing two groupheads on the same chassis as the Lusso single is a little tight. Couple negatives. As mentioned above you need to look through the water wand to view the pressure gauge. I have a left & right portafilter. One of the portafilters requires about 20 degrees more rotation to tighten. If used on left group it will interfere with loading or unloading the right portafilter. The water wand needs a redesigned tip. It tends to sputter & spray. Needs a showerhead unit like on the Tea. The drip tray is very inadequate. Too low capacity. As pictured too narrow. PV needs to make use of the total depth of the tray holder and extend the tray at least another 3 preferably 5 cm out. Larger & deeper would be nice for those sloppy moments. The steam & water wands do not rotate. The small steaming pitcher (~300ml) barely fits without having to tilt. You are also real close to the left grouphead.

The perceived POSITIVES: After reaching temperature equilibrium with the water level at 1/2 as measured by the site glass, the heating unit cycles on/off on average a little over every 2 minutes maintaining 1.4 to 1.5 BARS. Heating from 1.4 to 1.5 bars takes on average less than 5 seconds. Hopefully this static relatively thermostability along with the nondirect, thermo-syphon heated grouphead will yield a more thermostable active machine. The design plus minimal cycling should allow for 24/7 on use. The PVs footprint & more mass is physically more stable than the MCaL. Might actually be able to pull a shot using one hand/arm. Tomorrow after a short day at work I will pop off the inner cover to reset the pressurestat downward to 1.0 +/- 0.1 bars. Hope to find a manual thermofuse. If the Reg Barber tamper arrives & if I dial-in the pulls will try a few shot comparisons vs the MCaL.

As stated on another thread/post my plan of use with this machine is to tag team between the two groups allowing multiple shots to be pulled without long waits between drinks. The convenience of an E61 semi-auto pump with the quality of a lever shot. Hopefully this machine will meet my expectations.

Narc- you sir were decisive once committed.. A lot of thoughts put in to that first post- that took a while to organize.

Thanks for the effort- we look forward to more

Narc,

You'll seldom if ever need to see the pressure gauge once you've got the P-stat set where you like it. The temperature band is narrow and stable. My Export does not have a gauge, but I turned it down to what I guess is ~1 bar. I dislike very hot espresso, but that's a personal preference. The Pstat is a Mater - I've posted a photo on one of my threads. VERY simple to adjust, just turn a screw (actually has a + - label). Supposedly very reliable, though I'm no expert. Mine has worked quite well for two years.

I use a plastic tupperware in addition to the drip tray - the Export's is even smaller.

Unless you run it out of water you'll probably not deal with the thermal cutoff. I did so once and mine flipped. Had to take the cover off the bottom and reset. No problem, but Gene at Vanelis cautioned me that running them dry can easily damage the element. I hope I never make that mistake again.

Here's a quote from another (1-group) Lusso lover:

My prior espresso machine was a fine Isomac Zaffiro. So many factors were critical to an excellent cup, including a narrow band of optimum temperature, a precise dose and tamp with a specifically shaped convex tamper. I learned how to work the machine, but I was necessarily paying at least as much attention to the process as to the cup.

With the arrival of my spring lever, the whole process of making espresso was greatly simplified, and my focus is now on enjoying excellent coffee. For me, the move to a spring lever has greatly improved my overall enjoyment of espresso.

I suppose with two groups you'll be loving yours twice as much before long...

PC

PS DON'T WAIT FOR THE REG BARBER! FILL THE BASKET TO THE BRIM AND TAMP IT WITH A SPOON IF YOU HAVE TO AND START PULLING!

I do think the 45-mm is less worried about headspace than the Elektra - at least this is true vs the Pavoni!

PC

Thanks for the report on your new machine. I hope you like it.

I have had my single group Lusso for over a year, and I love it.

Following are a couple of set-ups that help me enjoy my machine.

As for becoming happy with the drip tray, I slide in a coffee cup to catch flushes from the group head, bleeding from the hot water wand and steam wand, and drips after the shot is pulled. The coffee cup is easy to empty and keep clean, and the drip tray just catches stray spatters. I like this method, and prefer it to a big honking drip tray that is a pain to empty and keep clean.

I have set my p-stat kick on the boiler at .5 bar and off at .8 bar. If the false pressure is bled off, it is plenty hot for me, and the machine does not overheat at all in my use.

Good luck with your new machine, narc!

Removed the inner plastic cover only to find out you need to remove the casing to access the Pstat & thermofuse. What I thought was a simple unscrew couple bolts(underside of machine) & remove the steam & water knobs turned into a bit of hmmm... moment. The way the casing wraps around the front panel requires you to pivot the casing off. Managed to slightly scratch the inside of the case on both sides with the water & steam valve stems. The bolts holding the knobs on loosen counter-clockwise. The same rotation that opens the valves. Forgot to tighten valves after removing the knobs. As the boiler heated up water streaming from the wand was a hint. Removing the casing is a bit of a PITA.
For routine descaling & draining the boiler I plan to syphon the water out. The pstat is a Mater. Adjusted the boiler pressure to 1.0 +/- 0.05 bars based on the gauge. A gauge pressure of 1 bar should yield a steam temperature of 121 C. On an HX machine the group water temp would be ~92C. Not sure what the group water temp would be on a lever machine with a thermosyphon head. The thermofuse is a pushbutton resettable unit. Low water level sensor and the power relay/control board are the only other parts under the black plastic inner cover.

The geeky side of me kicked in for a moment. How about drilling a hole in side panel to easily access the pstat? Might want to fool around with the boiler temp for different blends & single origin espresso. Then reality kicked in. Don't be a FOOL. Keep things simple. On the maybe practical side. The space around the boiler & no clutter of wires/lines/valves would allow you to wrap an insulating blanket around most of the boiler circumference. Anyone know what type of material Quickmill uses on the Andreja Premium? Plan to run the machine 24/7. The insulating blanket may decrease heat breakdown of components and decrease the number of cycles/hr the heating element kicks in.

PC, the boiler pressure gauge is nice for setting the pstat. You are right about how little I will be looking at it. No tamper yet. Don't want to disappoint myself with a poorly dosed/tamped dose. The PVL2 is now set up taking the place of the Tea waiting for the Reg Barber. For now it's just the MCaL.

grong, the MCal has the same drip tray issues as the PVL2. Must be a lever machine thing. These trays are truly DRIP ONLY trays. There is a bit of design flaw with the drip tray. Not enough holes to allow rapid draining and reduce splashing. Liquid tends to pool on the tray surface. Have been using a cup for the flush. The glass cup I use sitting atop an ancient filter basket wraps around the grouphead of MCaL. Should work just as nice on the PVL2. I also use it to catch the drips from the portafilter while it depressurizes. Might need to break out a 2nd cup for the PVL2.

A drip tray bright side is that since you will not be doing the HX water dance- - you will pull a blank shot into your espresso cup to warm both up- and then the drip tray really is for "drips" from the PF as you stated...

My Cremina tray and Bezzera club are no different than your PV 2 ( actually Cremina is half size) I usually pour some water - into -the drip tray when I am all done to rinse the heavy stuff and then dump)

Adjusting the p-stat:

Yes, the cover is a puzzle to remove.

After unplugging the machine, I unscrew the steam knob and remove the cup warming tray. I don't have the black plastic SAMA plate inside the machine, but I would guess this would need to be removed to gain access to the p-stat. Then I peek through the steam valve knob hole in the casing, and in through the top of the machine with my ratchet screwdriver. It requires some patience, but overall it makes adjusting the p-stat a pretty easy job-- much easier for me than removing the cover.

Thanks for the thorough review of your impressions of your new machine, narc. I hope you have your tamper soon.

I think the pStat is the same as the Export?



Mine is under the base, accessed by four screws that attach the rubber feet - very simple. But of course this is a small machine that can't be left on all day. Once you've got it where you want it you probably won't be adjusting it often. It would be good, however, if the PV folks found a way to make access easier.

I've considered buying a pressure gauge to attach to the filler hole so I can check the pressure setting, but I seem to have it set where I like it so I have not bothered. My espresso yesterday were all very good. Since we're four hours behind a lot of you up here, I'd better go get brewing....

PC

PC, the Mater pstat is black. Maybe the manufacturer has changed colors. I think the model imprint said XP110. The control unit is a Tecnolab Eraclito 11, made in Milano, Italy. There is an electrical schematic printed on the unit which should help if needed in the future.

grong, thanks for the advice on accessing the pstat without having to remove the casing. Will save significant time & effort for future pstat adjustments.

I took some low resolution photos of the insides of the PVL with an old digital camera. 28kbs dial up connection at home. Will post the shots next time I have access to a high speed connection.