This has been dealt with a bit here and there, but I was wondering:

1. Is there anything new? I use a Nespresso frother which is to foam what Nespresso is to espresso -- a sorry substitute. I'd like to steam foam and try my hand at pouring designs. (I won't call them "art".)

2. I have a Bellman steamer which seems heavy duty and all, but it also doesn't work. Can they actually work? And work well? Should I try to modify it by adding a better wand? Or is the ratio of surface area/water and space not going to ever work?

3. It seems like converting a pressure cooker to a steamer would be quite easy. I once saw a posting somewhere about someone doing it. However, I really don't understand what the optimum configuration would be. For example, is large surface area, and a small amount of water, allowing room for steam good. Or does it matter? What pressure should a safety valve be set for so it doesn't explode? This doesn't seem like rocket science, though I guess it turn into ....

4. I really l like the lack of compromise offered by an open boiler, the perfect temperature stability, compactness, etc. I have no desire for a more modern machine. But steamed (not frothed) milk would be good on occasion.

dan

My GS/3 runs the boiler at about 262F, which results in a steam pressure of about 1.6 bars. If you can get a pressure cooker that can handle up to 1.5-2.0 bars, you should be set.

I am surprised there aren't more "steam only" machines out there for pairing with an open boiler, for this scenario where somebody only wants steam occasionally. Perhaps there are more options and I've just never heard of them..?

I used an old Krups or Mr Coffee steam espresso, $5 at the second hand. One-hole steam tip I think, frothed like a champ. Interestingly, it actually made good espresso to.

PC

The DeLonghi pump-toy's that I started with weren't too hard to steam with, but I just don't have the counter space or the green light from the Wife to keep one on the counter just for steaming.

I've approached making good textured milk with the Bellman, and all accounts I hear put it on par with a home lever La Pavoni in terms of difficulty of steaming, but I've been having problems keeping the whirlpool going. I'm going to continue with the Bellman and the primary problem is that I just don't really steam milk often enough to really get any practice in. Using the Rattleware 12 oz Handle Free Macchiato Pitcher (http://www.espressosupply.com) I received as a holiday gift without the insulated wrap seemed to help some and I like the size to avoid wasting Soy when steaming for one.

The few times I tried the steaming hat on the La Peppina, I was able to get acceptable milk, but it was such a pain to use and then switch back to PID brewing temps that I keep it in the cupboard. I liked the fact that you could screw in the steam pipe in the inside of the hat and use the La Peppina open-boiler as a hot water supply, but again, I don't use this feature either. I might be tempted to do this more often if I had a permanent thermocouple drilled into the machine, right now my wire is just dangling in the kettle so it interferes with a sealed lid.

Thanks for the ideas. All good.

Chris,

I highly recommend that you consider abandoning the PID in favor of a router speed control (less than $30) which is a heavy duty dimmer. On the La Peppina it is very simple to calibrate the above (you could use your PID or a thermometer), mark the dial and you're done. Nothing hanging over the edge. I used to have a PID for my Classic and I don't miss it a bit for the La Peppina (for a closed boiler system, that's another matter entirely). You can then use your PID on something more worthy.

BTW the router control is very nice because it has a rocker switch for "ALL ON" and "OFF" and "Power Control). So you can turn off your machine at the controller. I set the rocker to all on, it heats up in a few minutes, switch to power control which is controlled by a dial. Very analog, very appropriate for La Peppina. And cheap. Also has it's own fuse as a redundancy to the Peppina ejector.

dan

Not to get too off topic but can you use the router speed controller if you are using a stepup/down transformer to run 220 voltage? If so does it plug in before the transformer or after. Ps. for steaming I use a bellman steamer which takes about as long as the peppina to heat up, works great and no problems!

I'm not sure if the router controller would work on 220. I think maybe not. I sure would like to know how you get good foam from a Bellman, though. I've tried and failed enough to give up.

Let me know!

dan

What would be cool is something like a Europiccola with a trashed group. take the group off, cover the hole and its just a pretty steamer!

I saw what looked like an E61 box at Whole Foods in the tea area but was just a hot water spout and steam wand. A bit large for your application but stuff like that does exist! Further investigation yields:
http://coffee.hownd.com/subcat-84-steamers/
http://www.coffeelatinoshop.co.uk/fraci...824d7e9b1f
http://www.allianceonline.co.uk/kitchen...m0007.html

Dan, this must be what you were thinking of with the pressure cooker: Turning a pressure cooker into a dedicated milk steamer on demand

My steamer is not a "Bellman" like I thought....works pretty well not sure of the manufacture. This is it. Similar to a moka pot with a modded lid.