Hi

I have a Europiccola I received recently as a present. I have some questions - maybe someone could help me out?

First of all the green light never goes out - there is only the green on button - is this normal - I had read in some versions the green light goes out when it reaches the right temp. So that being the case how do I know when is the right temperature - I read somewhere that you should start making espresso after approx 6 minutes? Is this right?

The other thing is what do I do with the excess water? I can get at most 4 espressos out this machine until the espresso starts becoming very weak and it's undrinkable. But since you have to put the water up the whole way of the sightglass (which must be close to a litre?) What do I do with the water when it's not worth my while making anymore? I can also only really take about 2 espressos anyway (my limit) Up till now I have been tipping the water out the top of the gasket - surely there is another way of getting rid of the water?

Any answers greatly appreciated!

#2 - I just top it up the next time I use it. I very seldom dump the water out of my machine. However, it is a good idea to taste it every once in a while just to make sure everything is fine.

Yep, just top it up. I empty once a week just for good measure, and tipping it is the easiest way.

Is that really hygienic though? I mean water goes off after a few hours. You only have to taste water in a glass that has been left a few hours and it's stale.

tmca34 wrote:Is that really hygienic though? I mean water goes off after a few hours.

Not in Canada. Two years in and I'm still alive to talk about it.

If you leave a glass of water overnight it becomes stale when exposed to the air, mind you if it's enclosed inside the gasket then maybe it doesn't matter

I'm probably being paranoid for the fact that a friend of a friend died of Legionnaires disease 2 years ago - he was 34. He drank water out of a plastic bottle that had been sitting for sometime in his house- that was the explanation that doctors gave. After hearing that I am always very careful with water and making sure it's fresh.

Anyways it's obviously fine if you are reheating the water and killing any bacteria so no danger.

I generally pull shots until the water is down to the lower end of the sight glass (or to where there's only about 1/2 an inch remaining in the sight glass). Then the next day (or whenever I'm ready to pull more shots), I top it off with fresh water up to the top of the sight glass. I only use bottled water in the machine though (usually Fiji water if possible).

Every so often I do like someone else mentioned and just tip the machine over and pour all the water out. However, generally, I like to leave a bit of water in the boiler, so that nothing dries out. I think leaving some water in the bottom may help to avoid a situation where you have a constant wet/dry cycling effect, which might tend to accelerate wear, aging, etc.

Ray

tmca34 - first, if you have only one switch, the switch itself should light up orange when the unit is "on"

then the green light should light up until the boiler reaches sufficient pressure at which time the pressurestat opens the circuit to the heating element and the green light goes off meaning the correct pressure has been achieved

if you're green light is staying on then you have a problem

I would discontinue using the machine until you figure out why the green light is not cycling off

possibilities - losing steam from the boiler either through the pressure relief valve (the big nut with the straw sticking off the back) or the milk steaming wand - I would imagine you would notice the whistling noise if it is one of the these

bad pressurestat - probable?

bad heating element - perhaps the heating element is not ever building enough heat / pressure to trigger the pressurestat

anyways, if you're willing to start taking things apart and checking them out there are a lot of good wikis on the internet, if not I'd send it or take it to a professional before anymore use

good luck