So, just when I think I have the grind/tamp/temp down, I go on a 4-day business trip and have to start all over again!!!!

Anyway, I get home and my naked portafilter and the Elektra basket awaits. First thing I do is tighten the grind on the Mazzer a smidge and go to 14.0 grams in the Elektra basket. WOW.............no handle pressure and channeling! Same at 14.5 grams!

Go back to La Pavoni double basket and 13 grams and its good??

For those that use the Elektra basket, how many grams do you currently use?

15.25gm, grind finer and avoid paralysis by analysis.

Thanks,

I was looking for a starting point but I did not think it would be 2.5 grams more than what I pull now....

Rich's suggested weight is a good place to start. Keep in mind you adjust weight as you dial in coffees. It's back to the FAQ here:

Espresso 101: How to Adjust Dose and Grind Setting by Taste

Thanks drgary, I though I bookmarked that post but it appears that I did not and I have been trying to find it.....

gunman45 wrote:I was looking for a starting point but I did not think it would be 2.5 grams more than what I pull now....

The basket capacity at 7mm below the rim for the Elektra is over 35% more than the stock gen 2 basket, so if you fill the stock one with 13 grams you could put 17.5 into the Elektra with the same headspace. (I did some measures and calculations a few years ago here: Pavoni Basket Size Identification )

gunman45 wrote:For those that use the Elektra basket, how many grams do you currently use?

Depends a lot on the coffee. For the Elektra and for the millennium basket (which has about the same capacity as the Elektra) I start with a dose that I lightly settle, then level flat with a knife edge. This gives me ~15 - 16 grams depending on the grind and coffee density and easily tamps to plenty of headspace, so I have room to go up. Then I dial in from there and often do end up in the 17 gram neighborhood. I tend to grind fine, pull hard and slow to get brew ratios in the .67 neighborhood (16g in, 24g out.)

I have been using 16-17 grams in my Pavoni with the elektra basket, works out very well. But I also approach like Rich , not much analysis and more drinking.

For the Elektra basket you need about 11mm below the top of the rim to avoid contact with the screen. This is a premillennium measurement. The basket and portafilter holder can be machined to decrease this clearance requirement slightly.

Good point. There are different group gaskets, even for the pre-M and I bet there could be variety in the depth of the dispersion screen. To find your minimum headspace you can drop a nickel on a loosely tamped PF and lock it in hard, then take it out and measure.

My Elektra basket in my 80's machine (with the round o-ring style group gasket) comes out to a little under 8mm:

I measure about 9-10mm and have the depth set at 11 so the grounds swell does not hit the shower screen. It has not been enough of an irritation to convince me to machine down the basket rolled rim and the bottom corner of the portafilter. The edge roll on the Elektra baskets have a bit of a tolerance and they are deep enough to hit the inside of the portafilter so there are 2 things that can use up head space. I suppose I could put it on my list to cut it deeper but I have found that 15 to 15.5 gm fits in the available space without fiddling with the grind setting and generally produces good espresso. It has fallen into the "if not broke, don't fix it" bin though.

I let the o-ring self energize and only lock in to about 7:30-8:00 position if that so the group o-ring is not an issue. I would suspect that the tolerance of the 90s vintage premillennium groups are sufficiently consistent to not be a major contributor to randomly using up head space.