Londinium L1 enhancement kit - work-in-progress [video]

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baldheadracing
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#1: Post by baldheadracing »

Seems like an in-development work-in-progress video; I think that the proposed enhancement kit makes the L1 pump-fed - I suspect similar to the Strega, but with a pressure valve turning off the pump at what appears to be line pressure (about 3 bar). This gets the shot volume/point that the lever 'catches' up over a boiler-pressure-fed configuration and closer to a line-pressure machine (like the L1-P).
A bit of info on the Londinium forums: http://londiniumespresso.com/forum/lond ... cement-kit

One suspects that Reiss wants the refinement (in sound and delivery volume) that a rotary pump can give, but there isn't room for a rotary inside the L1 chassis (in pour-over configuration). Maybe a Quick Mill pulsar would help with the sound...
-"Good quality brings happiness as you use it" - Nobuho Miya, Kamasada

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JohnB.
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#2: Post by JohnB. »

So Hell has frozen over & Reiss is building his Strega??
LMWDP 267

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samuellaw178
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#3: Post by samuellaw178 »

Indeed, karma bites in regards to Strega comments. :D But it sure is exciting/warming to see Reiss working so passionately to improve his 'babies' and listen to what the customers want.

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baldheadracing (original poster)
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#4: Post by baldheadracing (original poster) »

JohnB. wrote:So Hell has frozen over & Reiss is building his Strega??
Reiss @ Londinium wrote:the experience has moved in the direction of what i have always accused the Strega of, which is a pump machine with a lever bolted on the front
If I am interpreting Reiss correctly, he wants to give L1 owners the experience of line-pressure pre-infusion and fill rate. The line pressure is straightforward - the usual ULKA pump will do it, like the one in the Strega, and I am guessing that is what is being used in the video. However, the rate that a line (or boiler, or rotary pump) can deliver is at least triple what the usual ULKA pump can deliver (from memory, ULKA 35l/hr, Procon 105l/hr). Multiple pumps, a different pump, an accumulator, etc.; there are many possibilities if one wants faster flow into the grouphead, none of which are used in the Strega. Bezzera's approach was/is to use a higher pressure - an OPV set at 12 bar (production since Oct 31, 2012). One can endlessly debate pressure vs. flow (see various Slayer threads), but I don't think that hell has quite yet frozen over. A disturbance in the force, definitely :D.
-"Good quality brings happiness as you use it" - Nobuho Miya, Kamasada

Nonineto
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#5: Post by Nonineto »

"The group is loaded at low pressure using only the pressure of the boiler (<1.5 bar) which is necessary in order to obtain the authentic lever espresso taste"

Above quoted text is right off the londinium website.

Will be interesting to see what happens here..

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CoffeeBar
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#6: Post by CoffeeBar »

L1 one of the sexiest spring lever espresso machines in this world. Especially the entire Bosco group. Go Londinium :D

samuellaw178
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#7: Post by samuellaw178 replying to CoffeeBar »

Hi Brother Wong,

If fat (in depth) and short is sexy, yeah it sure is. :P I thought there're better looking machine out there. The group head isn't exactly a Bosco group either (and has been mentioned before, Bosco outsources their grouphead from a third party). It's a Londinium's group and have slightly different configuration. :mrgreen:



Pic from Londinium website http://londiniumespresso.com/lever-espresso-machines

p/s: just a light-hearted joke no offense meant. Beauty is of course in the eye of beholder.

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CoffeeBar
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#8: Post by CoffeeBar »

samuellaw178 wrote:Hi Brother Wong,

If fat (in depth) and short is sexy, yeah it sure is. :P I thought there're better looking machine out there. The group head isn't exactly a Bosco group either (and has been mentioned before, Bosco outsources their grouphead from a third party). It's a Londinium's group and have slightly different configuration. :mrgreen:


<image>

p/s: just a light-hearted joke no offense meant. Beauty is of course in the eye of beholder.
Hi Brother Samuel, Thank you for the information. I really enjoy seeing your posts and yes, light joke was good. :mrgreen:

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arcus
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#9: Post by arcus »

Other than the loud pump noise which Reiss is hoping to address, I think this is an interesting development as it's an inexpensive mod for existing owners.

sprint jinx
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#10: Post by sprint jinx »

I have an outboard Procon pump on my machine, as I didn't want the noise to be at the countertop level. I stuffed it away under the sink behind a door, about 4 feet from the group, and it rests on rubber mats.
I see no reason why the machine has to envelop a pump when they can be located elsewhere.

Pretty good thinking with the mixture of pump and lever, I want to believe that it produces a great resulting cup.

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