So I am an the proud new owner of a la pav pro. I do have a few questions though. First off, how much pressure is the correct amount of pressure? I've ground from very find to not so fine and tamped at different weights and am finding that a lighter tamp and a finer grind are giving me better results. Not much crema, but not bitter at all. For any of the other owners, do the baskets fit snugly in the PF? Mine pop right in and out and make having a knock box somewhat useless as when I turn the PF over the basket just falls out. Steaming looks like it will be a bit of a challenge and I'll have to aim the wand out a little bit to fit the 20oz pitcher I have. I have a MD-50 grinder and am using 5 day old black cat beans. Any tips on how to get a better shot? (I've read all the general how to's, but some random tips never hurt). Thanks!

What kind of grinder do you have and what kind of coffee?
*edit* doh. I just saw your profile. Rancilio MD-50?

I'm no pro, but from what I've read you are to grind as fine as you can, and try to choke the shot, then back off the grind until you get a good pull.

The basket does -not- stay in the PF, which is a PITA. Ouch. Hot PF.
Especially when using my technique for the perfect (as I can get it) shot:
Heat up,
Grind
Turn off white switch when steam starts escaping(pre millenium)
Pull a blank shot with PF in
Load up basket slightly overfilled then tamp with a lot of pressure (don't know how much pressure.. just very substantial).
Load it up and pull!

Usually comes out very nice.

Thanks for the tip. I guess I'll just keep going finer until I choke it. The grinder is a Rancilio. Ed, whom I bought it from, said he was impressed with how fine it could grind. So I'll keep going. I dont know what it should feel right but I'll just base it on how it tastes. I use the cold rag tip to cool it off but it only works so well. I can pull a few shots at a time and have to wait a while after. A bit of a PITA. But once I do get it, I'll only need to pull one or two at a time anyway.

With my Rocky I'm only about 4-5 above it's zero point for my Pavoni and that's with new burrs. After a year of use I was right at zero and still not really fine enough. You can afford to go pretty fine with the Pavoni and put a good bit of weight on the lever.
The baskets do, as you say, sit very loosely in the PF. My ingenious solution is to put a rubber letter sorting thing on my finger when I knock the puck out. See here for some handsome pictures of this revolutionary technique;
http://www.home-barista.com/lever...th-clip-t6636.html

So I made the ground finer, but am having trouble choking it persay. It will choke, but if I hang on long enough it eventually slowly drips through. The puck isnt cracking, but it takes some effort. I mean leaning hard core on the lever. From what I hear the MDs grind a lot finer than the rockys. How long should a pour take and how much effort? I could grind fine enough to stand on the lever and have nothing happen or I can take it to an easy down stroke and everywhere in between. I got a nice bright flavor on the finer side with a decently hard tamp and some considerable force on the lever with a pretty slow pour. I'll have to work on that. Maybe a little less pressure on the tamp but keeping that grind.

Sounds like you're on the right track. There are 2 schools of thought on how fine your grind should be. Some like to grind a bit coarser and tamp really hard while others prefer to go finer and tamp lightly. I'm nearer the latter but I don't think there will be a consensus. My best pulls are generally around 25 - 35 seconds. However I'm more concerned with getting a nice, steady and even flow than how long it takes. How hard you have to pull the lever is hard to quantify. I get the best results when I have to lean into it a bit but I'm afraid I've never measured on bathroom scales as some have. For me it was trial and error and getting a feel for what worked. Basically, you don't want to have to call for help to pull the lever but you do want to have to work a bit. Your description of leaning "hard core" on the lever sounds like you might be slightly too fine but as you said, a lighter tamp may be all you need. A real choke would be when you can't pull the lever down without probably breaking something. BTW how are you steadying the machine when you pull? I put my other hand on the boiler cap.

I'm leaning towards a finer grind and I'll have to go with a lighter tamp tomorrow to check it out. I'm doing the WDT with a straightened out paper clip and no funnel to keep it all in. I just overload the basket a little, stir, and than tap it down on the counter before tamping. It definitely takes some effort to pull that handle down. I've got my left hand on the boiler cap and I lean my chest on my right hand and lean into it a bit to do my pulls because my arm tends to just get tired half way through. I'm getting better tasting espresso, and I'm pretty happy with the results so far. I've come to realize that every part of the machine is hot, including the base. Everything but the drip tray and boiler handle. I think I'm on the right track. Are there any baskets that fit snug into the PF? I really wanted to use my knock box but I find my self just going at it with the faucet instead because its hot as hell and I wind up knocking the puck out and having to fish the basket out of the steaming box. I'm also considering going bottomless. I dont want to buy a new PF but dont want to destroy my existing. I find that sometimes when pushing with my chest my face gets rather close to the PF and I dont want to wind up with one of those squirts and kill my self.

Sounds like you are having to lean into it a bit too hard so give the lighter tamp a go. Everything will change when you change beans of course but you're on the right track.
There are no baskets that fit snugly. The new Pavonis apparently have ridged baskets and a spring to hold the basket in place. With the ones we have, some people put a small rubber band around the basket and that is enough to hold the basket into the PF. Others develop a technique of holding the basket just with their fingernail as they knock the puck out. I never mastered that and just went with the rubber finger I described earlier.

I'm too anal and cut my nails to often. I bought 2 pounds of black cat today. I'm freezing one and using the other now. I'm not getting the crema I'm looking for yet. I dont know if its the beans, the grind, the pull, the temp, or whatever. The rubber band idea sounds interesting. I wonder how the rubber would react over time. I could see one of those thick wide ones that they have holding broccoli stalks together working. Tomorrows another day to test. Same fine grind, lighter tamp. Its unfortunate that I moved home, otherwise I could be grinding all night. The MD-50 isnt loud but its a moderate behemoth and would most likely wake who ever is sleeping. That, and the machine takes hours to cool down.

Hey, gotta chime in about the basket situation. Not to knock knock boxes, or ingenuity in the form of rubber fingers, rubber bands around circumferences, etc, but I've never had any problem with pavoni's lack of clip.

After waiting to make sure I don't get a pf sneeze -- if I'm making a capp, I don't even have to wait, since I pull the shot first, and by the time I steam and clean the wand, it's ready -- I remove the pf, move it to the sink, and turn it over, just above the bottom of the sink. The basket falls out upside down.

I usually drink my drink at this point. By the time I'm done, the basket has cooled enough to handle. If it's been a well extracted shot, which I'm happy to say is more often than not the case -- after way too much practice! -- all I do is hold the basket a short distance above the bottom of the sink and drop it. If it's a "perfect" puck, it usually pops out on the 2nd drop. But I find it sitting in the sink almost always between 1 and 3 drops.

Again, assuming it's been a good shot, my puck is solid and dry. I then pick it up, study it and then throw it away, with only very minimal grinds, if any, left behind in the sink.

Now, you may say, well, what if I don't have another basket and want to pull a 2nd shot faster than this ritual would allow? In that case, just pour a little cold water over the basket. This will make it cool enough to handle immediately.

One day, I may give in to upgrade-itis. I really love my pavoni, but as we all know, it is really not the machine for preparing multiple drinks at one time. So, if I abandon the lever... Can't really imagine it! But if I do, I can see the benefit of knock boxes, spring clips, etc -- not to mention, solenoid valves! But until then, I think what many see as a con of this machine/basket/what have you, is actually, a pro.

In my experience, anyway.