Happy Holidays to All!

Check out the new PID Ascaso Steel Uno Professional espresso machine. Just arrived!



Looks like Ascaso is starting a new wave of building dual-purpsoe, single boiler PID espresso machines. The thermocouple is positioned externally on the bottom of the boiler, and with some preliminary testing using a Scace, the walk-up test shot was always within 1 degree Fahrenheit. The second or 'even' shot always ran higher (I think the PID settings need to be adjusted to correct the recovery), but the 'odd' number shots always seem to be spot on.

This unit has the same display controller as the Vibiemme Electronic double boiler machines and the Alex Duetto at a fraction of the price: $799

Certainly looks impressive on paper. What are the chances of a "second look" review or a Silvia/Gaggia head-to-head?

My personal belief is that temp wise, it will blow the doors off both of those stock machines. This is why so many people have upgraded their Silvias to PID.

IMO, it's by far the nicest looking of the three. Plus, IIRC, the driptray has those "separators" to keep from sloshing grungy water when you walk to empty it.

Yes, they do have those separators....

Well alomost a month has gone by with no new posts or updates. I saw an advert flashing up on idrinkcoffee.com for the Uno and after looking aroung CG and HB I can't seem to find much consumer feedback on the machine. Does anyone know where I can find any info on this machine? As much as I'd like to get something sporting a shiny E61 group head I think this is priced a little more realistically for me!

But I am torn between getting a Silvia and PID'ing or even a pre PID'd Silvia so reviews on the Uno PID would be superb.

Cheers
Bruce

Unfortunately, on a very new machine, reviews are hard to come by. It takes years for many reviews to develop, and this product is at the early adopter stage....

1st-line wrote:Unfortunately, on a very new machine, reviews are hard to come by. It takes years for many reviews to develop, and this product is at the early adopter stage....

Good reviews are worth more than great advertising. I'd bet that you could find a coupla people on this site alone who's opinion would sell a half-a-dozen. They'd ride it hard, put it away wet, and tell us about the trail.

Then you simply add the round trip shipping to the cost, and sell the thing as a demo...

Caveat: I never ever have worked in any retail environment. This is all guesswork.

Psyd wrote:Good reviews are worth more than great advertising. I'd bet that you could find a coupla people on this site alone who's opinion would sell a half-a-dozen. They'd ride it hard, put it away wet, and tell us about the trail.

Then you simply add the round trip shipping to the cost, and sell the thing as a demo...

Caveat: I never ever have worked in any retail environment. This is all guesswork.

I absolutely agree. This is one of the few forums I have come across that seems to be dominated by knowledge and thought and as a result a few people here carry a lot of weight. IMHO but then I am also quite new to the site.

1st-line wrote:Unfortunately, on a very new machine, reviews are hard to come by. It takes years for many reviews to develop, and this product is at the early adopter stage....

Mark wrote a First Look of the original (non-PID) Duo version in 2006.

Thanks for that Dan, I remember reading it quite a while ago. Looking through CG there is still no detailed review. The best information to be found is here in one of the reviewers (Mark Price) forum posts. http://coffeegeek.com/forums/articles/f...498#417498

General impression of the Duo seems good but I'm still curious as to the impact of the PID on the Uno

It's safe to bet that the benefits of a PID-controlled Uno will mirror those of a PID-controlled Rancilio Silvia. That is, near idiot-proof brew temperature control and no need to temperature surf. This topic is well covered in many online venues (e.g., search on rancilio silvia pid benefits).

Any updates on this machine? I'm shopping for my first real machine. I've already settled on the Vario grinder. Aesthetics are important and I like the looks of this machine. The add-on PID for the Silvia doesn't do it for me. Thanks,

Christian

I've had some firsthand experience with it, but no experience with other home machines equipped with PID.
The only comparison I could give would be VS a larger PID'ed unit, such as a Vibiemme.

As for my thoughts...
The PID unit is nice, its very similar (if not the same) as the units used on the Vibiemmes.
It operates exactly as to be expected, the performance is outstanding- walk up shots are excellent- and every other shot is closer on temp than some of the commercial we all know and love. It really is something to behold on a machine so small.

I can't think of another machine that-
a. is PID equipped
b. has professional group size
c. has directly connected group and boiler
that falls into the $800 price range and isn't a Frankenstein'ed machine made out of a bunch of aftermarket parts.