Michal wrote:My Brewtus also came with a boiler pressure that was set too high.... On my particular unit there was NO WAY to turn that screw without some sort of 90 degree screwdriver.

Assuming you refer to the same comment in your e-mail, you mean the brew pressure. Since your espresso machine is a rotary and it's plumbed-in, the pump's input pressure affects its output pressure. Expobar/WholeLatteLove can't accurately set the brew pressure for you unless they dictate a precise inlet pressure. The difficulty you reported adjusting the pump bypass valve prompted me to ask Ian to photograph it (below). He said it was tight quarters, but was able to adjust the pump in situ.

Yes, brew pressure, sorry. I could get the nut loosened but no screwdriver could possibly make it there in a straight line, maybe the new mounts are a bit different, I'm not sure. I don't blame Expobar/WLL at all for the brew pressure being high, everyone has a different situation. Good thing I don't have to adjust it very often .

Michal, 2 things: with such rotary pumps, there is no need for a screwdriver. Yes, the adjustment screw has a slotted head to accept one, but it also has a hex cut in the top of it, so it can also be adjusted with a wrench. But, if you can get your hand in there, you can also actually adjust those with relative ease with an index finger and thumb; once you loosen the tightening nut, the adjustment screw is quite easy to move.

I am a bit perplexed as to why such a basic end-user adjustment was tucked away so much, but there's definitely no need to take the pump off the mounts to adjust it. Of course, you had to unmount the pump anyway, so....

Michal, I just used a really long shafted screw driver and had no problem getting to the adjustment once I loosened the lock nut. That said, it is awkward.

Cheers

Ian

woodchuck wrote:There is a lot going on in this small package:

What's up with that junction of wires/copper/electrical tape above the cap on the motor? Is that just a pressurestat that looks like the steam tap is coming out from it, or does the steam tap actually connect into that device?

I'm going to guess that it is a protective wrap over the wires leading to the pressurestat.

Is it common to put the pressurestat on the steaming line? Seems like it might be a clever way to insure the heating element comes on quickly while steaming. When you open the wand, the pressure drop would be detected almost immediately.

That's exactly what I was thinking, but I'd bet that it's just an optical illusion of how the plumbing is ran. I'm assuming the steam tap connects to the top of the boiler, and not the pressurestat.

Then again, the reason I asked is I could be wrong!

That pressurestat looks exactly like to one on my Gaggia Factory, minus the white glue to keep from tampering/adjusting.

Sorry about not going through the layout last time. I was more interested in getting the pressure down and seeing what that did to the coffee. I'll put together a better picture of where things are connected next time I get the covers off.

Cheers

Ian