Under the base

Under the base of the Achille there is nothing too remarkable, pretty much standard layout. One feature worth pointing out is the over temperature breaker on the plastic base. The reset button is accessible from under the machine. A simple paperclip to push up the reset button is all that is needed. I let the machine run for over 8 hours and never did trip the reset. You can run the machine non stop all day.




1. Pstat
2. Heating element
3. Power switch
4. Power and heater (red, green) lights
5. over temperature safety sensor
6. Power plug
7. Over temperature breaker (can be reset from the bottom of the machine)

cannonfodder wrote:I never made a lever pull with the shower screen off to watch the flow out of the block. Sounds like a good reason to make another video.

Take 1: Flow without the shower screen in place
Take 2: Flow with shower screen in place

An extreme close-up of the unexposed side of the shower-screen would also be of interest.
Regards
Timo

While it may be that some of us are interested in the minute technical matters of lever machines, I think most of us are really interested in:

-Consistency
-Thermal stability
-Results in the cup

Details like lever and piston dimensions and how water flows through the piston chamber are not "minute" IMO. Those dimensions determine the range of brew pressures the machine has been optimized for (assuming a 40-50 pound pull). How the water flows through the machine can tell you quite a bit about it. For example, is a slow pull hotter or cooler than a quick pull on this machine, knowing what we know about the water flow? If the lever-specific details of the machine are of minor interest to you, why even consider a lever over an electric pump

Regards
Timo

timo888 wrote:Details like lever and piston dimensions and how water flows through the piston chamber are not "minute" IMO. Those dimensions determine the range of brew pressures the machine has been optimized for (assuming a 40-50 pound pull). How the water flows through the machine can tell you quite a bit about it. For example, is a slow pull hotter or cooler than a quick pull on this machine, knowing what we know about the water flow? If the lever-specific details of the machine are of minor interest to you, why even consider a lever over an electric pump

Regards
Timo

IMO it's the bass ackwards approach that is getting some of us antsy. If the machine doesn't produce amazing espresso then why would we be interested in how it works? Without the results in the cup it's just a mechanical curiosity. But if it produces espresso to die for then you've got a good reason to study its innards.

One doesn't have to tear levers apart to appreciate them and favor them over electrical pump machines. I've owned an Olympia Cremina for over two decades. It produces amazing espresso. And I don't have the least desire to take it apart or know how it is put together. Actually seeing a machine apart with all those little pieces all over the place is a frightening thing But I'll do my best to chill, put up with the vivisection, and wait for the good part to come

Unless it's a seriously compromised or budget machine, the details of the construction usually doesn't explain the quality of the espresso -- we simply don't know enough to make connections like that. However, analysing the construction tells a lot about how to control the machine and how to work the taste. So it greatly cuts down the time one needs to get the most out of an espresso machine if one has analyzed how it works.

So there's really three choices when shopping for reviews:
1. "I just got the machine, and let me tell you, it's the greatest thing ever"
2. "Talk to me in a year"
3. Or put up with what Dave is doing.

espressoperson wrote:IMO it's the bass ackwards approach that is getting some of us antsy. If the machine doesn't produce amazing espresso then why would we be interested in how it works? Without the results in the cup it's just a mechanical curiosity. But if it produces espresso to die for then you've got a good reason to study its innards.

That basically sums it up. It wasn't a complaint against Dave, he's doing a bang-up job and I am glad he was chosen to do this review.

Dave's doing a great job, and we've all been clamoring for more. I've been following the posts on both form and function with great interest. As a lever enthusiast I'll attribute all of the interest in the review to a general awakening of interest in old school espresso.

PC

What is in the cup is the most important aspect to myself and that was the way I was going. However, since 90% of the questions being posted were about the function of the machine I decided to address those, and stated that in a post. Ever hear 'the squeaky wheel gets the grease'?

The mechanical aspects are essentially completed as far as I am concerned. I think we have covered the what's under the covers questions and will be moving back to the cup.

My progress has almost come to a halt this past week. I have been writing and posting from the hospital (and do not work in a hospital). So be a little patient and we will get back on track. I have gobs of coffee from our super sponsors and have several things in the works.

The sudden increase in posts tells me that there are more people interested in the machine than originally thought.