CoffeeOwl wrote:Ian, the timer has one downfall - incredible price. I was considering getting it, but in Europe it costs even more.

(now, let's compare it to something )

Of course, my $10 analog Intermatic timer! You "program" it by moving the on and off cams. If you want your "on" or "off" RIGHT NOW, you just roll the little wheel at the top.

It's controlled my espresso machines without a problem for 8 years. Probably the most sophisticated advance in espresso control wizardry in our lifetimes.

As for the DIY - I found a guide for making ones own, I have it saved I think but anyway the part that was used is no longer available and, it didn't have any programming options.

With La Spaziale it is impossible to use timers that just let the power on the given moment, for it turns on only after pressing and holding the turn-on button. In other words, after the timer lets power to the machine it would be in stand-by mode, not on.

The machine is designed to functions like a computer with respect to powering on and off. The purpose is to protect the board and other electronic components from power surges. When power goes out during storms and comes back on there typically is a power spike and if it comes on and off two to three times as it often times does here in the Northeast during summer months, it can toast electric circuit boards. If power is interrupted to the machine it is off until you turn it back on. I am not a fan of the timer, I personally think it is too expensive. However with more than two thousand Vivaldi machines sold to date we have not replaced more than two boards thus far. On Chas Rimpo's site he analyzed the power consumption if the group boiler is left on 24/7. I can not remember exactly what the cost was but it was real cheap around 25 cents a day or less. The boilers work independent of each other and you can turn on just the group boiler and not the steam boiler which is the larger consumer of power. Although the group boiler is smaller than the steam boiler it takes longer for not only the water in the group boiler to heat up but additionally the portafilter and group itself need to heat up. Conversely with a steam boiler all it has to do to steam milk is reach pressure. That takes ten minutes with the 1250 WATT heater the steam boiler is equipped with. My recommendation to people is to leave the group boiler on 24/7 and turn the steam boiler on ten minutes before you wish to use it.

That's what I do - I leave it on all the time and turn the steam boiler off and on as needed. On mine it comes to full pressure in about 8 minutes.
I didn't know that the design protects itself (at least a bit) from spikes. In Poland storms (full service storms - lightnings, thunders, strong winds and rainings) are very common and particularly last ten years are really powerful.
BTW, when leaving home for a week or two is it recommended to empty the boilers? Can anything dangerous happen (with RO mineralised water)? I think I read something about mold not long ago and now I'm a bit worried what to do.

Coffeeowl,

I have communicated with Chris about leaving my S1 for several months at a stretch. I told him I would prefer to just pull the plug and leave. He did not see a problem with this, as long as the machine does not freeze.

This review was intended to be an update on the changes from the S1V1 review Dan did versus the S1VII. Mechanically the VII is pretty much a carbon copy of the VI with a few exceptions. There is good attention to detail and fitting the frame is sturdy black-painted angle iron and the interior component layout is logical and neat.

Access to the machine is straightforward. You can get to the pump and expansion valve pressure settings from the front. A couple of screws hold the front panel in place.



And you can easily reach the steam boiler probe and vacuum breaker from the top. One screw gets the cup tray off.



Welcome changes to the VII included the addition of a dual manometer showing the pressure in both the steam boiler and group pump.

You will notice a small plastic cover over the vacuum breaker in the above picture. This keeps the water that sputters out during warm-up from getting into other parts of the machine. The steam boiler temperature probe is also a little different on the VII. Instead of a dry sleeve the probe actually sits in the boiler water on the VII. The steam boiler fan has also been quieted down with a little padding added to the frame mount for the fan. Also the controller board is now encased in a plastic box versus the plastic shield that sat in front of it on the earlier version.

Side panels are removable if you need to get further into the machine. The panels on the VI were a pain to get back together. The VII seems to be better and the last time I spoke with Chris he had mentioned a possible upgrade coming in the future.

Chas Rimpo has taken some great pictures of these changes and posted them on the S1 café site.

Cheers

Ian

I had Bob Barazza over today to do a little independent taste testing on the S1VII and La Valentina. Bob also has an Elektra A3 and Brewtus at home so he brings some good experience on other machines to the table. We started off with some Black Cat from Intelligentsia Coffee and finished the day with a blend of Toscano from Counter Culture Coffee. Although I have been a big fan of Toscano the Black Cat took the nod from both of us today.

We started off with a comparison between shots on the VII with and without preinfusion. Again as I had found before we both were partial the preinfusion shots. I did 3sec of preinfusion which I have found to be the most consistent. Bob's comments were "better mouth feel" and a more "balanced shot". I found the shots without preinfusion a little more muted than the ones with preinfusion. Not a huge difference but definitely noticeable.

We tried a number of different temperatures for both blends, easy enough to do with the VII's temperature programmability. We ended up at 93°C for the Back Cat and 94°C for the Toscano.

We compared shots between the La Valentina and the VII. We did have to change grinds a bit between the two machines. The wider portafilter on the La Valentina needed a bit finer grind to get to the same volume and timing. There wasn't a big taste difference between the two but my temperature control (even with one of Eric's adapters and Dan's recipe) was not as good as with the VII so shots tended to wander around more.

As far as milk drinks go. It is relatively easy to get good microfoam on both machines. The VII was however much faster than the La Valentina.

Conclusions, you can get good shots with both machines. The VII is the easier of the two to get consistently good shots. Instrumenting the E61 sure makes it easier to control the temperature. Preinfusion is a positive step for the VII. The VII gets the morning after nod.

Cheers

Ian

16gr ... Ian