Well, I could take the handle to work and try it there.
They have the same machine as I do but a double.

Inside the opv is a screw for changing the pressure.
I found the picture on a german site.

There is a person on this forum also that told me about it. Very helpful.

So now Im gonna try to work on my technique first while looking
for parts to build the pressure measure instrument to see if the
pressure is indeed too high.

In the meantime I want to thank everyone very much for all the help.
Specially jmanespresso and another_jim. And also HB.
I dont know what I would have done without you.

The shots are alot better at higher doses. They still spray too much
but there are no grinds in the little spots on the side of the coffee cup
as it was with 14g.

Thanks for showing in detail where to kill the shot and also
to add the time of the preinfusion. I always knew to add some
with a vibe pump but always thought it was just like a couple of seconds.
My shots now taste better then ever and Im rid of the sour/bitter
and welcome the rich and sweet.

Im still only getting double ristrettos no matter the dosage
and Im trying to work my way up to a true double.
Reason is that the shots are very strong. Very much better taste
and rounder and all but still maybe a tad too strong.

Im working on getting the coffee level with the basket
and to make it same weight. Im off by .6grams so *alot* to learn.
This only gets me 17g at the most and even tho the 18 gram
was easier to pull (and actually tasted better) I really want
this to work and at the same time Im learning to level and
get closer in weight by eyeballing.

I finally got the manometer so I could measure the pressure.

I put it on a bit loose so I got some water coming through.
I timed it to about 1.75oz at 30seconds.
I adjusted the opv a bit at a time and re-measured.
I then came to a point where the adjustment screw got stuck.
Its like its the end of adjustment. Wierd, I thought I would be able
to screw it all the way out.
I did see some traces of something tiny in there and it could be
dirt and stuff that is in the water that has clogged up in there
and made the screw come to a stop. It stopped very abrupt
and it got really tight so I dunno.

I will try and get a replacement opv but the one linked is out of stock.

In the meantime I am very happy about the adjustment.
I couldnt get it all the way to where I wanted but it is much better.
It is still channeling, but not as much.
It feels like its easier to get more volume before cone destabilizes and goes blond
but its too early to tell if its the adjustment or something else.

I fear you may be wasting your time doing adjstments on pressure. You should be able to make non-channeling shots at any dose and any pressure. If you can't. your technique is faulty, not the machine. Correcting poor technique by readjusting the machine, coffee, grinder, etc, will make your problems worse, not better.

You live in Norway, the inventors of the Barista Championships, and perhaps the most hardcore espresso group on earth. So you might be able to get someone to give you a live lesson on how to pull shots. This is a lot simpler than making a long sequence of wrong diagnoses and getting getting into worse and worse habits.

How is it wrong with having a good setup?
It cant be better to have 13,5bar then 10 can it?
Its not like it took very long to do. Maybe a couple of hours at most.

I dont understand this reply from you at all.
I havent been getting into any weird habits, I have been
going through alot of coffee trying to get better at making shots
everyday. I dont really like being judged like I am giving up and
trying to have an easy way out or something.
If that is how I sound through this thread then im sorry but thats not how it is.

I felt something was wrong, being a chef I do have to understand
the structure of things and I am not an idiot, I have been trying
to the best of my ability and I am far far more stubborn then
anyone I know. If it really takes more time then what I have
been putting into this then I know no one and have met no one
ever that would be able to pull a drinkable shot on my machine.
I think the shots are now better, how can that be wrong?
I will still continue to strive for better shots.
It is still channeling but the grinds sprayed on the edge of the
cup and into the coffee is almost gone now.
It can still channel but without all the grinds, thank god.

In the meantime while I was waiting for the manometer I borrowed
an expensive thermometer from work and have been measuring
the temperature and learned how long to flush and at what
temp I like my shots. I am pulling them at about 199-203F
and have learned to get it there pretty consistent.
Sorry if that also was wrong.

I feel like I am just beginning my journey, and I am happy
and look brighter at the future and looking more forward to
my coffee after all this, so I still thank everyone here.

Imagine you can't speak French, now imagine you keep buying French books in the hope that you'll find one you can read.

You are a beginner, and you do not know how to make espresso shots properly. No matter what you do with your equipment, you will still no know how to make espresso shots properly. Eventually you will learn; but if you are too impatient to improve on your own, don't take it out on your equipment, take a class instead.

I never said tuning my equipment would make everything perfect.

Sometimes you can feel something in your gut.
I had a gut feeling my pressure was too high so I try and correct it.
I dont know why this would look like a goal of a journey,
to me it is just something on the way.

I just cant understand why one thing would eliminate the other.
I will still try as I did before I just tuned something on the way
but it sounds on you like I destroyed something.

Do you recommend that I turn the pressure back up?

You have tried a number of things -

one thing you might try -

A nutating tamp

Dose and tamp without leveling

I had trouble with channeling and spritzers until another poster suggested I give it a try.

there have been several discussions and there is at least one video here or linked to the forum.

worked for me.