Hello everyone, I just registered to the member of this fantastic coffee forum

I'm considering buy a espresso machine for home use, after some investigation seems Simonelli Oscar is the best choice: HX boiler, standard 58mm filter, powerful steam, price ~ $815 is more E/C than silvia (silvia is ~ $740 here)... but I have some questions:
1. I only make coffee on weekend, is Oscar easy to clean after 5 days' on pending? will the water in 1.5L bolier become dirty after such long time?
2. is this machine strong and reliable enough? it's certainly I'll not abuse it, but regarding the plastic shell, I want to know if there's any design defect with Oscar?
3. any other machine is recommended within $850 ?

thanks for your reply!

Michael

My sama has a 3 liter boiler, I turn over the volume every couple days, but its sat full for a week and nothing has gone wrong. You have many options at that price point, but Im not sure of their availability in your area. I know people have used oscars in the home, as well as larger machines, so you ought to do well with it. Ive no experience with any NS products save for one at work, which is commercial grade, but they do make machines for the WBC, so theyre definitely well built.

I own an Oscar. You absolutely can't go wrong with it.

It's a workhorse. You can make drink after drink after drink. Steam power is great. Recovers well.

Thanks Bros,

Seems Oscar is the best choice, is it easy for maintenance?

I've had an Oscar for several years now. The end of last year, it developed a slight water leak. I took off the cover, found a worn out gasket on the boiler, replaced it and that's the only challenge I've had with it. I do regular back flushing, replace gaskets and screen and that's it.

I use it every day and often, make a dozen coffee's for friends on the weekend. It's been a workhorse. I also load it up and pack it to Kansas when I go visit my parents and friends there. No problems with durability of the plastic case. I love being able to pull shots and prepare milk simultaneously!

Here's a shot of my morning coffee. Maybe you have one already? It's a great machine!

The Oscar is a good, basic machine. It is very much entry level though, and a little too basic for me. For instance, I wouldn't buy an HX without a water tap (not only for hot water, but because it makes it so much easier to drain the boiler when necessary) or any p-stat machine without a vac breaker. But that's me.

Otherwise, the Oscar has a good sized boiler, good components, and is pretty strong. I understand that an Oscar can be made significantly better with a few, relatively easy modifications. If you're interested, contact Pete, who posts at HB under the name of Plindy.

The big deal with using an espresso machine a few days a month is to make sure it's as clean as clean may be when you leave it. You don't have to go as far as draining the boiler unless the local water is very hard or you're planning to leave the machine for more than a couple of months.

BDL