New Project... Conti 2 Group Lever - Page 3

#21: Post by **drgary** » October 18th, 2013, 1:19 am

Hey Karl:

Some thoughts. I like removing the cowling in the front for sure. Moving the boiler down reduces clearance under the groups once the drip tray is installed. You've probably thought that through. Removing a hot water tap means you're less able to pre-heat cups or add hot water for Americanos. Do you have photos of your steam and hot water taps so we can see why you may want to replace at least the steam tap?

#22: Post by **dhb** » October 18th, 2013, 12:25 pm

drgary wrote:.... Moving the boiler down reduces clearance under the groups once the drip tray is installed. You've probably thought that through......

that was on my mind as well. in one of my projects I thinking about raising one group, to fit Latte Macchiato glas direktly under it..... Just my 0.02$

October 19th, 2013, 11:54 am

Hey Gary and dhb... thanks for the thoughts. Based on my initial measurements, I should retain as much space as I have with my Expobar office (without a naked portafilter) in the lever with a naked portafilter. That is sufficient for most reasonable cups for espresso drinks. If not, I can always lower the drip tray pretty easily.

The reason I am interested in replacing the steam taps is to get half turn taps that are more "modern"... like from the Mistral. Plus, they mount a wee bit differently and that may be convenient (though that isn't really a compelling argument for me). What are everyone's fav steam valves? Just the stock ones, or do people have major preferences?

Also, good point about preheating the cups... that may be the decision maker for me. For americanos... that is a pretty decent point but for a cafe I'd prefer a hot water tap, and for home, I never really make them or use a kettle... I had thought about that.

#24: Post by **drgary** » October 19th, 2013, 12:28 pm

Karl:

I always try and keep a machine versatile instead of removing functionality. For that reason alone I would retain the hot water tap. As far as what's a favorite steam tap, can you show us photos of yours? The taps in my Prestina work well but there's one aspect of their design I had to remedy. The taps turn to open and close. They also turn into the boiler. I had to secure them with Loctite to prevent swiveling when turned hard. Another thread discussed whether taps are better toggled or gradually opened with a knob. I prefer a twist knob because it allows gentle purging of the wand or gentle steam when there's intense pressure available. These commercial machines can practically blow the bottom out of a steam pitcher. Other people prefer steam and water toggles like you see in an Elektra Sixties machine.

#25: Post by **norschtein** » October 19th, 2013, 6:55 pm

drgary wrote:What Larry did with the case of that Astoria was very nice. From this ...

<image>

To this!

<image>

and not to forget - this lovely pre*visualisation in between

:

October 20th, 2013, 11:53 am

Great work Karl, can't wait to see this one finished...those groupheads are indeed exquistely engineered and polishing them is a great idea.
I would not worry about deleting the hot water tap if that's what you choose to do. Hot water is always accessible right from either grouphead. I did the same thing, sort of, on my green machine. The original wands were completely trashed upon arrival, and I managed to scavange and fashion a steam wand from old Rancilio piping and I simply left the hot water wand off, though I rebuilt the valve itself with a fresh gasket. The facade still looks balanced with both valve knobs in place even though the wand is not there.
I got lucky with this machine because parts are hard to find in the US