hi y'all.
i am searching for info regarding the amount of air flow necessary (if any) below a la marzocco 2 group.
i am in the process of installing my counters for a coffee shop and would like to know if it would be a wise idea to enclose the bottom of the machine with marble... essentially removing the legs and replacing them with a 4 wall box of marble. there will be no roof on this box, only 4 pieces of mitered marble which will support the machine at the the same original height above the counter

this is for aesthetic as well as tidiness purposes by hiding the power and drain lines, unwanted coffee grounds, dust, puddles etc etc..

my original plan was to keep the counter below the machine open for ventilation but now as there will be a 3 compartment sink immediately underneath common sense is telling me this would be a bad idea...

to rephrase my question more simply...

is anyone opposed to removing the legs of the machine and placing it directly on the marble countertop..

is there potential for overheating anything??

if so my fix for this would be to have holes drilled in one side of the marble and a small computer fan extracting/pulling fresh air through..

thanks for reading any advice would be appreciated!

the newbie
brian

New Lineas have the option of the tall legs or they also ship with short rubber block legs attached that allow the machine to rest about an inch above the counter. I like the looks of this much more, but know that it makes cleaning under the machine a bit more challenging. Also plan on your water, power and drain under the machine as well.

Agreed. There's a reason they are sold with longer legs, ease of cleaning. I don't think I've ever seen any real commercial machines with no clearance directly on the counter.

If you're after that 'enclosed' look, why not simply get the counter dropped in the exact outline like normal people?

Convection should be okay in that case, especially the brain box but that's not on the bottom at all. But I do not see the wisdom of building a tomb around it.

You should check with your health code inspector; they often require clearance under equipment of several inches for easier inspection/cleaning.

I see you have a Linea EE which only has the small autofill box rather than the larger AV "brain" which required a cooling fan (which actually caused more trouble than it solved). The EE box can handle a bit more heat than the AV brains. You can always move the EE box down a bit in the frame.

Even with a fully enclosed machine the temp will never be as bad as your typical E61 Box machines which have zero ventilation. The boxes do die on those but you do get a few years out of them.

Go with the rubber legs, they look better anyway. As long as the cup warmer area is uncluttered it should be ok.

HB wrote:You should check with your health code inspector; they often require clearance under equipment of several inches for easier inspection/cleaning.

I would listen to Dan.

Being a NYC Designer myself, and having gone through the process a few time already, I can tell you, you will get penalized if you do not have a minimum of 3" of clearance under the entire machine, for cleaning purposes.

I learned my lesson on a 2 group Linea with Rubber legs. They gave me enough clearance to fit a retrofit PID, below, but not enough to "thoroughly clean" according to the inspectors, ended up installing the ugly legs back on the machine.

The Long legs in Lineas are primarily for the USA machines. They are a requirement for the sanitation listing (NSF). Otherwise they are sold with 1" rubber blocks for legs. Also in previous production of the linea there was a bottom plate that covered the complete bottom of the machine. There were a few air holes but they were not significant for air flow.


BillC