I have an opportinity to buy a second-hand Rocket, but would like to learn more about it first. No info on the Rocket website, but I did find good photos of the same model on an old Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Rocketuk/photo ... 0193471767

Does anyone recognize this model?

It appears to have E61 groupheads, but with no levers. How does that work?

Hello:

iantic wrote: Does anyone recognize this model?

See this video: It is from 2012 and shows the recently introduced the 1/2/3 group "Rocket Professional Line".
Maybe there's a clue there.

Best,

CIV

iantic wrote:... It appears to have E61 groupheads, but with no levers. How does that work?

A somewhat humourous explanation of how Eclipse brew groups work:

baldheadracing wrote:A somewhat humourous explanation of how Eclipse brew groups work:

Thanks. I have some general understanding of how an E61 grouphead works, which is why I'm baffled by the lack of the traditional lever and apparently also other trigger(s) for making the shot.

The seller is not a coffee guy and he is in another town, so unfortunately I can't ask/go check that easily.

p.s.
big fan of J. Hoffmann

The lever on an E61 is just a mechanical, three-way valve. Effectively either the group head is connected to the exhaust port or to the supply manifold. Behind the external lever is a cam-operated switch for the pump. The lever-operated three-way is replaced by an electrical three-way valve on some machines.

Ok, now that we clarified the E61 design principles , I'm hoping for someone with first-hand experience with this model or at least some documentation, general reputation of early Rocket commercial machines... anything that would help decide if it would be a good buy. Thanks!

At least for me, unless a commercial machine is something very special*, they're not a good buy for home users, especially multi-group machines. They typically are larger than life on a kitchen counter, consume huge amounts of electricity, and require 240 V, plumbing, and water treatment. As they have been designed to run all day, they can take even longer than a home-intended E61 to warm up and become stable.

* Take a look at Paul Pratt's or IamOiman's machines for some that I'd personally consider "very special". I'd also consider a single-group, commercial lever. I've "passed" on several dual-group commercial levers over the years.

iantic wrote:... why I'm baffled by the lack of the traditional lever and apparently also other trigger(s) for making the shot. ...

James' machine in the video and the Rocket both use a solenoid to control feeding the brew group instead of the E-61's manual lever. The electric group is/was commonly called the "Eclipse" group to distinguish it from the manual lever version of the E-61. (Note the two black buttons to fire the solenoids on the Rocket.)

baldheadracing wrote:(Note the two black buttons to fire the solenoids on the Rocket.)

So those are buttons? But shouldn't there be two per group?

Jeff wrote:At least for me, unless a commercial machine is something very special*, they're not a good buy for home users, especially multi-group machines.

I've had different two-group commercial machines in my home for 10 years now, plumbing and all
There is just something about their massive presence, huffing and puffing, that is enjoyable. It is also fun to plan the home bar around it

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