Expobar Brewtus IV with low brew pressure, need help.

Need help with equipment usage or want to share your latest discovery?
JeffU
Posts: 4
Joined: 8 years ago

#1: Post by JeffU »

Hi all. New here to the forum. I just got the Expobar Brewtus IV w/ vibration pump. When brewing it will not go past 4 bars of pressure. I know there has been a post on a similar issue before but this seems to be a different issue.

Here is all that I have done so far based on the research I have done here on the forum as well as other websites:

Checked for leaks while brewing. (none)
Checked the pressure using the blind filter. (Pressure reaches 10 bars)
Adjusted grind
Tried different amounts of coffee ranging from 14-16 grams
Decreased the temperature from 200 to 190 degrees (not sure if this would change the pressure at all. It didn't in my case)

I'm now unsure what to do next. This is my first prosumer level machine so I know I have a lot to learn.

Any suggestions and help would greatly be appreciated.

coffinnate
Posts: 42
Joined: 8 years ago

#2: Post by coffinnate »

It sounds like you need to grind finer. What kind of grinder do you have?

User avatar
sweaner
Posts: 3013
Joined: 16 years ago

#3: Post by sweaner »

What happens if you use a blind filter, such as doing a backflush?

Also, how are the shots?
Scott
LMWDP #248

JeffU (original poster)
Posts: 4
Joined: 8 years ago

#4: Post by JeffU (original poster) »

sweaner wrote:What happens if you use a blind filter, such as doing a backflush?

Also, how are the shots?
My mistake. Blind filter is what I meant. I get full pressure up to 10 bar.

The shots are flat with little to no crema.
coffinnate wrote:It sounds like you need to grind finer. What kind of grinder do you have?
I have the Breville Smart Grinder with it on the finest setting.

coffinnate
Posts: 42
Joined: 8 years ago

#5: Post by coffinnate »

I'm not personally familiar with that grinder, but a quick search indicates that it may not be capable of a fine enough grind. It looks like there are some posts that indicate the burr spacing may have been changed at some point. How old is yours?

Is Breville Smart Grinder any good for espresso?

JeffU (original poster)
Posts: 4
Joined: 8 years ago

#6: Post by JeffU (original poster) replying to coffinnate »

Mine is a few years old. It seems like I have the older version.

I ended up buying a new bag of coffee this morning at a local coffee shop and had them grind it for me. Now that I have something to compare it to I now know for sure that my breville grinder won't grind it fine enough for espresso. Looks like I'll be going back to using my hand coffee mill for the time being.

On a positive note, I was able to pull a semi-successful double shot with the coffee I purchased this morning. Still not at the pressure it needs to be at but it was closer this time around. Now I think I just need to work on dosing and tamping to get the results I want.

As I said before, this is my first prosumer level machine and I'm used to the pressurized filter basket that my old machine had. Quite the learning curve!

Thank you all for your help in steering me in the right direction.

JeffU (original poster)
Posts: 4
Joined: 8 years ago

#7: Post by JeffU (original poster) »

UPDATE:

Thanks again for all the suggestions I received here. Yesterday I was able to get some coffee from a great coffee shop called Red Eye Coffee Roasters in Hingham, MA; about 20 minutes from where I live. Once I got home I did a couple runs adjusting my grind each time with my hand mill and I am finally able to brew some quality and excellent tasting espresso! :D

I definitely learned that quality and fresh coffee is CRUCIAL! I'm glad I found a local shop that puts such emphasis on that.