How to get Pavoni shots on a semi auto?? - Page 2

May 5th, 2023, 8:39 pm

Chert wrote:I too thoroughly enjoy shots from the Millenium group Pavoni (at work) and enjoy trying to make coffee like that with my Decent ( my more versatile home machine). I wonder if my boiler pressure is a little cooler or our tastes diverge somehow, because unlike the premillenium units I''ve had, I can easily produce 2nd and 3rd shots I enjoy on the Pavoni Mill and need to let it warm up a little for my first shot to be ideal.

Interesting. Have you tinkered with the p-stat? Maybe mine is set high. I reach 70-75c with a bare electrode on the side of the bell in about 15 minutes. It heats up crazy fast. I know it's hard to compare bell temps, it I'm definitely ready to prep my shot in 15 minutes.

#12: Post by **Chert** » May 5th, 2023, 9:32 pm

Rickpatbrown wrote:Interesting. Have you tinkered with the p-stat? ..

I can't recall. I assembled the unit a few years back of a millenium group purchased from Stefano's and base etc left from a broken Pavoni. It has a boiler gauge, but I can't recall offhand what it is set to. I will try to make note when next I use it.

#13: Post by **mrgnomer** » May 6th, 2023, 1:01 am

The Strega's heat exchange, Sirai type pressurestat and most of its other parts are pretty much the same as the E61 HX I had before. Pump wise my E61 had a rotary and the Strega uses a vibe which is a downgrade. The Strega does have a heated group which is an upgrade. The Strega is 58mm which is convenient and kind of interesting.

The upgrade is extraction quality control. I found the Strega's lever grouphead pulls so much better espresso. Its vibe pump doesn't just fill the boiler but, when the lever is all the way down, the group as well. It can be used to fully extract a shot E61 style if you want. Or not at all. You can control how much of the vibe to use.

The spring pressure decline is kind of controllable if you restrict it by pulling back on the lever during the pull but it still declines. The brew temperature is a ball park surf and rebound time. But even if those variables were more accurately controllable I don't know how much better the espresso would be. To get more control and maybe better espresso you could modify the Strega or spend a lot more money on a hybrid lever already modded out. I might try that one day. For now I don't see the need. I'd rather save up for a bigger grinder.