Lelit Bianca very high grouphead pressure
-
holy_sora
- Posts: 4
- Joined: 3 years ago
Hi all,
Recently, encouraged by very positive posts seen here, I purchased my first espresso machine: the Lelit Bianca. I have had it for a few days, and I have started to test it. Coming from the NanoFoamer, I am impressed with its steaming capabilities. Unfortunately, I have not been able to be happy with my shots yet.
Regarding that, I have a few questions:
- The pump pressure gauge shows around 10.5 bar, but the grouphead pressure shows almost 12 bar. Is this normal? Is there any way to make this value smaller, maybe closer to 9 bar? With different grind sizes, I achieve shot times from 20 to 47 s, with the paddle fully opened. I have also tried to tamp lighter/heavier, with similar results. I get quite bitter shots in general, and I was wondering if it is related to this very high pressure.
- My first try to decrease this pressure was to flow profile with the paddle, but there is a very limited range where the change in incoming flow affects the pressure, usually shooting from 3 to almost 12 bar in a small variation of the turn.
- I also decreased the brew temperature from 95 to 90 degrees, improving slightly the results. Is there any guideline for brew temperatures for the Bianca depending on the roast level?
The rest of my setup is a Eureka Mignon Specialita as a grinder, with some Brazilian medium roast beans, creamy and full-bodied in the cafe where I purchased them. I tried two bags, roasted 3 weeks and 1 week ago. I am doing around 17g in/33 g out. I grind, level with my finger/light tap, tamp with the Bianca tamper and go for the shot (no WDT tool yet). My best attempt so far was with 90C of brew temp, 24 s shot with the rest of the default parameters, first drips happening at around 7 s with the shot at almost 12 bar constantly, with the bag roasted 1 week ago.
Thank you in advance!
Recently, encouraged by very positive posts seen here, I purchased my first espresso machine: the Lelit Bianca. I have had it for a few days, and I have started to test it. Coming from the NanoFoamer, I am impressed with its steaming capabilities. Unfortunately, I have not been able to be happy with my shots yet.
Regarding that, I have a few questions:
- The pump pressure gauge shows around 10.5 bar, but the grouphead pressure shows almost 12 bar. Is this normal? Is there any way to make this value smaller, maybe closer to 9 bar? With different grind sizes, I achieve shot times from 20 to 47 s, with the paddle fully opened. I have also tried to tamp lighter/heavier, with similar results. I get quite bitter shots in general, and I was wondering if it is related to this very high pressure.
- My first try to decrease this pressure was to flow profile with the paddle, but there is a very limited range where the change in incoming flow affects the pressure, usually shooting from 3 to almost 12 bar in a small variation of the turn.
- I also decreased the brew temperature from 95 to 90 degrees, improving slightly the results. Is there any guideline for brew temperatures for the Bianca depending on the roast level?
The rest of my setup is a Eureka Mignon Specialita as a grinder, with some Brazilian medium roast beans, creamy and full-bodied in the cafe where I purchased them. I tried two bags, roasted 3 weeks and 1 week ago. I am doing around 17g in/33 g out. I grind, level with my finger/light tap, tamp with the Bianca tamper and go for the shot (no WDT tool yet). My best attempt so far was with 90C of brew temp, 24 s shot with the rest of the default parameters, first drips happening at around 7 s with the shot at almost 12 bar constantly, with the bag roasted 1 week ago.
Thank you in advance!
-
BruceWayne
- Posts: 299
- Joined: 3 years ago
You should definitely read through the Lelit Bianca User Experience thread.
You can easily adjust the pump pressure on the Bianca, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh-VUwnMd_g
The pressure increase is very fast once it starts ramping. If I'm trying to only use the paddle to affect peak group head pressure, I usually set the paddle beforehand. I'm still learning the full use of the paddle myself.
You can easily adjust the pump pressure on the Bianca, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh-VUwnMd_g
The pressure increase is very fast once it starts ramping. If I'm trying to only use the paddle to affect peak group head pressure, I usually set the paddle beforehand. I'm still learning the full use of the paddle myself.
-
elkayem
- Posts: 128
- Joined: 3 years ago
The only part of your description that differs from my own experience is the reading on your grouphead pressure. On my machine, this pressure never exceeds the pump pressure, which is what one would expect. It sounds like one of the two is out of calibration. So which is right? As the saying goes, a man with two watches is never sure what time it is. Based on other threads in this forum, I would guess the rotary pressure is probably more accurate. Most people receive their machines with the rotary pressure between 10-11 bar. You can certainly adjust it to 9 bar, and many do. I left mine at 10, and use the paddle to limit the pressure to 9. That way, I can increase the pressure to 10 in the occasional cases where I want to increase flow a little. As for the brewhead pressure gauge, you might contact your vendor to see what they say. Maybe there is an easy way to adjust it, or maybe the easiest thing to do is have them send you a new gauge.
-
mous
- Posts: 2
- Joined: 2 years ago
Hi holy_sora.holy_sora wrote:Hi all,
Recently, encouraged by very positive posts seen here, I purchased my first espresso machine: the Lelit Bianca. I have had it for a few days, and I have started to test it. Coming from the NanoFoamer, I am impressed with its steaming capabilities. Unfortunately, I have not been able to be happy with my shots yet.
Regarding that, I have a few questions:
- The pump pressure gauge shows around 10.5 bar, but the grouphead pressure shows almost 12 bar. Is this normal? Is there any way to make this value smaller, maybe closer to 9 bar? With different grind sizes, I achieve shot times from 20 to 47 s, with the paddle fully opened. I have also tried to tamp lighter/heavier, with similar results. I get quite bitter shots in general, and I was wondering if it is related to this very high pressure.
- My first try to decrease this pressure was to flow profile with the paddle, but there is a very limited range where the change in incoming flow affects the pressure, usually shooting from 3 to almost 12 bar in a small variation of the turn.
- I also decreased the brew temperature from 95 to 90 degrees, improving slightly the results. Is there any guideline for brew temperatures for the Bianca depending on the roast level?
The rest of my setup is a Eureka Mignon Specialita as a grinder, with some Brazilian medium roast beans, creamy and full-bodied in the cafe where I purchased them. I tried two bags, roasted 3 weeks and 1 week ago. I am doing around 17g in/33 g out. I grind, level with my finger/light tap, tamp with the Bianca tamper and go for the shot (no WDT tool yet). My best attempt so far was with 90C of brew temp, 24 s shot with the rest of the default parameters, first drips happening at around 7 s with the shot at almost 12 bar constantly, with the bag roasted 1 week ago.
Thank you in advance!
I am experiencing the same issue with my Lelit Bianca v2. Although I am seeing 10.5bar in my pump pressure gauge, the grouphead pressure has 12bar (top limit) when I am using the blind basket. I am trying to keep the flow around 10bar max in extraction (via paddle) but I don't know if it should work by this way or there is a problem with my machine and it needs calibration.
Did you find solution in your case?
