Learned from and loved this lever machine.


But I took the plunge to move over to a pump machine, and I took receipt of my new ECM Synchronika with FC, early this week.



My biggest challenge so far with this new machine, has been not over-caffeinating! I'm blown away with how much faster it's been, pulling multiple (good) shots compared to my beloved Elektra Mcal lever machine.
This machine was purchased from WLL with the FC option. There was some kind of mix up I guess at the warehouse, and they shipped out a standard version to me. At first, I was kinda put off by that, but have come around to actually being glad this happened. I originally planned to try and set the FC to reflect a standard flow, while I first learned the basics of this machine. As it stands now, I can certainly do that, and WLL has shipped me the upgrade kit, which I elected to install myself, vs returning this beast for a round trip to have them do this installation. I spent the first evening after rcpt, just learning my way around the machine, verifying the fittings were tight, and all was functional.



The next morning though, game on! Using some 5 day old Kenyan AB beans I had roasted to Full City, I was pleasantly surprised that the first shot I pulled was actually drinkable, though a bit on the bright side for my taste. After a few grinding adjustments, I zeroed in on the brew temp being too low. I raised it about 3 degrees, and bamm, terrific shot!



This one was a wee bit over sized. I was mesmerized watching the pulled shot develop, and forgot to stop it. On my lever, that's not a workflow step to worry about. This shot was still terrific!
From that point, I've been climbing a steep learning curve, but have already fell in love with this contraption. Here are a few take-aways I've noted thus far.

PROS:
1. As generally reported, the machine's build quality is very robust and pleasing with the attention to detail.
2. No rattles or loud noises during operation.
3. Warm up time is not excessive.
4. Positive feel from levers.
5. Seems to be very forgiving with regard to beans/grind/puck construction/recipe ratio. In that I'm not experiencing channeling issues or spritzers, and am finding a tasty cup without having to lock into a specific recipe regiment. This one thing has surprised me more than anything else so far. My lever machine experience has been such, that channeling can be likely when one is not very particular with building a proper puck.
6. Clean up is very easy at the group head. While I have supply wtr coming in from the onboard tank only, I still get a nice slow release of water through the shower screen, when opening the lever to half open. This facilitates brushing clean the shower screen without making a splashing mess.

CONS:
1. This is a heavy beast. Not really a con to me, but certainly needs to be taken into consideration when planning where to park it.
2. While the group head is easy to clean, the rest of the unit face has a lot of places to wipe down if one has a spritzer or some kind of splash. Petty, but I'm really stretching to find cons.
3. I'm not yet sold on the steam wand. I find this one to be too big (bulky), and with the two hole tip, it just doesn't generate the same steaming authority I'm accustomed to with the smaller and much more svelt wand on the Mcal. Over all, I find it harder to use. I'm taking this position with a grain of salt though, because I anticipate better results upon getting used to it. So far though, it's not been satisfying, but better than nothing. This is really the only complaint I have found. I understand that this steamer is considered one of the better ones in this class of machine, so I've probably just been spoiled by the performance from my Mcal. On my Mcal, I can generate a nice 12 oz jug of microfoam in 10 seconds or so.

All in all, I'm blown away with this machine. While I've noticed that I'm not getting the same layers of flavors with the ECM that I'm accustomed to getting with my lever; the shots I do get are terrific and easier to reproduce. I suspect that once I have the FC installed and figured out, I will start seeing some of those layers of flavor blossom on the ECM as well. I never really expected to discern this taste difference with the same grinds from two different style, dialed in machines, but it's a real thing!

Congratulations, I'm sure you'll enjoy the machine.

After a while you might want to try removing the inner no-burn sleeve from the steam wand. Folks here have recommended that (for various machines) and just recently I went ahead and removed the sleeve from my Pro700. It made a huge improvement in frothing milk with the 2-hole tip. I had trouble making progress in latte art and seemed to improve after making this mod. Steam volume and frothing speed seems increased and the micro foam shows better consistency.

I had the same issue with the steaming, despite the 2-bar pressure. I switched from the 2-hole tip to a 4-hole tip. Way better, for me anyway. The 2-hole tip seemed to be very sensitive to placement; the 4-hole tip steams merrily no matter where I orient it. The only downside, if it is one, is that it's really fast. Within a second or two, the milk is up to where I want it and the rest is just heating. When I'm on my game, I can place the tip just right and not move it at all, just like a big commercial machine.

Well I'm glad to hear there's a likely hood I'll be able to make improvements on the steam wand. I just finished looking up the parts break-down for this machine and saw there are a variety of tips designed for it. I might try out a 3 hole version, but get a four hole tip as well.

Removing the inner no-burn sleeve sounds intriguing. Is there a thread that talks about this in more detail someplace?

Rustic, Congrats on the ECM!
I've had mine for 2 weeks now, and enjoy it also. My previous machine was a La Spaziale Vivaldi II.
Agree, the 2 hole steam tip isn't very fast. I purchased the ECM 3 hole and 4 hole.
Odd thing is, the 3 holes are not 120 degrees apart (like most brands are made). Its a 4 hole with one hole missing, so holes at 12, 3, and 9 oclock.
Currently have the 3 hole installed, and it performs well.
I've been on a cortado binge, so I only put 2 oz of milk in a 8 oz jug. The 2 hole was slow, and easy to control. The 3 hole is extremely fast for 2 oz of milk, and I need to pay attention to not blow milk out of the jug.
I couldn't find the ECM tips on WLL web.
If they don't sell them, 1st-line has the 3 hole in stock. Get a couple spare o-rings too, and put a small touch of food grade grease on it before installing a tip so the o-ring does not tear.
Agree, all that stainless shows being dirty. I don't clean mine as often as I should. That's one La Spaziale advantage - less shinny stainless, and the backsplash is tucked under the group and upper hosing.

beanman thanks for the tips! I'm a cortado fan too. Currently roasting a Yemeni Sana'a that's full on bittersweet chocolate, and perfect as a cortado. It's a struggle to stop at just two, with this ECM.

I, too, would like to know exactly how to remove the liner inside the frothing wand. Do you just unscrew the wand tip, then grab the sleeve with needle nose pliers & pull?

I just unscrewed the upper nut holding the wand to the valve, but that requires some care in reassembly as there is a spring that seats and friction holds the articulating ball. It was easy to pull out the sleeve the way I did it. I'm not sure how easy it is to pull the whole thing out from the nozzle end, but I can't think of a reason it wouldn't work. Getting it back in might be another matter.

EDIT/ADDENDUM (3/14/22): I just reinstalled the Teflon sleeve and it went back in easily from below. I could have removed it before from below, and a lot easier, without removing the wand from the valve...

In the past, folks pulled the Teflon tube out of their no-burn steaming wands to increase the amount of steam. The Synchronika boiler can be run at up to twice the pressure of the older machines. It has plenty of steam. Nevertheless, it has only a medium-sized boiler and a smallish heater, compared to commercial machines. Thus, its steam production drops as the milk is foamed, stabilizing at a respectable 1.25 bar, or thereabouts, depending on the tip being used. So, if one reduces the restriction of the Teflon tube, the steam would be used up a bit faster, likely resulting in a drop-off to maybe a bar (just guessing). Why would anyone want to do that?

Those are good points and I wondered about them before I tried pulling out my Pro700's steam wand sleeve. But I read some posts here on HB that you can get higher and more forceful steam flow (and also drier steam but since hotter steam is drier and a non-insulated wand would allow steam to lose heat on its way through the wand that didn't quite make sense to me). I figured that might allow me to improve my latte art skills and I did find the foam was easier to work after pulling the sleeve...but that might also have been due to cumulative effects of practice...

I have found that the milk froths faster without the sleeve and given the shorter time I need to steam x-amount of milk the pressure drop to do so doesn't seem much if any greater than when I used the insulated wand. At the end of steaming it roughly stops at the same pressure it did with the no-burn wand...but since it's faster I guess it does mean the pressure drops at a greater speed after the mod.

There are (at least) 3 things I do not like about the sleeveless wand so far: 1) It gets very hot and can easily burn you; 2) Milk gets baked onto the distal end of the wand that's in contact with milk...and is a pain to clean even if you wipe it immediately after steaming. 1 & 2 were not problems with the no-burn wand. And 3) Despite what others have said about getting drier steam from an uninsulated wand, there seems to be quite a bit more water discharged during the pre-steaming flush I do each time I use the wand. I'll actually do some tests to measure that when and if I reinsert the sleeve.