LUCCA M58 by Quick Mill, reviews and owners thread - Page 2

Need help with equipment usage or want to share your latest discovery?
phileveritt
Posts: 5
Joined: 9 years ago

#11: Post by phileveritt »

Two weeks in and still enjoying the smooth taste and speed of making my morning wake up drink. It took me a while to realize that there is far less water wastage with a dual boiler over a single boiler. Less flushing to get the temperature down to brew. As whenwherehowe noted, it's much quieter and I don't miss the sound of the cups and saucers rattling on Silvia's luke warm top as the vibe pump was giving it all she could ;)

There was one very minor issue when I received my machine, the pump pressure gauge was a bit loose and needed adjustment. Graeme at CC put together some great instructions after I asked them for some more details so I could make the change. I'm a firm believer in that it's not really yours until you've dived in and taken the cover off for a productive reason :)

While I was in there took some pictures:







It is well laid out, albeit a bit cramped. I suppose counters are only so deep so you've got to economize somehow. In the second picture you can see the pump is raised off the bottom on rubber mounts in the same way as it's suspended from the top plate. The two components on top of the pump are there temporarily to access the front pump gauge.

Can't wait until tomorrow to enjoy another cup.

newrevolution123
Posts: 144
Joined: 12 years ago

#12: Post by newrevolution123 »

benpiff wrote:Hi Chris,
I preheat cups and shot glasses with the hot water spout most of the time. My experience of dispensing hot water has been very similar across most machines, and I've found that dropping the steam boiler temperature a bit makes a big difference with spurting. For example, when I have the steam boiler set at 260, the wand dispenses faster and with a bit more sputtering than when I drop the temp to 250. But either way, the joysticks are very efficient for accurately dispensing the desired amount of hot water very quickly (with instant on and off).

By the way, what volumes of milk do you like to steam (if you drink milk drinks)?

Making a latte: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB3CFMrecuU
Max Pressure: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/g ... directlink
Real World Use: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/X ... directlink

-Ben

Thanks for shedding some light on the steam wand I was unaware that a mixing valve was required to have hot water without steam. Your videos are great so thanks for sharing them with us.
"Success is something you attract by the person you become.” -- Jim Rohn

whenwherehowe
Posts: 19
Joined: 9 years ago

#13: Post by whenwherehowe »

Probably my biggest beef with the machine so far is that the tray does not sit squarely, and is somewhat racked. It seems like the problem is probably just inherent in the design, which I'll admit makes for a very appealing set of soft lines along the front. But everything else about the machine feels really solid and well-built; it's kind of a drag every time I touch the tray and it rattles around. I'm thinking about putting some felt furniture pads on the tray where it rests on the machins, but I'm curious how many of you guys have this problem as well, and if you have a solution that worked particularly well.

phileveritt
Posts: 5
Joined: 9 years ago

#14: Post by phileveritt »

I can understand the tray comment. Admittedly my espresso machine experience is limited to using Miss Silvia, who's drip tray slid in and the cover hooked onto recess in the frame. The Lucca's tray has no way to stay put. I think this is why the Rocket 58 is complemented on it's magnetic drip tray.

Looking at the frame, which the tray slides on, it is notched just before it meets the front face of the machine. I wonder if they could incorporate a slight closure to that U channel, that slides on the frame, so that it could be hooked onto the frame and secured. It's a little too early to get the JBWeld out and making my own hooked version :) Maybe later...

malling
Posts: 2898
Joined: 13 years ago

#15: Post by malling »

whenwherehowe wrote:Probably my biggest beef with the machine so far is that the tray does not sit squarely, and is somewhat racked. It seems like the problem is probably just inherent in the design, which I'll admit makes for a very appealing set of soft lines along the front. But everything else about the machine feels really solid and well-built; it's kind of a drag every time I touch the tray and it rattles around. I'm thinking about putting some felt furniture pads on the tray where it rests on the machins, but I'm curious how many of you guys have this problem as well, and if you have a solution that worked particularly well.
I do not own a Lucca M58, but a V2B but I can see from the above picture that it is build entirely on the V2B's frame, so Basically it the same machine. The driptray on mine doesn't rattle around unless I mess with it, but it is not exactly a snug fit or a rugged design either. The top grate is also the same on both machines, and it's just badly designed and executed and after a few months it leave scratches on the frontpanel (as metal will expand when warmed up, to avoid this, you should put something on the back that turns towards the machine)! I had hoped for you that Quicmill didn't use that pice on the Lucca, as that is the worst part on the V2B, the drip tray is crap and looks like they just cut corners on the V2B, although on the Lucca it at least appear to be of a higher quality.

It impressive that one can build so beautiful outer cases, but are totally incapable of construction drip trays of a similar high quality. That and the Birds nest interior is what bothers me the most. But at least it dos hold a fair amount of water, the same thing can't be said about it's competitor.

yatesd
Posts: 55
Joined: 9 years ago

#16: Post by yatesd replying to malling »

I've only had my V2B for a week or so. The build quality of the drip tray seems decent to me, although I have had the drip tray slide out somewhat by accident (like pulling on a cup while resting on top). It doesn't "snap in", but just rests on top.

Moxiechef
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#17: Post by Moxiechef »

What if you epoxy a magnet on the frame and one on the drip tray somewhere? And a couple of clear plastic bumpers to keep the rattling down too?

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benpiff (original poster)
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#18: Post by benpiff (original poster) »

I wouldn't think that should be necessary, have you called Graeme about it? I just re-watched the videos I posted on the first page because I don't recall any vibration or rattling on either machine. After using the 2B's drip tray, I greatly prefer looking at and using the M58's (but I have recommended they raise that cut-out, which would greatly increase the tray's capacity). I like how easy it is to remove, and how much room it gives for cups and bottomless portafilter viewing. The only challenge I've experienced with it is not being able to see the water level and knowing when it's time to empty (my plumbed in 2B's drip tray has definitely made me lazy :oops: ).

I'm sure a lot of design work and customer feedback from the dual boiler market went into the design, so be confident that they are: very interested in improving all their products, appreciative of feedback, capable of constructing high quality drip trays. And beneath the drip tray I bet other 2B owners will appreciate the M58's beefier welded leg mounts, and the legs themselves.

augkor
Posts: 6
Joined: 9 years ago

#19: Post by augkor »

I am very happy to have received my shiny new Lucca M58 on Friday of last week! Have currently plumbed it in and love the look and feel. The drip tray on mine does not rattle, but it does slide forward very easily (probably a bit too easily for my taste). I may try to put some kind of thin magnet on the lip to keep it in place. Definitely not a big issue, but might be better with something that holds it slightly against the front of the body of the machine.

So far the espresso shots have been great. A big step up from the shots that I could get from my Silvia, which I have had now for about 12 years. I liked my Silvia but was never able to get the kind of depth in my shots that I have already experienced with the Lucca. That said, I am finding the milk steaming to be a bigger learning curve than I had expected. Here is my problem. I was using a single hole steaming wand on my Silvia and have gotten to the point that I have been able to make excellent microfoam at all times. I use an 8 oz pitcher and fill it about half full for my cappuccinos. I use the smaller 5 oz Black Cat (Not Neutral) cups from Intelligentsia for my daily drink. In the past few years I have gotten into the habit of using a thermometer in the milk and bringing the temp up to 135-140 degrees F. This has worked very well and takes about 25 seconds on my Silvia.

What I am finding with the Lucca is that the steam is too strong and the milk gets very bubbly and/or separated when I bring it to that high of a temperature (it even happens if I stop at 130 degrees). Sometimes, the milk also gets a bit watery. I do bleed the steam prior to steaming the milk so I don't think that is the problem. I have tried both the 2-hole and 4-hole tips and I think the 2-hole might be a little bit better for me, but I am still not able to get the kind of microfoam that I could get with a slightly slower steam engine on my Silvia. I have noticed in a few videos that when people steam with smaller pitchers, they have been steaming for a lot shorter time than I do, but since I am using a thermometer I know that I am bringing the milk to a reasonable temperature.

I know it is possible to accomplish this with the Lucca, but so far have not been able to do this and am sure I just need to adjust my technique. Any suggestions (other than using a larger quantity of milk or a larger pitcher as I just don't want to waste that much milk every day) would be greatly appreciated! Other than my own shortcomings with the milk situation, I am extremely happy with the machine--look, feel and coffee results.

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benpiff (original poster)
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#20: Post by benpiff (original poster) »

Hi Jon, I know what you mean about the smaller machines being easier (they're definitely easier to learn on). As I've moved into bigger equipment I've found it in some ways harder because I like smaller and smaller drinks these days, and with joysticks you can't ease into it like you could with your Silvia (which also was less about 1/5 the size of your LUCCA's steam boiler). What I find helpful for being scientific with different machines is varying the amount of stretching time and keeping track of it, and trying to end my steaming sooner than I think I should (going hotter never makes milk taste better or mix as well). With the M58 steam boiler set around 255-260, I'm probably only stretching the milk for 3-4 seconds max. Have you tried lowering your steam (T2) boiler temp to ease into this transition? I'd recommend that with the 2 hole tip, trying to stretch the milk for just a few seconds and then spending your time finding the right mixing point. I also use the Toroid 12oz pitcher, which probably helps a bit with the mixing.

Lastly, see if you can record your progress, that will probably help get more specific feedback from the growing wealth of latte art resources. I'll try and do some better filming of my current regiment, but it's over so quickly. Ha! Every time I'm watching my favorite latte artists on Instagram or Youtube, they're ending up with a huge amount of milk in the pitcher. I challenge myself to leave zero waste, so my results will never be as good as if I was working with more milk.