And it's easy...

Mine is, and has been already flow profiling through an on-the-fly controllable needle valve, a la Bianca/Slayer.

So the next step for me was to go rotary. I just did this to mine. And it's easy and reversible for factory repairs. Very very fun to use this way. BUT...

1) It's commercial style... Not home style. By that I mean that the motor and the pump that is attached to it is NOT inside the machine. Right now, I have it under the kitchen sink. The pump is being fed by the output from my ion exchange softener, which I have always had under the sink anyway. The output from the pump comes out through the hole in the granite counter that was there for a soap dispenser (who uses those anyway?)

2) In stock form, this machine has its own separate, dedicated steam boiler pump. The system works very well and does not ever interfere with an extraction because of a software call to fill the steam boiler. I decided not to mess with it. So I keep a little water in the reservoir tank, for steam boiler fills and let the system operate as it always does.

3) Before I did the rotary, I had wired in a pump interrupt switch, so I could switch off the vibe pump while the solenoid remained open, for long slow puck soaks. And I wanted to retain that capability with the rotary, so I came up with an ingenious solution... Since I have the pump under the sink, I plugged it into the garbage disposal outlet and switch it on and off with the disposal switch, which is right next to the machine by the sink (the way a lot of plumbed home machines are). Now, I have independent control of the pump and the solenoid, to go along with my full authority on the fly needle valve.

4) Still, going rotary is all bling. I cannot honestly say that it makes better espresso than a vibe pump with full control. But I can honestly say that being plumbed is nice, not having to worry about reservoir fills.

With the pump mounted remotely under the sink, the loudest noise is the sound of the espresso running into the cup, with a quiet solenoid hum in the background. This is a HUGE aesthetic improvement and is two tons of fun.

-Peter

Full-on awesome! Congrats to you. I hope you get some time to share some pics.

Oddly enough, pictures would be pretty boring and anti-climactic. The machine looks the same as it ever did. All I did was connect the rotary's output tube with the machine's input tube using an adapter. And pull one of the spade connectors off the vibe pump, so it doesn't turn on when I hit one of the brew buttons. So easy it's almost a joke.

BUT...

I will post some vids after I get back from the work trip I just started on. The silence is what this rotary biz is all about anyway.

-Peter

I decided to make these videos more about the rotary plumbed experience and not about the flow profiling I can also do with my needle valve, so I just opened up the valve and did old skool, no pre infusion, Linea Mini style pulls here.

The vids:
Cup warming with line pressure only. You hear the click and light hum of the solenoid: Traditional pull, NOT using the needle valve for profiling and NO pre infusion (gratuitous commentary from wife): Apologies for dirty machine and the bad lighting on the second one. My phone camera kept focusing on the outdoor light to the right. Loving the aesthetic of being able to hear the sweet sound of thick espresso falling into the cup, and not having to worry about filling the tank.

-Peter

Nice work Peter,

Now try a line pressure shot

Cheers!

- Jake

Some smart guy I know did that very thing a few days ago. That put it on my list to try. Just at line pressure, it seems to flow ~5.5ml/s and gets to just under 2.5'ish bar on a blind. Definitely pullable, I think.

I think my city line pressure is around 5 bar. It even crossed my mind to wonder why I need a pump at all?

-Peter

That pull looks perfect! This is next on my list! The BDB ModFather keeps pushing the envelope!

Amazing work Peter as ever! The machine sounds fantastic plumbed in.

Thanks, mate. BTW, While I spent many more years in Australia than NZ, I did an excellent year of Uni in Wellington, at Vic. Lived in Lower Hutt for that.

Back on topic, Two and a half weeks plumbed, I just barely used a quarter of a reservoir tank for the rare small milk drink, and steaming milk for masala chai that one of my little girls is mad over. So again, I still use the reservoir, but only for steam. Since the machine already has a dedicated pump and fill system for the steam boiler that is independent of the brew circuit, I decided not to mess with it. I don't mind the rare partial fill of the reservoir for steam only.

-Peter

Still working a treat. Never want to go back to vibe pump and filling the tank.

But that's not why I'm posting tonight. It's that thanks to great research by fellow BDB'er Brendan/bhennessy, we can now access and read fault codes in the diagnostic menus. And sure enough, in my rotary conversion, I bypassed the flow meter. And on the diagnostic it shows the "no flow detected" fault code. This might have the added benefit of not sending the nuisance "descale now" message, which I don't need because I use scale free water anyway.

-Peter