Hi all,
I recently got my first real espresso machine and looking forward to learn a lot
My machine is a Brasilia Century AM/PL like this one: http://www.coffeemachinemanual.com/bras ... erica-plus
Only difference is that mine got a touch panel.

Is this an ok machine to start with?

I've done a couple of test shots and it delivers 9 and 1.1 bars of pressure which seems OK according to the displays pre-defined values.
My only concern is the water temperature. I did the mug trick and I only get temperaturs between ~68-70 Celsius.
Anyone got any ideas on how to increase the temp?

Thank you, this community seems very nice!

Excuse me for my rookie question but can this help me increase the espresso serving temperature?
How to adjust an espresso machine pressurestat (boiler temperature)

My pressure is pending between 1.0 and 1.1 bar so I guess I could increase it a bit?
Did another temperature test today and reached 72 degrees celsius at most

Since it might help some other rookie like me. I ended up changing the pressurestat (Brasilia has a Sirai) and the temp went up as I wished for.

Thank you for a very nice article about the the pressurestat, I learnt a lot.

Two main things besides boiler pressure can influence brew temp, among others. Making sure to let the machine idle for a half hour or so before using, and like most HX machines your flush routine will play a significant role. Boiler boiler pressure on my Century America is set at about 1 bar using the stock Sirai.

If you went with a Mater, an SSR will prolong the contact life.

cuppajoe wrote:Two main things besides boiler pressure can influence brew temp, among others. Making sure to let the machine idle for a half hour or so before using, and like most HX machines your flush routine will play a significant role. Boiler boiler pressure on my Century America is set at about 1 bar using the stock Sirai.

If you went with a Mater, an SSR will prolong the contact life.

Thank you cuppajoe. I was aware of the idle time but the flush routine was news to me.
This url explained it pretty well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0hUDhcIx5Y

I might go back to 1 bar and try it out.

This I didn't fully understand

If you went with a Mater, an SSR will prolong the contact life.

but English is not my native language nor am I that experienced in the espresso world (yet)

Lots of info on these boards regarding HX types and flush routines, check out the tips section.

These machines have high wattage elements, which stress pstat contacts. Being engineered for commercial use, Siraia's have robust contacts spec'd for the load. The Maters and the like, not so much. By having the Mater trigger the SSR(solid state relay), installed between the pstat and element. you take the stress off it's contacts.

Your English is a lot better than my Swedish, tho I did work for Hasselblad for a year as a tech in SoCal.

When doing a proper flush routine I could lower my pstat again and still be satisfied with the temp. Thank you for the info about that!

OT: Hasselblad, nice! they do really nice products (and I'm not saying that just because I'm Swedish )

Very good. Brasilia did make nice machines, too bad they didn't stick around. Hopefully it's easier to find parts sources over there.

Never did own Hassy, was more of a 35 rangefinder shooter, tho did get to play with a friend's outfit. The images from the 40mm Distagon were amazing.

Yes that' s too bad, but it looks like it is not impossible to find spare parts here in Europe.

Btw, two questions:
* Do you know where I can find a manual for the century? CoffeMachineManual didn't have one and also my machine have the touch panel.

* Are you able to do a double espresso and steam milk in one go? I need to rebuild the pressure after doing the espresso which take some time before I can steam. Not such a biggie for me but thinking this is a machine that can be used in a small Café, isn't it a bit slow?

Thanks

Not sure about the Century, but never found one for the Century America, which I think is fairly close but for the footprint. The America is also an auto and it arrived with the presets close enough for my purposes. It can also be used with the Brew/Stop buttons for manual control.

The machine is used for two double capps and steams like a champ. I make sure it has at least a half hour warm up before use. I use a 12oz pitcher a little less than half full and have also plugged two of the steam tip holes with round toothpick, this gives a bit more control. Pstat should be set for about 1 bar boiler pressure. Also check the auto fill sensor. It's rather short on mine, so have it adjusted as far down as it will go. This will have an effect on the boiler head room for steam, and also found if it is too high it promotes wet steam. After you got it did you descale and give it a good going over? These things have been discontinued for quite awhile and if you don't know it's maintenance history it's always a good idea. Mine looked like it had been sitting for a number of years and just about every seal and gasket needed replacing, even for the solenoids.