I got my Picopresso today and I have the same problem with the IMS baskets. Water coming out of the sides. Tomorrow I'm going to test the stock basket from Picopresso and see how that compares. Does everyone see a large difference between the IMS and stock, or is it minimal?

I've only just got my IMS basket so can't compare the two yet but I agree it is about 2mm too wide in diameter.
I trimmed mine. The included tamper is about the right size as the basket should be. 1st I put the tamper into the basket & drew round the black bit with a fine marker to get the size. Then used a bench grinder to trim to the line. I finished it off with some fine emery cloth & now now it fits perfectly. Took around 20min.
I did put a wrap of tape around the silver bit of the tamper before drawing round it so that it is completely centered in the basket. I also covered the basket holes with tape before starting to prevent filings from getting lodged in them

Quick update. I used the stock basket and here are my thoughts:

Stock basket:
Pros: It fits the dosing funnel perfect, making it easy to WDT without any mess. Also had no leaking.
Cons: I had to go to a coarser grind setting due to less holes. My first three shots were completely choked. When I finally got to he point of being able to get espresso, the shot tasted under extracted. I used a 1:2 ratio, and maybe a 1:3 ratio would've been better.

I then went back to my IMS basket. I took a rubber o-ring I had at home and put it underneath the lip of the IMS basket. Similar to what @Anatol wrote in his post. I pulled two shots like this and it appears to have fixed the leaking issue. I was able to grind a bit finer and I pulled a 1:2.5 shot, which, was not under extracted and tasted pretty good. I'll continue to experiment, but I can definitely see myself using this when traveling and in the office.

maccompatible wrote:and preheating as aggressively as possible, I can get what I'd call a balanced shot with my usual light roasted coffees but it takes higher extraction ratios (closer to 3:1). Darker roasts, on the other hand, are easier to pull at 2:1 ratio and still be very good, but this still requires a good pre-heat to taste well enough extracted.

Thanks for sharing! Question: When you say "requires a good pre-heat", could you share a bit more details about your pre-heating process?

I've been getting lukewarm shots (although balanced taste-wise), using the Stagg kettle with water in the 190 to 196 degrees Fahrenheit range. I preheat the picopresso for a few minutes and then squeeze out the water and immediately refill before pulling the actual shot. But not getting great temperature results in the shot. Any thoughts? (I also preheat my cup).

Preheat with boiling and brew with water just of boiling. I am usually around 209-210 when I brew and it comes out great. You will lose more temp than you think just in the time it takes to get the lid on and start building pressure, and you will continue to drop temp all the way thru the shot. For the same beans, i am at 202-203 in the LMLM.

Curious if everyone always tamps with the funnel? Using 18 grams I never seem to get a nice, polished puck and I'm tempted to tamp deeper without the funnel.

I use 17 gram, a full size leveler and then a self leveling tamper. I'm spoiled by using better tools with my other espresso machines. There's no need for the funnel when using such tools, except for WDT.

I tamp with the funnel first, then deeper without.

Also switched to a 14g IMS basket and decreased the dose to 14g to match, and started using a puck screen because I don't fully trust the shower screen.. MY GOODNESS the shots are crazy better. Nearly as good as what I got from my Flair Pro. Probably mostly from how much finer I had to grind to get the same flow.

Well... I was looking to further make my espresso-making camping setup smaller/lighter so ordered a Picopresso just now. Will be paired with my Helor 101 grinder and a tiny scale. I will retire my Flair from this task.

Also got the sleeve due to feedback on the unit getting a bit too hot to hold with bare hands.

Now looking for an 18 gram La Pavoni basket to go with this setup.

PartySausage wrote:I've only just got my IMS basket so can't compare the two yet but I agree it is about 2mm too wide in diameter.
I trimmed mine. The included tamper is about the right size as the basket should be. 1st I put the tamper into the basket & drew round the black bit with a fine marker to get the size. Then used a bench grinder to trim to the line. I finished it off with some fine emery cloth & now now it fits perfectly. Took around 20min.
I did put a wrap of tape around the silver bit of the tamper before drawing round it so that it is completely centered in the basket. I also covered the basket holes with tape before starting to prevent filings from getting lodged in them

So the IMS basket works? What about the tamper? Can it be used with the IMS basket as well?

I have the tools to modify/trim the outside of the rim...