Techro, nice setup that you will have fun with. You obviously have mastered latte art! Kudos.

My pride and joy...

Hi all, I've been lurking this topic for some time, and quietly admiring the various posts. After many years of espresso hardware purchases, and a recently finished basement, I can finally call this setup, "complete".

Apologies for the humble brag, but I'm proud of what was put together, and I owe this forum many thanks for giving me the confidence to look into the used market; otherwise, I'd be relegated to something much less pleasing.

Best of the weekend to you all,

Frank

Getting settled in to our new home. Moved the machine from the old house yesterday to my new coffee nook. It's a little tight, but it's nice to have the dedicated space (and a 20A outlet - this is the 2x 1200W version). I will have to get a drawer-type knock box and do some stacking. We are on a well, so I installed the RO faucet at this sink and to the fridge that's on the other side of the back wall. I still have some personal touches to do such as adding shelves, etc...

chimopaul wrote: Getting settled in to our new home. Moved the machine from the old house yesterday to my new coffee nook. It's a little tight, but it's nice to have the dedicated space (and a 20A outlet - this is the 2x 1200W version). I will have to get a drawer-type knock box and do some stacking. We are on a well, so I installed the RO faucet at this sink and to the fridge that's on the other side of the back wall. I still have some personal touches to do such as adding shelves, etc...

Looks nice! I have a very similar space and shelves really help. I keep my grinder to the left of the machine so the machine is closer to the middle of the space, which helps keep the side walls clean. What's below the drawer on the left? I put a trash can there and knock directly into the trash, which eliminates the need for a knock box on the counter.

Anything missing?

Newbie to the world of espresso. Bought an Alex Duetto II on Kijiji (Canadian equivalent of Craigslist) for a pretty good deal. Had to replace the pump and motor (and give it a good cleaning - I'm not sure the previous owners ever backflushed) but otherwise it's a great machine. I'm a woodworker, so I replaced the plastic knobs and handles with some Padauk ones.

The top ones are the current knobs. I tried with larger, round hubcap type knobs previously and am wondering which one I like better.

Had a Virtuoso for pourovers previously but the steps were very limiting so I picked up a Sette. Other than the noise level it's a great little grinder.


Made some wooden accessories such as a tamping/weighing stand for the portafilter, dosing cup, grinder brush and WDT tool etc using some nice exotic woods.

FotonDrv wrote:Techro, nice setup that you will have fun with. You obviously have mastered latte art! Kudos.

Haha, thanks. I wouldn't say mastered, maybe more like starting to get the hang of it.

Here's something different. A GS/3 MP with a KafaTek Monolith Flat.
I wanted to go lever, but the wife wouldn't go for anything taller than the cabinets and was already used to a decade of GS/3.
On the other hand, I love having SOME control of the pre-infusion and pressure. And, best of all, it's not limited to 40 seconds.
It does use a ton of water, as the lower pressures are achieved by dumping water straight to the drip tray.
The next kitchen will have a plumbed in machine. Maybe even a lever!



Matt

Here is my setup. I am just starting on this Home Barista world and will use this machine to it's best of its ability.

95% of our consumption are milk drinks.

Looking forward to learning and eventually upgrading to one of many setups that I see here.