Rocket R58 - Arrival Issues

#1: Post by **YngwieDonut** » January 22nd, 2021, 7:17 am

Hello All,
This is my first post.
My family purchased me an R58 as a gift from Seattle Coffee Gear. Upon opening the box yesterday, we found what appears to be several water spots on the chrome legs. (Over a dozen) These do not wipe off with a microfiber cloth and Windex, which SCG recommended. Also... the right pressure gauge arrived slightly off center and is moveable by hand, but not loose. SCG wants me to remove the case and tighten it with a 14 mm wrench.

Is this acceptable in the world of $3000 US machines? I realize it did ship from Italy and apparently SCG ships them without inspecting each unit. They offered to discount the machine for imperfections in the finish or I can return it. I'll post some pics shortly.

I am not using the system until I decide if its going back. Any feedback is appreciated.
Thank you.

#2: Post by **drH** » January 22nd, 2021, 7:35 am

Give those water spots one last try with barista wipes. These often work for me:
https://urnex.com/cafe-wipz-coffee-equi ... ning-wipes

If that doesn't work and they are very noticeable, then maybe you can ask for replacement legs? That doesn't seem too much to ask to keep a customer happy.

As to the loose gauge, I had other issues like this with machines I purchased from other vendors. One had a slight bend in the frame and I decided to live with it bc shipping back was a hassle (though that wasn't as nice a machine as the R58). Another arrived with a leak inside and I was instructed to fix it with a wrench. I'm not mechanically inclined but it turned out to be a 10min job. Overall, machines of this caliber will eventually need some kind of internal work (changing a pressure-stat, fixing a leak, etc) and it can be helpful to know how to get inside. In your case this might just be a loose fitting from shipping. I think it's worth a try to tighten it with their help as long as the rest of the machine is working as you expect. I hope, though, that they are motivated to make sure you are satisfied.

#3: Post by HB » January 22nd, 2021, 8:02 am

YngwieDonut wrote:Is this acceptable in the world of $3000 US machines?

Was it shipped in a box or palleted? While small espresso machines can be shipped without much risk of damage, I believe it's money well spent to pallet larger ones (it adds a couple hundred dollars in shipping costs).

While it's annoying that your espresso machine was jostled enough to work some components loose, if it were me, I'd be happy to see that it's easily correctable. I've had lots of espresso machines delivered and several have suffered minor correctable issues (e.g., misaligned panels) while some had damage (e.g., bent frame and dinged panels).

I have a lot of automotive cleaning supplies, including polishes for buffing car finishes for swirl marks. The water stains you show look like the type that would buff out in less than a minute. Of course, I'll add the caveat that you have to know what you're doing, though chrome-plated metal is very easy to buff (versus aluminum, which is really easy to screw up permanently). If you can't do that, I'd ask the vendor to swap them with unmarred ones and they can do the polishing themselves.

PS: This particular thread doesn't seem likely to go off the rails, but for those new to the site, please read the Guidelines for productive online discussion section entitled Public complaints about customer service.

January 22nd, 2021, 8:24 am

Thank you, drH and Mr. Kehn.
Your posts made me feel much better.
I'll give the wipes a shot. It looks like there was a small amount of drainage from the wand during shipping.
The R58 was shipped double boxed. The outer box was huge with large foam inserts. My Rancilio Silvia from the same vendor was also packed extremely well a few years back, as well as my grinder.
FYI, the Rocket R60V is their first larger unit that ships by default in a wooden crate.

I just remembered I received a damaged portafilter handle with my lever machine shipped directly from Italy. (Non-double boxed) The vendor sent me a new one immediately.

January 23rd, 2021, 6:32 pm

HB wrote: PS: This particular thread doesn't seem likely to go off the rails, but for those new to the site, please read the Guidelines for productive online discussion section entitled Public complaints about customer service.

I would like to apologize, as I feel my first post appears to be finger pointing at my chosen distributor. If I were to buy another machine tomorrow, it would be from the same company without hesitation.
I found a YouTube post from another R58 purchaser with identical spots on the front legs. He could not remove them either. I decided to ask the service department if the legs could be swapped out.
As for the machine, I'll be testing it for the first time today.
Thank you,
JD

January 23rd, 2021, 10:29 pm

The shipping companies like to abuse big boxes. I had a double boiler machine delivered right from the factory floor in Italy for a review several years ago. Same double boxing and padding. The outer box looked OK but did have some light damage but it did ship halfway across the world. When I unboxed the machine it had been so badly damaged the frame was bent, the boiler mounts twisted, gauges knocked out of alignment, etc... The shipper must have tossed out a 2nd story window.

Machines are often function tested so having some water spots is relatively normal. It is nearly impossible to get it completely dry so a few erroneous water spots are normal. Gauges are normally held in place with a simple bracket with a couple of nuts on it. If it is off-center, and that is all there is to it, you can loosen the nuts and straighten the gauge. It may have vibrated/jostled off-center from the shipping.

January 24th, 2021, 1:47 am

I fired up the R58 today and watched it continuously leak water out of the power cord's O-ring. At this point, I have to return this unit and will most likely be looking at a different manufacturer.
FYI: When reading the documentation, the R60 is listed as only 5mm taller and .5kg heavier, yet that machine is sent crated.

Thank you to everyone who replied to my posts.

#8: Post by **icantroast** » January 24th, 2021, 3:53 pm

That is a huge bummer. I'm sorry that happened to you. I'd be very upset if it happened to me, especially if it were my first machine and was that expensive.

#9: Post by **jgood** » January 24th, 2021, 4:23 pm

Didn't read all the way down so ignore my post!!!

The loose gauge is probably not a big issue if you have any mechanical ability. I just got a QM steamer with a loose gauge and I will take off the case and tighten at some point soon. The spots on the legs will probably come off with a little metal polish and elbow grease - I would assume they're stainless steel like the case. I would tell the vendor that if they don't polish out you would like replacement legs. But if it was me I'd not let those issues keep me from putting it into action.

January 24th, 2021, 4:42 pm

YngwieDonut wrote:I fired up the R58 today and watched it continuously leak water out of the power cord's O-ring. At this point, I have to return this unit and will most likely be looking at a different manufacturer.

I would say that the sooner you become comfortable being your own espresso technician the better. Water coming out of the power cord O-Ring is a Red Line.