Rotary vs Vibe will have some differences, as well as possibly different machines having different size gicleur valves. I dont have hard data, just anecdotal and my mind halfway remembering old threads, but not every E61 has the same size gicleur.

With the flow control device, two things-

A- dont be afraid of it, like its some super advanced piece of kit. It is so super easy and intuitive to use. Couple tries and you'll fully understand what it does during the shot.

B- If you want to dial in shots to mimic a machine without a flow control, by all means you should do so. But I wouldnt personally worry too much about how exact the flow rate is to "stock".. which really isnt anything at all given the differences between machines. Just open it up so you're in the ballpark. The key would be to then LEAVE the setting alone. that is now "your" stock setting.

typeshige wrote:Just curious, do you start off at the 1 1/4 turn or 11g/s when starting off with new beans?

Yes generally speaking I do. Depends on the bean though. I might start with a slower flow on a higher altitude bean.

Are you guys just measuring by grams of water output over time from when you pull up the brew lever?

I have a Quick Mill Andreja Profiles. At full flow it will pump 6-7 g/sec once the pump is ramped up and stabilized. I measure by letting it ramp up, then quickly putting the cup under for 10 seconds. Repeat a few times to average out the sampling error. The QM Profiles uses a gear pump and it appears they programmed it for that flow. The gear pump will easily do far more than that flow rate based on its specs.