Sorry I missed this and didn't get to respond in time. I have spent the last 6 years visiting one or both of my kids while they were in school up there. Gimme used to be better than it is but it is still pretty good. My favorite place is a plant store on the commons that

Just for reference, is your machine one with a pressurestat? (green light, single switch) or an older two switch model? A gasket might work, but as far as I know, the original setup is always: brass nut + brass washer on the inside of the boiler, and just the valve fitting on the outside. No gasket. The only

I remember having issues at first with the BBE. The Breville doesn't have a well set OPV (over pressure valve.) If you are pegging the dial then you are getting around 15-16bar. With that much pressure coming on in a finely ground puck you are probably causing major channels or fracturing the puck. Mine reacted one

I am in this camp too. More because I am newer to roasting and want to get good enough at one approach before I complicate things. But the straightforward and achievable guidelines of the Rao curve combined with Alan's approach of letting the coffee give you what it wants (sorry for paraphrasing...I hope I got it right) for me has

I also built a cheaper version, using an electric motor from a screwdriver, but the results are more modest. {image} {image}

Certainly don't consider variable RPM to be a game changer, but it is one nice thing with hand grinding as small changes can be made just by variable cranking

Just wondering what grinders at this price point DO have variable rpm?

That would be ironic. I have boxes of E61 stuff everywhere

Your expansion valve is stuck closed. Your machine is building up pressure in the brew circuit far higher than 12Bar, that excessive pressure is holding your brew valve down. You're lucky it isn't blowing your fittings apart, yet. You want to fix or replace and adjust your expansion valve immediately

Yes, lots of questions. A severe handicap to diagnose a roast I haven't cupped on a machine I haven't used, but such is the internet. 3) I expected BT at turning point to be more v-shaped whereas it was more u-shaped. The more U it is the bigger the batch size...maybe, not sure. Curve smoothing could also influence as