What I do is lift the arms and pour boiling water into the top of the piston. It sounds awkward, but it's really smooth. I can take some pictures when I get home. I've not noticed heating the basket/portafilter alone to make a ton of difference

Here's a very old review you may find helpful: {link} I had the rotary pump version of that machine for close to 20 years. I found this place to be helpful for parts. Unfortunately, parts tend to be expensive for it and some may have to be special ordered. On the upside, parts are apparently still in production. {link}

Look at those 2 yellow wires that share the single faston connection (That isn't connected to anything). I'm fairly certain that you're going to find that those wires have a green stripe. I believe that if you trace them through the machine they will connect up with the other ground wires (like the small section at the far left

Leaking what, though? It should be well above the water-line. It sits atop the sight glass, you should physically see the water line well below that valve. Moving freely is good, you want it to move when the water comes to a boil so that it will close. Because it it probably 7+ years old, I imagine it

How come you want to replace it with a Meticulous? Do you find it hard to pull consistent shots? I'm pondering getting the Gabor gauge kit if I get a CT2 for this reason. Both Meticulous and OE Argos looks interesting but I'd like to buy a proven product, so these are off the table for now

There are some news! It lets the water in, it starts to heat it as well but it sounds like that it has a lot of limescale inside, but I have guessed that. This little water container with those funny looking wires is there for what? It should stop letting the water in when it senses that this

I'd wait. If you don't, in a few months (or whenever V2 is becomes available) you'll wish you had...or I would anyway

Oh big time. Owned a Niche for about 3 years. DF83 produces a much better cup for my taste. Sweeter and brighter while still providing excellent texture. It does noticeably better with medium and light roasts. While the Niche is still the king of workflow, DF83 V2 should be really close. Coming from a Sette, the

Nope, not above the rated circuit, nothing else running simultaneously on that 20amp circuit. Probably has to do with the house's old wiring that doesn't handle sudden changes in the load well, which is not uncommon in my area

You can use water that minimizes scale buildup to a point where you shouldn't ever need to descale. I think with regular maintenance and soft filtered water, you'll only need to do this very rarely in the machine's lifetime (if ever). As far as I know, if it ever comes to that, most people let professionals do the work on