Weber Workshop "Spring Clean"? - Page 3

#21: Post by **Haskens** » August 21st, 2020, 3:17 pm

For a reservoir fed machine, 250ml for a backflushing is really excessive. That would empty mine every few shots. Not such a big deal for line fed machines I suppose, but I remineralize distilled water for my coffee and I don't want to be more wasteful than I need to be. Speaking of wasteful - 390 CAD + duties and shipping for a grouphead cleaner? Hard pass.

August 25th, 2020, 5:47 pm

Mine arrived this afternoon. Updates to follow

#23: Post by **Plinyyounger** » August 25th, 2020, 9:58 pm

I'm always interested in things that either keep my workspace and machine clean, and/or a process that includes a minimal workflow. I may buy this product because I want my machine clean, but also because the design effort of the cleaner, it's pretty cool and I like cool. Lol

#24: Post by **TomC** » August 26th, 2020, 2:01 pm

I've been testing out a pre-production model for about 2.5 months now. I'll be passing it along to other Team HB members for an informal pass-around review. I think it does what it claims and does it well. It strikes me that it's sorta like a PPIC on a Kees espresso machine, but working in reverse to wash clean the group and 3 way using a lot (substantially) more flow than traditional blind basket backflushing that has very little flow, just a release of pressure.

Some thoughts, pro's and con's, mostly subjective.

PRO

Two flushes (one detergent/one plain water) likely do the job that took several cycles and more hand's on time with the regular blind basket method. This will likely be more welcome in cafe settings. Fastidious coffee gear geeks will likely want one too, because there isn't anything else like it and it does it's job well.

Ease of use. Good visual indicator when the chamber is filled and under spring pressure with the windows at the base

Well-built and solid construction. It's thick stainless steel and quite sturdy

CON

Cost. It isn't cheap. Might as well get that out of the way first. In a commercial setting, it's a non-issue and might become more common in machine cleaning/changing coffee workflow. Home users/hobbyists, might look at their blind basket that came with their gear and be satisfied with the money saved.

A handle will likely be desired by some. The ergonomics are ok, but could possibly be improved with some sort of handle. As silly as it might sound, I've found myself accidentally tightening it on more, when I thought I was loosening it on occasion.

The black silicone rubber sleeve can slide against the smooth stainless barrel when it's hot, So when you unlock the Spring Clean, sometimes it'll slide and the only thing rotating is the sleeve. It's not a constant issue, but happens depending on how tight you torque it into the group, or if any water happens to get on it and gets between the sleeve and the stainless surface.

Water usage may be a concern for non-plumbed equipment. That's a subjective choice for potential owners. Some may place the quicker results higher as a priority than the amount of water used.

#25: Post by **ira** » August 26th, 2020, 2:21 pm

But do you think it get's the machine cleaner? That's the claim.

Edit: And does it really only take two cycles to get all the detergent out?

Ira

#26: Post by **chipman** » August 26th, 2020, 2:48 pm

While L-W, Weber Workshop products have always been on the expensive side, they have always performed as advertised. Whether it was the original HG-1, EG-1, or bean caddies I have never been sorry for purchasing any of those products, and have never had a complaint about any of them.

As for the complaint about water use. how much water is used in the standard blind filter cleaning procedure? i would imagine it is more than what most think. Next time I clean i'll measure how much water was used.

#27: Post by **TomC** » August 26th, 2020, 2:52 pm

ira wrote:But do you think it get's the machine cleaner? That's the claim.

Edit: And does it really only take two cycles to get all the detergent out?

Ira

I think it cleans easier. I'm not trying to imagine a spectrum of dirtiest-dirty-clean-cleaner-cleanest, etc... IMO it's clean or it's dirty. The screen (and presumably) the internals are clean after using it. It stands to reason that the flow is doing the work. I can't easily clean a pasta strainer by setting it in water. I turn the faucet on and use the flow of water and soap/friction to clean it. Same sort of thing.

I have no idea about the claims of saving costs on parts down the line, that would need several long term tests, but it seems likely.

As for the detergent, yeah, I don't need to use much. And it's good to go after one clean water flush cycle. As a person of habit, I still found myself toggling the lever on the Speedster for a quick flush before pulling a shot after cleaning too, but that's almost a muscle-memory sort or reaction after backflushing in general.

#28: Post by **hard_six** » August 26th, 2020, 6:06 pm

TomC wrote: I think it cleans easier. I'm not trying to imagine a spectrum of dirtiest-dirty-clean-cleaner-cleanest, etc... IMO it's clean or it's dirty. The screen (and presumably) the internals are clean after using it. It stands to reason that the flow is doing the work. I can't easily clean a pasta strainer by setting it in water. I turn the faucet on and use the flow of water and soap/friction to clean it. Same sort of thing.

I have no idea about the claims of saving costs on parts down the line, that would need several long term tests, but it seems likely.

As for the detergent, yeah, I don't need to use much. And it's good to go after one clean water flush cycle. As a person of habit, I still found myself toggling the lever on the Speedster for a quick flush before pulling a shot after cleaning too, but that's almost a muscle-memory sort or reaction after backflushing in general.

Great info. Thanks!

#29: Post by **Paul_Pratt** » August 26th, 2020, 10:28 pm

TomC wrote:

A handle will likely be desired by some. The ergonomics are ok, but could possibly be improved with some sort of handle. As silly as it might sound, I've found myself accidentally tightening it on more, when I thought I was loosening it on occasion.

The first thing that came to mind when I saw it was that they had never heard of portafilters blowing out the groups, if it were me I would have a handle on that. I can see why there is not one, because it makes it universal for many machines rather than having to produce different models. On a cold machine try inserting a portafilter by gripping the body and then with a handle, I bet you will find that with the handle the lock in position can be 10-25 degrees different.

I like the idea but it needs a handle IMHO.

August 30th, 2020, 10:16 pm

Put this together to sum up my thoughts on the device

Think it's very clever, easy to use, and seems to work as advertised