Any way to mod Elektra Microcasa a Leva to support different boiler pressures for brewing and steaming?

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boren
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#1: Post by boren »

The default 1.0 bar pressure is an understandable compromise for Elektra to make, considering the design of the machine. Unfortunately it results in water that's too hot for brewing, but also in pressure that isn't as effective for steaming as it can be. I think having a option to switch between stable lower pressure for brewing (e.g. 0.8 bar) and stable higher pressure for steaming (e.g. 1.2 bar) would be great. And I'm deliberately emphasizing stable, because doing this by increasing the pressostat to 1.2 bar and manually turning the machine off to get that 0.8 bar is not a good workflow.

Has anyone successfully moded their MCaL to support something like this?

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truemagellen
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#2: Post by truemagellen »

Ok so there are a few ways of doing this. I'll preface this that mine steams pretty great (not like a commercial machine) but like a 16cup LP machine, perhaps better. Definitely take off the steam pipe clean the valve if it isn't clean already and clean the tip which easily gets clogged.

1) get a Ponte Vechio PTFE gasket that spaces out the group and creates a thermal barrier. That way you can run the boiler at a higher pressure for steaming while limiting the group temp. The group itself acts as a heat sink to shed the hot boiler water temp and so it easily overheats of course with the tight thermal connection between the group and boiler. You can also DIY the gasket using sheet PTFE from a place like Mcmaster carr.

2) relocate the PStat dial so you can access it, this may involve drilling a hole, put a dial on it with limits top and bottom you can play with. This will not be an elegant solution.

3) replace the pstat with a PID with 2 settings. That way you can run the temps how you want, this will require a lot of work to dial it in for each setting and also will require an offboarded boxed PID.

4) add a heat sink to the group to help it shed temp. There aren't many options like this for the Elektra so you could diy it, the hottest part is the backside of the group where the connection to the boiler is, you could start by adding small set of fins there with thermal paste.

Good luck. So you are aware I have a newer generation one and although it does run hot after the first shot, I rinse the PF in cold water before loading and locking it in...shot temp is good for my light to medium roast bean. For the 3rd shot I do the same but then lightly wipe down the group with a cold damp towel. Steaming is great I run it at 1.1bar.

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boren (original poster)
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#3: Post by boren (original poster) »

Thanks for all the suggestions truemagellen. I was never a fan of the idea of using a damp cloth as a heat control. The fact that users need to resort to this kind of technique says a lot about how outdated the design of the machine is. It's about time for Elektra to update it with more modern technology.

The PID sounds like the most appealing option, and I don't mind it being an external box. I'd rather no impair the look of the machine itself (which is probably the main thing Elektra shouldn't update, as it's perfect the way it is).

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pizzaman383
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#4: Post by pizzaman383 »

Another novel idea I have seen posted here is a PID-contolled fan pointed at the group head.
Curtis
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boren (original poster)
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#5: Post by boren (original poster) »

pizzaman383, can you share a link to that thread? it sounds like an interesting contraption...

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pizzaman383
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#6: Post by pizzaman383 »

I can't find the thread. The idea of using a fan pointed at the group head came up in a lever group temperature management discussion. I don't think anyone has actually done it.

I would see if I could find a bbq controller (these typically control a DC fan) or an electric smoker controller (these typically control a 120v plug via SSR) with a workable fan and a surface mount thermocouple.

I have a bbqguru temperature controller that PID-controls a fan and I have used it to control the group temperature of a Marcfi pavoni-clone. They self-tune the PID parameters and work well.
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truemagellen
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#7: Post by truemagellen »

That's a great idea, perhaps a mini water cooling kit would be fun to tinker with that cools the flange/flange stem....

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drgary
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#8: Post by drgary »

The Elektra MCAL properly tuned will need no modification other than being well tuned to brew and steam well. Group temperature will be more stable if you add a heat break gasket.

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