jpender wrote:My "research". LOL.

Call it what you want, but this thread is awesome and it's serious business.

jpender wrote:Yes, please do add images and more information.

1 1/2" is much smaller than the diameter of the piston. It's closer to 2 1/4". And the details of connection within the Robot are important. You say you tested it, how did you test it? As a piston in the Robot?

My "research". LOL.

OD of 1 1/2" coupling is 2.2"

I measure outside dimension of a coupling for nominal 1-1/2 inch white PVC pipe is just under 2-32/128" this make the main body of the cylinder and the little flange below the gasket
I measure outside the outside dimension the nominal 1-1/2 " white pvc pipe is 1-58/64" This makes the groove for the gasket

Here it is, upside down with robot gasket in place:



coupling
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Charlotte-P ... /203811389
similar plug, but without 1/2 threaded hole
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Charlotte-P ... /203850170

cut off 7mm of the coupling so 7mm oi the inserted plug protrudes above the coupling. The 7mm gap is where the red gasket goes. The other end of the adapter needs to be cut down so the overall height of piston is same as the original. For my preliminary test this did not matter.

My testing process is a little slow since my tools and my Robot are several miles apart and I mostly travel by bicycle.

My testing so far is only using the robot itself to push the plastic cylinder with robot gasket into the real robot (pro) basket as a pressure test. The basket was loaded with two old pucks and water to provide resistance for the test. no pressure gauge hooked up, but pushed about as hard as I would for 12 bar. No leakage through the gasket.

Tomorrow I hope to put run the pivot pin through the plastic piston and make the height match the original so I can fully mount it in the robot. It won't have pressure or temp gauge.

more photos then

cap2 wrote:...I mostly travel by bicycle.

Appropriate for someone using a manual lever!

There's a local roaster here called "Bicycle Coffee". Their thing is that they deliver their roasted coffee to various retailers entirely by bicycle.

I used to be that way too, riding everywhere, something like 200 miles a week. My car just sat most of the time. Once I moved to San Francisco I stopped doing that. Traffic is more dangerous, it's windier, and bicycle theft is out of control. It's easier for me to just walk.

cap2 wrote:My testing so far is only using the robot itself to push the plastic cylinder with robot gasket into the real robot (pro) basket as a pressure test. The basket was loaded with two old pucks and water to provide resistance for the test. no pressure gauge hooked up, but pushed about as hard as I would for 12 bar. No leakage through the gasket.

Tomorrow I hope to put run the pivot pin through the plastic piston and make the height match the original so I can fully mount it in the robot. It won't have pressure or temp gauge.

I'll wait for that. As much as I love wandering around lost at Home Depot I'll hold off until you've tested the idea more. I'm concerned about two things. One is how quickly PVC softens when in contact with 90°C water. The other is whether it will hold up to the roughly 500lbs of force transmitted through that bolt. I would imagine it would need to be connected better than just through the walls of the pipe.

I remember when a while ago I brought up the fact that the Aram Espresso is far easier to pre-heat than the Robot--I have both--Robot fanatics poo-pooed the idea because they basically said pre-heating wasn't even necessary with the Robot. Seems like some people here think pre-heating matters and if that's the case, I will repeat, Aram is far easier.

For some roasts preheating is good, for some beans it is not only unnecessary, but it is too hot if preheated.

First I have seen of the Aram, interesting looking unit. I was very impressed till I saw the result in the cup at the end of his video. If this is not the true result he should make a new video as it is not helpful to his product.



I am not into bashing products and don't like to get into the debates about who's is better. Just an honest opinion about what turned an amazing first impression into a disappointment. It really should be changed if this is not typical.

Just saw this on his page:



It really is a shame that he has that pull in his video. Looks like a nice unit!

EDIT: I see I was not clear with this second post. I posted this photo to show what 'looks' like a good shot, can't taste it obviously, and is more attractive for use a visual promo than the shot from the video.

LewBK wrote:I remember when a while ago I brought up the fact that the Aram Espresso is far easier to pre-heat than the Robot--I have both--Robot fanatics poo-pooed the idea because they basically said pre-heating wasn't even necessary with the Robot. Seems like some people here think pre-heating matters and if that's the case, I will repeat, Aram is far easier.

Like Ken said, for many coffees preheating the Robot isn't necessary. And what is possibly the most popular preheat method is to pour twice into the basket. That's very easy. Preheating piston, poratfilter, and basket versus pouring once (twice?) through the Aram: either would take some minutes and a certain amount of boiling water. Probably the Aram is simpler but details of workflow are important.

One thing that isn't clear is the result of preheating. I've been trying to understand this by measuring the water temperature profile during shots with my Robot. What about the Aram? James Hoffmann gave it a mixed review, in part because of questions about thermal management. So it's not dead obvious that it's better in that regard.

I wish I had one to drill holes in but at that price I'd probably be afraid to!


edit: Actually, for temperature it would be possible to snake thin wires through the holes in the bottom of the basket. That's what I did at first with the Robot. It's a little fragile but it works.

Ken5 wrote:First I have seen of the Aram, interesting looking unit. I was very impressed till I saw the result in the cup at the end of his video. If this is not the true result he should make a new video as it is not helpful to his product.

image

I am not into bashing products and don't like to get into the debates about who's is better. Just an honest opinion about what turned an amazing first impression into a disappointment. It really should be changed if this is not typical.

Ken5 wrote:Just saw this on his page:

<img>

It really is a shame that he has that pull in his video. Looks like a nice unit!

Um, what's wrong with these shots? And why two separate posts?
They look similar and quite fine to me, but I'm just a newbie, please teach me how to judge shot images.