I'm a 4 month owner of an LR. I can't comment about design decisions as it involves heat etc. as I have no knowledge/expertise in that area, but just a few points/comments (nothing conclusive here, just observations given my experience with LR and my Duetto)

- While the LR doesnt have top vents, it does have vents in the back panel, so its not entirely un-vented (though I know heat will likely more easily escapes from top as it rises)
- The LR has thinner single walled panels vs. other machines like the Duetto/E61 boxes that have thicker side/back panels that are double walled and likely hold in more heat than the panels on the LR
- The LR is a single boiler and in a relatively larger space vs. other double boilers that are more cramped inside (i.e. 2 boilers putting out heat in a smaller space)
- Having worked on a Duetto and seen how cramped everything is in there, I would guess (just a pure guess) that some electronics in there may be exposed to higher heat than those in the LR.

i.e. The LR not having top vents may not necessarily mean that it is hotter on the inside or hotter for the electronic components as there other factors in the design which may impact the heat that the electronics are exposed to (those mentioned above as well as placement etc.)

Well it appears you can screw things up by insulating the boiler. It was ok last night, but I just got home and the machine is not holding pressure and cycling every less than a minute. I don't see or hear any leaks.

Is your anti-vac valve covered by the ceramic insulation?

Not any more. It was a little last night and I heard it hissing. I removed a piece over it and it was running fine. Now it's cycling fast.

I just email Reiss and he said it should cycle every 46-48 seconds, but I don't remember it doing that before.

Almico wrote:I've been meaning to insulate my L1 since I got it. But it is very tight in there and I didn't feel like taking things apart.

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But I remember my Giotto went from cycling every 6 minutes to every 45 minutes when I insulated it, so tonight I jammed some ceramic insulation in there anyway.

Nice, Let me know how it goes! Feel free to PM me. I notice those have a small vibe pump in them?

I really like the specs and build of the LR, just want to be sure I cover all my questions and concerns before making the purchase.

Almico wrote:Not any more. It was a little last night and I heard it hissing. I removed a piece over it and it was running fine. Now it's cycling fast.

I just email Reiss and he said it should cycle every 46-48 seconds, but I don't remember it doing that before.

That does seem strange. I don't see how putting some insulation in there could make it cycle more? If nothing is covered that shouldn't be, sounds like you corrected the Anti-vac part. then I don't see a problem..

According to Reiss, it is working as it should now, cycling every 46-48 seconds. But I don't remember it doing that before. Maybe it wasn't working right before. I lowered the pressure from 1.3 to 1.1 per Reiss' recommendation. With that plus the insulation, it's up to 2:00 between heat cycles.

During the cycle, it seems like with insulation the heating elements would be on for a shorter time and off for a longer time than before.

Rocky

Seems I have a weepy over-pressure valve. I probably bumped it when I was installing the insulation and now it won't seat. I ordered a new one.

I had this same issue with my LR and it caused it to cycle more frequently (every 40 seconds). I tried for days to get it to re-seat with no luck until my replacement arrived. New one will fix it (mine cycles every 70-75 seconds or so at 1 bar boiler pressure