Agree with Samuel

Making 4-5 espressos in a row is nice to have feature, but without additional heating, I don't see how machine would be able to handle the needed temperature. Temperature control was underestimated by most constructors of similar machines in the past. To make a great espresso, you simply need to have it withing a degree or two max (°C). It depends on the coffee, but most buyers will be people who use more demanding light-medium roasts

I would also consider abandoning idea of more espressos with the same water, that would also make additional valving, which might prove problematic, unnecessary, and as Samuel said, consider some kind of heater as an extra option

Hello again

Thanks so much for taking interest and starting the ball rolling with discussion, very useful
I have found that the glass tank size really influenced how it worked with heat. The glass tank was alot smaller in a previous model then we realised that the diameter of boiling water on the bottom housing effects greatly how fast it heats. I had the same concerns half way through the project. We thought it wasnt hot enough which it wasnt really at the time

The bottom housing is annodised alloy and since it has a commercial turn to lock design and all sorts of shapes cut out in it to hold the two cylinders and valves and ports, it is acutally not much alloy to heat up and when its hot it stays hot as a heat sink. When we played with things we double-glazed the tank as well. That didnt do much for heat up. So we removed the inner glass and left the outer one and bingo. Its hot at an amazing rate when you put the second load of water in. We really dont need to power it. Alloy has an amazing capacity to heat up fairly quick but critically also it stays hot for ages. With each coffee it just gets better. I have a fully restored cimbali junior at home and in the morning i have been making espresso on this manual one without to much fuss at all and im a bit fussy,Its actually really good. We were looking at doing what you say, but so far i would say that i havent felt the need at this stage.

I am looking for an appropriate video to post, problem is that im always in it lol camera shy

cheers

Paolo wrote:Hi Nigel,
Your espresso machine looks fabulous!

Are the bevel gears made from nylon? How robust are they over time?
What size baskets does it use?

Hi Paolo. We have tryed all manner of materials on the bevel gears. We used solid brass, nylon and acetal. Acetal injection moulded for gears is actually the best performer. Its very strong dimensionally stable and doesnt absorb water or expand and it results in a smoother action that brass. Brass would be great but there is also the matter of the fine particles that may result from the wear in period. Which we dont want

I would love to see a video clip of it in action.

Im trying hard to work out a way to have a video clip uploaded.. I have quite a few

I wish you well in its development and production.

thanks alot for best wishes.

GioTheDrfiter wrote:Looks nice, do you have the base options? And is there a drainage in the drip tray?

Hello

thanks for your interest, good questions

The base at present is New Zealand heart Rimu which is one of our prized timbers now harvested sustainably. We have gone for a permanent epoxy product professionally prepared and sprayed on to the timber with sealer coats. This stuff was used for some of the Super Yacht timber finishes and is very hard very thin and professional looking and will last pretty much forever. The portafilter handle and winder handle is done the same.

There is a drip tray that lift out of the timber base. It is a deep tray that takes a full shot flush of the machine about 60 mls. The tray also has a lazer cut stainless grill plate that you can see in photos. that sits in a groove and also removeable

We made a carbon fibre base for fun, that looked epic but alot of work for each one, a high level option on day

We will offer just a standard machine with the materials i have mentioned at first

happycat wrote:Thanks for sharing

How does the tank retain heat for multiple shots
How do the gears resist stripping under pressure (too fine grind, choking)
How are the valves protected from scale buildup
What physical feedback is felt during pulling a shot
How do you clean group head dispersion screen
What is the temperature loss from tank to puck

What pricing range are you targeting / anticipated competition

Hello

The tank is borosilicate glass sealed on o-rings top and bottom in the housings, the housings are light brushed and annodised alloy. So when the machine is hot on second fill (drain first lot of water after 4 mins) it stays really hot. Infact the glass sealed on the alloy seems to retain heat far better than i thought it would, particularly since we redesigned it and made it larger for more heat on the bottom housing or group

The gears run on a one piece piston. I guess they do quite a bit of work but the forces with the length of the handle and gears we have chosen are far from stripping the gears for anyting up to 16 bar on the gauge which is not hard. I also made the machine in lever pull just to compare the forces and the winding version was significantly easier to make 12 bar pressure than direct pull on a handle with the best fulcrum points i could find

Valves are protected on both sides with removable and replaceble very fine screens made for the valves, we machined this into the housing and they are replaced with a simple removal of a stainless steel circlip. its really easy to clean, after last shot just wind back and forward and run a shot of water through it, it cleans it out. and wipe the commercial head screen underneath

physical feedback is a smooth direct resistance that is both fun and very controlable with the speed of rotation, one of the great things is getting the feel of the resistance to pressure a well tamped and ground espresso basket produces, and this is really satisfying

I havent measured the temp loss from tank to puck, i would be guessing a few degrees but bear in mind the head of nearly boiling water is sitting right above the group not far away

thanks so much for the input
great questions and very useful

Some photos of shots

trying to work out how to post a video.

vit wrote:Agree with Samuel

Making 4-5 espressos in a row is nice to have feature, but without additional heating, I don't see how machine would be able to handle the needed temperature. Temperature control was underestimated by most constructors of similar machines in the past. To make a great espresso, you simply need to have it withing a degree or two max (°C). It depends on the coffee, but most buyers will be people who use more demanding light-medium roasts

I would also consider abandoning idea of more espressos with the same water, that would also make additional valving, which might prove problematic, unnecessary, and as Samuel said, consider some kind of heater as an extra option

Hello, I wonder if you could inform me if there is a way to post a video

many thanks
Nigel

shanewiebeftr wrote:Well it looks amazing. I would love to have a small manual machine like this. I'd like to see some videos of someone making a shot on this. Part of what turned me off to the flair and the robot was that it seemed rather finicky to get it all together and pull a shot. This seems super straight forward in comparison.

Pulling a shot outside
This one was the double glazed model, didnt work as well not as hot, all about the diameter of the hot water on the group

Hi Nigel,
Thanks for the pictures..your device is much larger than I initially thought! It looks great!

Can you tell us (after leaving boiling water in the tank for 4 minutes...then discarding and re-filling with boiling water) how many minutes the water stays at the right temperature for making shots? I suppose ambient temperature would have a big influence on this time.

Hi again Paolo. Yes it just gets better. You can easily make shot after shot on the machine and since it is so fast to make shots (something we wanted to improve for manual machines) the machine just makes better shots on each consecutive shot. Its amazing the heat holding capacity of aluminium. You really have to walk away from the the machine for over 5mins to want to have to drain the water and refill, and not many do that when at the coal face making shots. I was at a cafe up on the hill in the weekend and i was making shots faster than a 2 group wega. I literally made like 15 in a row, only about 3 tank fill ups. YOu could run a commercial cafe with this machine if you had a good supply of hot water, and perhaps a sotve-top steamer lol

I really need to post a video of me at the cafe making shots on weekend, but im a bit camera shy