New-to-me VAM 1.0 (Arrarex Caravel)

#1: Post by **vberch** » January 31st, 2023, 6:01 pm

Yep, exactly!

Francesco knows what he's doing!

Do you mind sharing some info on your PID? Mine is 220V and I was going to pull the plug (ha!) on a plug adapter and a 110V heating element from Brooks.

drgary wrote:Ha! I thought so.

image

Where else would you find such an immaculate example to add to your collection? (From Francesco Ceccarelli.) Congratulations, Vlad! That is the right 1.0.

I just pulled a shot on my Caravel 1.0, which is connected to a PID for excellent temperature control. The offset is about 10°F.

Mod note: Moved from Post a pic of your home espresso setup...
Click here to see here for pics of this beautiful machine

January 31st, 2023, 6:23 pm

Gary, I just saw your post re: 110V heating element: Temperature probe for a Caravel. I'm glad I didn't order it yet. Do you run yours with a transformer and a PID?

drgary wrote:Ha! I thought so.

image

Where else would you find such an immaculate example to add to your collection? (From Francesco Ceccarelli.) Congratulations, Vlad! That is the right 1.0.

I just pulled a shot on my Caravel 1.0, which is connected to a PID for excellent temperature control. The offset is about 10°F.

#3: Post by **another_jim** » January 31st, 2023, 8:50 pm

Vey nice! All you need now is a Peppina to complete the 2 by 2. You have a spring lever with steam boiler, manual lever with steam boiler, manual lever with brew boiler, but no spring lever with brew boiler.

#4: Post by **drgary** » January 31st, 2023, 9:21 pm

Vlad, I've got the 110 v heating element and it is holding up. Since yours is more collectible than mine, you might want to run it in native mode on a transformer to avoid rewiring. Francesco could probably advise you well on that choice. BTW, for fast warmup, I quickly bring water to a boil on an induction range and pour that into the tank. From there it takes less than 10 minutes to stabilize.

January 31st, 2023, 10:40 pm

Very true, Jim! Except the next one on the list is a Strietman CT2.

another_jim wrote:Vey nice! All you need now is a Peppina to complete the 2 by 2. You have a spring lever with steam boiler, manual lever with steam boiler, manual lever with brew boiler, but no spring lever with brew boiler.

January 31st, 2023, 10:44 pm

Great advice, Gary! I've been boiling water in electric kettle and using my emersion heater to bring it up to temperature today.

drgary wrote:Vlad, I've got the 110 v heating element and it is holding up. Since yours is more collectible than mine, you might want to run it in native mode on a transformer to avoid rewiring. Francesco could probably advise you well on that choice. BTW, for fast warmup, I quickly bring water to a boil on an induction range and pour that into the tank. From there it takes less than 10 minutes to stabilize.

#7: Post by **Ben Z.** » February 1st, 2023, 3:27 am

I run my 220v caravel with a pid and transformer. First I wired the transformer to the pid and then from the transformer to the caravel. It works, but it makes a noise every time the pid calls for heat. Better to have the transformer first and then use the pid on 220v. Seems obvious now, no idea why I tried it the other way first.

#8: Post by **JohnB.** » February 1st, 2023, 8:02 am

I put the Brooks 110v element in my early Caravel & haven't had any problems. I run both the Caravel and my La Peppina through an Auber-WS pid temp controller.

February 1st, 2023, 11:38 am

OK, I have a potentially stupid question

.

Does it take approximately the same time to come to temperature using Brooks 110v heating element and using VAM original 220v heating element on a transformer?

drgary wrote:Vlad, I've got the 110 v heating element and it is holding up. Since yours is more collectible than mine, you might want to run it in native mode on a transformer to avoid rewiring. Francesco could probably advise you well on that choice. BTW, for fast warmup, I quickly bring water to a boil on an induction range and pour that into the tank. From there it takes less than 10 minutes to stabilize.

#10: Post by **Ben Z.** » February 1st, 2023, 11:43 am

If they have the same wattage, performance will be the same. On their website the 220v is 550w, but the 110v one doesn't have watts listed...