Hi everyone I am a new user, I spent many years making coffee by a Moka pot, I finally took the plunge and got myself a new Ponte Vecchio Lusso and wow does it make incredible espresso. Really enjoy using it, I just have a question about pressure. The manual states the lusso is set to 1.2 bar from factory, from my experience when turning on the machine after around 12 minutes I bleed via the steam wand the pressure drops and then returns to around 1.1 bar if left on the pressure stat goes on off roughly every 40 seconds and the pressure slowly rises to 1.5 bar after around 30 mins. The pressure then stays around 1.5 bar with the pstat going on and off every 40 seconds. I have now adjusted to 1.1 bar but this will take around 30 mins to reach. Is this normal or do you think something could be wrong? Thanks.

If it stays at or around 1.2 bar then you should be fine. What worries me is if it will unpredictably go up to 1.5 bar or beyond. I saw similar behavior with my Bezzera Family Lever, a machine similar to the Lusso. The erratic pressure was caused by a pinhole leak in the pipe that leads to the seam wand. Can't be sure if that's what's happening with yours but it could be similar or maybe a fitting somewhere is causing pressure to escape.

Keep us posted

Could simply be a faulty pressurestat. Wouldn't be the 1st time with those MaTer pstat.

Did you see this thread?
Adjusting Ponte Vecchio Lusso Pressurestat

Thanks for getting back to me, it does seem like either a Pstat fault or a pinhole pressure leak, although I can't hear any hissing anywhere. Is it usual for the Pstat to be going on and off so regularly, every 40 seconds even without use of the machine? I have contacted the supplier and the factory directly, not sure how long they will take to come back with answers, but I will update.

This is there response:

" No defect. What you see is right. The machine is set to 1.2 bar but there is always a "swing" beetween 1,1 an 1,5 bar.

The light you see that is often on and then off during the day, indicates the work of the pruessure switch to keep the value inside the range."

http://www.ma-ter.it/products/pressure-switches/xp110

Verify the specs but I believe the deadband should be .2 to .3 bar top.

Have you tried adjusting like explained in the HB link I posted earlier?

Also, if you leave your Lusso on for several hours on all day long, it might be worth adding insulatioj to the boiler. It will slowdown that deadband quite a bit.

JimboMatrix wrote:Thanks for getting back to me, it does seem like either a Pstat fault or a pinhole pressure leak, although I can't hear any hissing anywhere. Is it usual for the Pstat to be going on and off so regularly, every 40 seconds even without use of the machine? I have contacted the supplier and the factory directly, not sure how long they will take to come back with answers, but I will update.

It is possible for the pstat to turn on the heating element every 40 seconds, yes. There's many things can ca cause it. If you have it in a very cold room, for example.

Did you remove the case, turn on machine for a while and verify you hear no hissing or pinhole leaks? If it's a pinhole it should be obvious since you'll see bubble forming there.

http://www.ma-ter.it/products/pressure-switches/xp110

Verify the specs but I believe the deadband should be .2 to .3 bar top.

Have you tried adjusting like explained in the HB link I posted earlier?

Also, if you leave your Lusso on for several hours on all day long, it might be worth adding insulatioj to the boiler. It will slowdown that deadband quite a bit.

From the specs it says the Fix differential0,2+/-0,1 bar. Which I guess is the deadband. To be honest I have never seen it drop in pressure only when I bleed the false pressure on first startup, after that it seems to just keep slowly rising. I have adjusted the Pstat as recommended. It now reaches 0.8 bar in around 12 minutes and around 1.3 bar after 30 minutes. I have only ever kept the machine on for a maximum of 2 hours, maybe I'll leave it on longer to see if the pressure does drop and rise.

beer&mathematics wrote:It is possible for the pstat to turn on the heating element every 40 seconds, yes. There's many things can ca cause it. If you have it in a very cold room, for example.

Did you remove the case, turn on machine for a while and verify you hear no hissing or pinhole leaks? If it's a pinhole it should be obvious since you'll see bubble forming there.

It's in the kitchen at around 21°c.

Yes I have double checked fittings are tight and I have removed the case and inspected for leaks, no hissing or bubbles from the connections.

It doesn't matter too much the machine still makes excellent espresso, I just didn't want it to be a fault that's not addressed and gets worse. Thanks

JimboMatrix wrote:From the specs it says the Fix differential0,2+/-0,1 bar. Which I guess is the deadband. To be honest I have never seen it drop in pressure only when I bleed the false pressure on first startup, after that it seems to just keep slowly rising. I have adjusted the Pstat as recommended. It now reaches 0.8 bar in around 12 minutes and around 1.3 bar after 30 minutes. I have only ever kept the machine on for a maximum of 2 hours, maybe I'll leave it on longer to see if the pressure does drop and rise.

This behavior seems to indicate a faulty pstat.
Yes, monitor it for a longer period and maybe email MaTer to have their take on it. Then maybe fw their answer to the person who told you everything was within specs.
Looks like the retailer needs some incentives...

I use to leave my PV Lusso on all day long. The pstat behavior was much more predictable then yours. Maybe a smile variation from time to time but certainly not a constant rise throughout the day.