John

Thanks for your comment on the design. I do not know enough about Lever machines yet to completely work out how evolved the design is yet but am reading as much as possible to get a better appreciation. So your comment is very welcome. I am aware though that the build quality is very good but already knew BFC / Royal have a good reputation before I bought it. The design seems somewhat similar to the Londinium plumbed in units such as the Compressa though the Hx/ thermosyphon circuit seems different. The HX seems to work great but I have not yet taken any temperature readings on the Group.

I have insulated the boiler and now the pressurestat clicks are much less frequent. The only downside is the cup warming tray no longer gets warm but that is a small price to pay. Now flush out the cups using the hot water wand before making a coffee.

>You could install a barbed vacuum valve & tie the drain line into the OPV line.

Not exactly clear what you mean here? I have the machine sitting on a bench with a small bar sink fitted and have connected a plastic hose from the black drain box to the sink. The other two silicone hoses connect one to the OPV as you noted and the other via a tap to a copper pipe connected to the underside of the boiler allowing the boiler to be drained.

Now I have a much better idea on how to operate it and have pulled some great shots. Just need to get greater consistency with the grind settings when trying different beans or filter baskets.

Regards
Ted

I was suggesting replacing your current vacuum breaker with the type with the barbed top that allows you to install a silicone drain line so water doesn't spew all over the top of your boiler. You could connect that vacuum valve line (6mm id) to the existing OPV drain line(?mm) with a Y fitting that accepts 2 different size hoses.

John

Thanks, got it. Used to calling it an anti siphon valve. Had to replace a leaky one on my BFC Diadema Jnr HX machine some years ago. The only part that ever failed other than the vibe pump and group seals.



The dual pressure gauge. Left side reads inlet pressure and the right boiler steam pressure. The steam pressure was reading 0.9 bar Just adjusted it to 1 bar. Will see if it improves the taste. The input pressure is set at 3.5 bar by a fixed regulator that I used on my old Portofino Hx. Have a variable one on order to give me more flexibility after reading a number of Londinium threads

Regards
Ted