Spring Lever accidents - Page 2

A haven dedicated to manual espresso machine aficionados.
cyclezib
Posts: 172
Joined: 3 years ago

#11: Post by cyclezib »

I don't see a big risk from a spring lever machine. You learn of the hazard and act accordingly. There are many hazards in a home such as a garbage disposal, low beam on a stairwell, standing on the top rung of a ladder, etc.

You've let the lever slip twice due to wet hands. Obviously, you now are sensitive to this issue and unlikely to pull the lever with wet hands again.

I wouldn't have an espresso machine of any kind if I still had little kids. Too much risk from burning from hot surfaces.
Being blunt, if a person tries to use an appliance or tool without knowledge of its operation, this is always a high risk of accident.

erik82
Posts: 2146
Joined: 12 years ago

#12: Post by erik82 »

patrickff wrote:Impatient me did not wait long enough for the pressure to go down and had a big portafilter sneeze. Needless to say, the wall has now a nice sprinkled finish.
Just pull the lever down a bit and you can remove the portafilter and then easily let it go up again by human force. More room for the same amount of pressure equals lower pressure total as long as you don't do it to far that the group fills.


I let the lever of my previous Strega slip 2 times (wet hands) while flushing the group and it nearly bounced of of the counter :shock: . Or grinding way too fine and having to wait for 15min before I could get the protafilter out. The above trick does work really well in that scenario or else I'd had to wait 30min :mrgreen: .

You just need to take some extra attention when operating a lever. But for me my japanese kitchen knives which I sharpen myself are way more dangerous.

espressotime
Posts: 1751
Joined: 14 years ago

#13: Post by espressotime »

cyclezib wrote:I don't see a big risk from a spring lever machine. You learn of the hazard and act accordingly. There are many hazards in a home such as a garbage disposal, low beam on a stairwell, standing on the top rung of a ladder, etc.

You've let the lever slip twice due to wet hands. Obviously, you now are sensitive to this issue and unlikely to pull the lever with wet hands again.

I wouldn't have an espresso machine of any kind if I still had little kids. Too much risk from burning from hot surfaces.
Being blunt, if a person tries to use an appliance or tool without knowledge of its operation, this is always a high risk of accident.
The problem with the Export is that you don't pull but pull and after 2 or three inches switch into a pushing motion. That's what makes them a little tricky.

espressotime
Posts: 1751
Joined: 14 years ago

#14: Post by espressotime »

erik82 wrote:Just pull the lever down a bit and you can remove the portafilter and then easily let it go up again by human force. More room for the same amount of pressure equals lower pressure total as long as you don't do it to far that the group fills.


I let the lever of my previous Strega slip 2 times (wet hands) while flushing the group and it nearly bounced of of the counter :shock: . Or grinding way too fine and having to wait for 15min before I could get the protafilter out. The above trick does work really well in that scenario or else I'd had to wait 30min :mrgreen: .

You just need to take some extra attention when operating a lever. But for me my japanese kitchen knives which I sharpen myself are way more dangerous.
I don't care about the sharp knives. It's the dull ones I'm scared of.

erik82
Posts: 2146
Joined: 12 years ago

#15: Post by erik82 »

Not if it's so sharp that if you dry it off with a towel and hold it the wrong way that the whole towel is ripped including your finger. And I wasn't even putting force on it.

mwynne
Posts: 228
Joined: 4 years ago

#16: Post by mwynne »

I volounteer as tribute to take these hazardous spring levers off anyone's hands ;)
LMWDP #673

jpender
Posts: 3863
Joined: 11 years ago

#17: Post by jpender »

For sure coffee is a very dangerous sport. But can anyone offer even a single story that involves an injury?

Using the oyster knife always gets 100% of my attention. No sipping the wine while doing that.

TenLayers
Supporter ♡
Posts: 447
Joined: 5 years ago

#18: Post by TenLayers »

For sure oyster knife mishaps are The Bad. Had one that took months to finally go away. But hey, it's no fun shucking without the drinking too.

AMac
Posts: 88
Joined: 8 years ago

#19: Post by AMac »

jpender wrote:For sure coffee is a very dangerous sport. But can anyone offer even a single story that involves an injury?

Using the oyster knife always gets 100% of my attention. No sipping the wine while doing that.
I can.

Six weeks after my second child was born and I was on a sleep deficit, I was hurrying to get out the door and the lever slipped as I pulled it down for preinfusion. I was fortunate that it only hit the small gap between the bottom of my chin and where my teeth start. Lots of blood and it busted the mucosal membrane in my mouth. Still have a bump on my chin three years later. I posted a picture the first time I told this story but not sure you want to see it.

jpender
Posts: 3863
Joined: 11 years ago

#20: Post by jpender »

No need for photos, I believe you. I just thought that a thread about spring lever accidents ought to have at least a few actual accident reports.

I'm trying to think if I've ever injured myself doing anything coffee related. Nothing... I'll have to think about it longer.

EDIT: I hand filed and polished the base of my Robot. The repetitive motion gave me a shoulder so sore I couldn't sleep on that side for one night.