I did not see this posted anywhere and I have no affiliation with the company. I happed to be looking for one of those puck screens that is being advertised for even water dispersion with the benefits of having a cleaner shower screen but I was turned off with user experiences that say they are too thick at 1.75-3mm to effect temps and they are reported to be a bit of a pain to clean. Some are listed at 49mm exactly which is too small since the opening of these 49mm baskets are a little larger.

I then decided to purchase paper filters since they are thinner but the smallest size was 51mm so I kept looking until I found SWORKSDESIGN that makes what I was looking for which is an exact fitment for the Strietman IMS baskets that I adapted for my Cremina and it is only .2mm in thickness. It also fits all of the 49mm baskets in my collection from various other machines with little to no gaps or binding so it is easy to take out before ejecting the puck.
The first thing I noticed is less spritzing during the pull so less mess. The espresso tastes the same so no real change however on my Cremina clean up without the puck screen I have to flush some water and wipe down the shower screen with a rag which picks up coffee residue and even though I do my best to clean it, it eventually builds up residue on the inside of the screen which changes the water dispersion pattern from a shower to a stream until it is serviced again. With the puck screen the shower screen is spotless.

I found this to be beneficial since I do not have to flush as much to clean the shower screen so there is less water wasted from the boiler and the group remains clean. The screen comes out easily and cleans up with running water at the same time you clean the basket. Worth the trade since its way easier than cleaning the spritzing and shower screen.
Im not in the business of promoting products but this is a must have.

https://sworksdesign.com/Puck-Disc-Screen-p504672678

Dev wrote:I did not see this posted anywhere and I have no affiliation with the company. I happed to be looking for one of those puck screens that is being advertised for even water dispersion with the benefits of having a cleaner shower screen but I was turned off with user experiences that say they are too thick at 1.75-3mm to effect temps and they are reported to be a bit of a pain to clean. Some are listed at 49mm exactly which is too small since the opening of these 49mm baskets are a little larger.

I then decided to purchase paper filters since they are thinner but the smallest size was 51mm so I kept looking until I found SWORKSDESIGN that makes what I was looking for which is an exact fitment for the Strietman IMS baskets that I adapted for my Cremina and it is only .2mm in thickness. It also fits all of the 49mm baskets in my collection from various other machines with little to no gaps or binding so it is easy to take out before ejecting the puck.
The first thing I noticed is less spritzing during the pull so less mess. The espresso tastes the same so no real change however on my Cremina I have to let water though it and wipe down the shower screen with a rag which picks up coffee residue and even though I do my best to clean it, it eventually builds up residue on the inside of the screen which changes the water dispersion pattern from a shower to a stream until it is serviced again.

I found this to be beneficial since I do not have to flush as much to clean the shower screen so there is less water wasted from the boiler and the group remains clean. The screen comes out easily and cleans up with running water at the same time you clean the basket. Worth the trade since its way easier than cleaning the spritzing and shower screen.
Im not in the business of promoting products but this is a must have.

https://sworksdesign.com/Puck-Disc-Screen-p504672678

image

Nice! I also ordered a SWORKSDESIGN thin puck screen but 58.5mm to use with my Flair58. Out of the few the 0.2mm options available (Coffee Sensor and Shades of Coffee), it seemed like the SWORKSDESIGN had the tightest hole pattern as well as having more holes (approximately) and holes that go closer to the edge of the screen.

I do have used thin and thick ones for 49mm, 51mm and 58mm groups but this one is for my Flair58. I'm hoping it will lessen the cooling effect on water temperature vs the stock Flair58's.

Good to hear. That tight hole pattern with no gaps on the edges is keeping my shower screen spotless. At first I thought I am adding even more complexity to my routine with all the little distribution tools, funnels and so forth but the screen is actually keeping things cleaner saving me time and not expending more water from the boiler for flushes to clean. This could possibly give me an extra shot before having to refilling the boiler.

I have had the same positive experience with this screen. So happy to get away from paper, though I will say you need not go to the trouble of cutting to size. No harm if paper goes up the basket sides

I'm still not sure if I like it over cutting Aeropress filters. Yes it's easy and thin and the latter held me back from buying other brands. But in terms of keeping everything clean it's far inferior to cutting Aeropress filters. I could leave my shower screen on for over 2 months with the Strietman and it was absolutely clean on the inside whereas with the Sworks screen I need to pull it out every week and it's starting to show black color and after 2 weeks it's just dirty. So in terms of keeping things clean it doesn't do a really good job.

I'm still using it everyday. But cutting Aeropress filters to size also costs only 5min to cut 200 pieces if you have a good pair of scissors which is pretty easy. As my main point of using them was keeping everything clean I might abandon using the screen and go back to paper filters.

I bought 4, used 2, 1 of the used is already in the trash. Durability is not that great. It is easy to bend if you even slightly overload your basket. I accidentally bent one in half when drying it in a hurry.

They are also not a perfect fit for the strietman but probably the best fit unless you go custom. I just got custom ones at 49.9mm and the strietman will fit 49.95mm as per Escher labs distributor and tamper.

I was very pleased with them at first as it did keep the group head cleaner than no puck screen but it does not keep it anywhere as clean as the more traditional screen pucks that have much smaller holes with many layers and higher thickness. I have 2 brand new ones that will likely never be used and one used one to be retired next week when my new screens come in.

Just giving my experience as devils advocate.

It seems like the experience would be different depending on the machine.
With the Cremina I have only positive experiences so far and I do not anticipate issues but time will tell.
With the little Strietman basket it is filled with 13g of dark roast and there is sufficient headspace so there is no possibility of contacting the shower screen for my use case. Because the coffee level is not at the top and the basket narrows as it gets deeper I found the 49.7mm fit to be perfect with barely any gap. The shower screen is still spotless but I think if I used a paper towel wipe I probably would see some of the residue which is fine because it is still a big improvement.

As I was searching I came across a thread here where some have commented that because these puck screens screens contain the residue they also stop the coffee oils from lubricating the piston seals making the lever squeak with more resistance. Maybe it is machine dependent but I will have keep this in mind.

I do worry about bending the screen because it is so thin but so far clean up and handling has been uneventful. If it lasts for over 6 months without going in the trash I will buy another set but if its too fragile I will try the paper next.

Have you looked on the inside of your Cremina shower screen after 2 weeks of using it? The outside is in no way a good measurement if things are clean. I know from experience owning a new Cremina for a year how crappy it is to pull out the shower screen without damaging the gasket.

And with my Strietman baskets the filters fit perfectly.

The new Cremina shower screen is like my previous Millennium LP where the group gasket supports it and its a little challenging to remove. The old Cremina shower screen is spring pressure fitted and easy to pop out. Just need to pull one of lever pins out and position the lever on top of it and push down to pop it out. Putting it back on is even easier. No group gasket involved.

There is no doubt that the screen will build up with residue over time but if it keeps it cleaner longer I will not have to pop the screen off and clean it as much. So far the water dispersion pattern is even but once it starts to become a uni stream I know it is time to clean. Even without the puck screen the uni stream starts around the one month time after a clean so I do not think there is the much build up. If it can be extended for longer then it would have proven its benefit but time will tell.

Corgo wrote:I bought 4, used 2, 1 of the used is already in the trash. Durability is not that great. It is easy to bend if you even slightly overload your basket. I accidentally bent one in half when drying it in a hurry.

They are also not a perfect fit for the strietman but probably the best fit unless you go custom. I just got custom ones at 49.9mm and the strietman will fit 49.95mm as per Escher labs distributor and tamper.

I was very pleased with them at first as it did keep the group head cleaner than no puck screen but it does not keep it anywhere as clean as the more traditional screen pucks that have much smaller holes with many layers and higher thickness. I have 2 brand new ones that will likely never be used and one used one to be retired next week when my new screens come in.

Just giving my experience as devils advocate.

You may find these to be more solid. https://coffee-sensor.com/product/secon ... -pre-mill/