User Experience with the Strietman CT2 - Page 69

#681: Post by **cuongdinh** » October 14th, 2022, 12:49 pm

km6064 wrote:CT2 came yesterday and landed safe! Well packaged. Overall it's a beaut. few little annoyances wonder if anyone else has experienced?

Hard black build up in a few places, most noticeable in the drip tray plate that's pretty annoying to have to go in and try to chip off with an awl and all the scratching potential involved there. I guess this is hardened wax or polish maybe?

I think someone else mentioned a while back about some dripping from the edge/seal of the shower screen when lifting the handle/flushing, I have some of that, not sure if an issue and maybe will settle, but is a bit annoying that the water not coming solely through the shower screen holes...I popped off the shower screen and the edge is definitely not perfectly circular and there was a metal shard loose too. The shower screen doesn't seem like the same sort of quality as other parts IMO

On first flush, a load of coffee grounds came through in the bowl, I imagine its from testing, but not ideal that it clearly wasn't flushed through after testing.

the drilled hole on my handle isn't perfectly centred, and the grub screw don't tighten flush as it says they should in the manual....but seems secure. Small thing but lot of these details add up I guess

Sorry that you have these issues but mine has none of them.

On other people's issues my portafilter is super easy to put on with no basket, and fairly tough to get on with a basket but not horrendous and not leaving any black marks or anything.

Same here. I actually have to hold the base down, against the locking direction to avoid tilting the machine when locking the portafilter in.

Have a Pyxis scale and it fits most of the small cups I have with it, but thinking I'll try to ditch the scales and get a feel for the machine by the flow look and timing eventually.

Trying to do the same. Tare the cup on my scale, put the cup under the portafilter to pull the shot then weigh it to confirm my feel. In the range I wanted to have in the first try (16.8g out from 15g ground).

What is the shot mirror that you use? Also, the cup looks beautiful <3

#682: Post by **km6064** » October 14th, 2022, 1:02 pm

cuongdinh wrote:Sorry that you have these issues but mine has none of them.

What is the shot mirror that you use? Also, the cup looks beautiful <3

Ah well, just my luck! Maybe Wouter will get back to me with some thoughts. Hate being that annoying person emailing with issues/questions.

Thanks, the mirror is a Weber looking glass thing, I'm not sure it's better than some cheaper solutions. It's base is also a bit low so my connected it to an acaia weight I had from an old scale. Does the job. The mirror is a quite small.

Thanks the cup is a Serax one, I forget the collection name. About 5cm tall.

#683: Post by **Chrikelnel** » October 14th, 2022, 1:35 pm

I have a lunar and if I want to be able to meaningfully watch the bottomless portafilter I use an Inker Ischia cup which is ~1.56" tall, if I don't care about seeing the flow I can use a cup that's 2" tall.

#684: Post by **RyanP** » October 14th, 2022, 1:57 pm

km6064 wrote: I think someone else mentioned a while back about some dripping from the edge/seal of the shower screen when lifting the handle/flushing, I have some of that, not sure if an issue and maybe will settle, but is a bit annoying that the water not coming solely through the shower screen holes...I popped off the shower screen and the edge is definitely not perfectly circular and there was a metal shard loose too. The shower screen doesn't seem like the same sort of quality as other parts IMO

I have owned both a CT1 and now a CT2 and have had that same "issue" with the shower screen on both machines. I put issue in quotes because while water rushes around the edges of the screen when the portafilter isn't locked in, I still get consistently even beading across the basket with preinfusion and visually even extractions, so in the end I don't know if it's actually impacting extraction or not. But, as you mention, it doesn't seem as well thought out or as high of quality as the other parts of the machine. It's a bit of an annoyance to me. An issue, but maybe not an issue?

#685: Post by **Word_salad** » October 14th, 2022, 2:40 pm

To those who have recently received theirs in the US, how long from ordering did it take to arrive?

Also mine currently says pending which I assume means it's being made as the payment went through and everything, is this correct?

#686: Post by **cuongdinh** » October 14th, 2022, 2:59 pm

RyanP wrote:I have owned both a CT1 and now a CT2 and have had that same "issue" with the shower screen on both machines. I put issue in quotes because while water rushes around the edges of the screen when the portafilter isn't locked in, I still get consistently even beading across the basket with preinfusion and visually even extractions, so in the end I don't know if it's actually impacting extraction or not. But, as you mention, it doesn't seem as well thought out or as high of quality as the other parts of the machine. It's a bit of an annoyance to me. An issue, but maybe not an issue?

This is how it looks like for me

Word_salad wrote:To those who have recently received theirs in the US, how long from ordering did it take to arrive?

Also mine currently says pending which I assume means it's being made as the payment went through and everything, is this correct?

I ordered 9/12 and received 9/21, in Nashville TN. Not sure about the status on strietman website though.

#687: Post by **erik82** » October 14th, 2022, 3:06 pm

The shower screen is IMS just as the filter baskets. If it just drips a bit at an edge of the screen that won't affect anything. It'll stay within the filterbaket and keep the seal and not drip along the side of the portafilter. It's not going to affect pressure on the puck or lose pressure due to a leak.

#688: Post by **RyanP** » October 14th, 2022, 5:18 pm

cuongdinh wrote:This is how it looks like for me

video.

Yes, that's prob how they all look in the beginning, and some may stay that way. I have a local buddy who has had his Strietman for years now and his shower screen still has a good seal and looks just like yours. When I showed him mine (which on this machine I've never removed) he was surprised because it had never happened to his. I think on my first machine I replaced the screen 3 times over the course of 3 years because they all eventually became loose and allowed water to gush around the edges. I think it's just luck of the draw. Some of the screens eventually lose their tight seal and allow water to escape.

#689: Post by **RyanP** » October 14th, 2022, 5:21 pm

erik82 wrote:The shower screen is IMS just as the filter baskets. If it just drips a bit at an edge of the screen that won't affect anything. It'll stay within the filterbaket and keep the seal and not drip along the side of the portafilter. It's not going to affect pressure on the puck or lose pressure due to a leak.

It's more than just a drip at the edge. But the question is more about distribution of water over the puck, not if it will affect pressure.

#690: Post by **Strigops** » October 14th, 2022, 5:49 pm

On the cup thing, I bought some from a local potter, they measure 3.5cm in height, are unique and beautiful. I feel they compliment the ct2 as they are handmade, plus I'm supporting a local artisan. Volume is perfect too. They're a bit pricy but not too bad.