ladalet wrote: Everyone that watches me pull a shot thinks that I am pulling really hard, "yarding." Actually I am not. I am just trying really hard to maintain consistent pressure throughout the stroke. I am running a slightly coarse grind with a slightly heavy tamp--40#. I have found that if you vary the amount of pressure you put to the lever too much or too abruptly you get early blonding.

It does look as though one is pulling harder than one actually is. As my wife says of my Cremina stance, It looks as though you're trying to wring blood from a stone. But I do think you're giving that puck more than 40 pounds. You could get that puck to admit to almost anything.

Regards
Timo

Lance,

Kudo's for the great footage. This is the best start to finish lever video any one has posted in my newbie opinion! I was thinking of adding an Olympia 67 to the line up some day. Not any more. After watching you pull this shot I know I'd have to increase my weights and reps at the gym. A lot! You have got some guns and it just looks like you put more effort into this one shot than my wife did birthing our first child ! All joking aside, thanks for the great camera work. It helps to see what using a manual lever is all about. For the time being I'll keep learning on my new Elektra MCal.

Tim356

Tim356 wrote: I was thinking of adding an Olympia 67 to the line up some day. Not any more. After watching you pull this shot I know I'd have to increase my weights and reps at the gym. A lot! You have got some guns and it just looks like you put more effort into this one shot than my wife did birthing our first child !Tim356

HONEST, I was not pulling very hard. The amount of resistance in the lever was such that I could have pulled the lever down with 2 fingers (ok, maybe 3 fingers). I really was just working to have a very controlled pull with consistent pressure from beginning to end. From the middle of the pull to the end the tendency is to lose pressure because of the decreasing angle leading to loss of mechanical advantage. Please, don't let my video scare you away from this machine. That would be the opposite of why I made the video. It is a dream to use. In fact, if really did have to pull hard, I could not use it. I have a badly damaged right shoulder from an accident. It is held together by 5 anchors and wire. Any real stress or exertion to my shoulder causes a great amount of pain for quite a while. Pulling shots on my Cremina causes me no discomfort. Please trust me on this.

Best wishes,
Lance

chopinhauer wrote:
I have one specific question. How much water do you go through per shot? Or put diferently how many shots can you get out of a boiler filled nearly to the top of the sight glass? (We are water misers down here in drought stricken Oz).

This may not completely answer your question; however, I think it may give you a good idea. The picture below shows the water level in my cremina after 5 consecutive shots. I just did not feel up to pulling any more shots after shot 5. In case you cannot quite make it out it is at at least 60% water left. I will eventually determine exactly how many shots the boiler holds--an actual number.



Also, you have me feeling guilty about my water usage . I am now pouring my waste water into a pitcher to water my household plants.

P.S. By the way. Shot 5 was very good. It did not taste burnt or over-extracted at all.

TUS172 wrote:Gottcha... I have noted the difference between the Pavonis and the Creminas... It is a different pull. For some reason the Pavonis are an easier pull for me even though the baskets I use are the same (A Leva baskets) as the Creminas. Go figure...

Even more of a mystery is the fact that my '86 Cremina is easier to pull and requires a finer grind than my '83 Cremina, using the same basket and portafilter. I personally rebuilt both of these machines and in my mind, they couldn't be more identical.

I experienced this between my Europiccola and Cremina, and again both were using the same basket. The Europiccola did not require as much pull pressure. Although, neither require much effort to pull.

Lance,

Any chance you can provide a similar video, but using your Gaggia Factory instead (i.e., another thread)?

Javier

Fullsack wrote:Even more of a mystery is the fact that my '86 Cremina is easier to pull and requires a finer grind than my '83 Cremina, using the same basket and portafilter. I personally rebuilt both of these machines and in my mind, they couldn't be more identical.

You are taking the same PF and basket and moving it from one machine to the other? Is one machine running hotter?

Regards
Timo

Javier wrote:Lance,

Any chance you can provide a similar video, but using your Gaggia Factory instead (i.e., another thread)?

Javier

Actually I was already planning to do just that. I just cannot decide whether to use my Europiccola or my Factory.

My Europiccola has the 49mm PF and the pressure relief valve on the outside. I think it may be useful for people new to the machine to see that the steam coming out when warmed up is normal.

However, my Factory has the 51mm portafilter and does not have the external pressure relief valve and is a little easier to use for some reason. I just like it better. I can also get one more double shot out of it than my Europiccola. I seems to hold just a little more water. It also pulls a little nicer shots with more volume.

I would be willing to do either. If you have an opinion let me know.

timo888 wrote:You are taking the same PF and basket and moving it from one machine to the other? Is one machine running hotter?

Regards
Timo

I am not using the same portafilter. They will not interchange. When I purchased my Cremina it only had a single basket. I ordered a basket for my Cremina from 1st-line. It appears that I was sent a Europiccola basket as it is identical to the basket in my Europiccola. So, I was using the same basket in both machines. I am now however using a MicroCasa a leva basket in my Cremina now.

My Factory uses a 51mm basket. The resistance on my factory falls between my Europiccola and my Cremina.

I am not sure if one is running hotter. When I get a chance I will measure both.

Lance wrote:However, my Factory has the 51mm portafilter and does not have the external pressure relief valve and is a little easier to use for some reason. I just like it better. I can also get one more double shot out of it than my Europiccola. I seems to hold just a little more water. It also pulls a little nicer shots with more volume.

I would be willing to do either. If you have an opinion let me know.

Well, I think a lot of "La Pavoni or Gaggia Factory newbies" (I am one of them) will benefit from watching a La Pavoni/Gaggia Factory video filmed at the same angle you filmed your Cremina video. It is mostly about the technique (i.e., pre-infusion, whether it is active or passive AND the mini-pumps or semi-pumps before actually pulling the shot). I like that you captions provided a lot of information when pulling that shot with your Cremina.

My 0.000002 cents.

Javier