I was asked yesterday via DM, "is the Decent easy to customize?" and then again elsewhere "can I have different styles for the two wood handles".

Because Decent has an active owner community, and we publish CAD to the entire machine, there's very active "modding" going on.

As it happens, on a recent discussion I had on Diaspora (the owner's forum) about the resin handles, many people posted their alternative group handles, which I made into a collage, to show here. It's really a small detail, but indicative of how much people enjoy making a machine their own.

I had the same thought yesterday when I saw your post about the new handles. Interesting assortment of styles. I've actually found a second handle not to be much more useful then having none. My Decent "sticks" to my counter well enough that I don't feel I need much effort to lock it.

Agree.

Hey John,

Any updates you can share on when you plan to roll out v1.44? Are there any other changes contemplated for that release besides what you've mentioned before? Will the resin handles be part of that rollout or phased in at a later date?

Thx!

cibby wrote:Hey John,
Any updates you can share on when you plan to roll out v1.44? Are there any other changes contemplated for that release besides what you've mentioned before? Will the resin handles be part of that rollout or phased in at a later date?
Thx!

Planned hardware updates at Decent for the October v1.44 DE1 version:

- The resin handles will get phazed into production, whenever we run out of the black wood handles. However, it will be at least 3 months from now, because that's how long it'll take for the resin handles to get made. The matte black resin will be provided as part of the machine, and the other ones will be separately purchasable. For white machines, we're staying with the natural oak. We will also have reclaimed Italian olive tree handles, as an optional separate purchase, soon (they're almost ready).



Here are the olive and oak natural wood handles, side by side:




- we're removing the 3 small front screws that hold the front faceplate. We found a way to have the faceplate hang off the steam wand screw, and front standby switch, so the 3 small screws are no longer needed. Some double sided Japanese tape behind the bottom of the faceplate, keeps it from "flapping". This is just a small cosmetic thing. It'll make repairs slightly more difficult, but it's really rare to have to remove the faceplate, so not a big deal in practice. This change is backward compatible to existing customers (ie, you can buy a faceplate w/o the 3 front screw holes), but I wouldn't recommend you bother, as it's a big job to remove that front faceplate (you have to remove the group head), and this is a tiny improvement. I'll be posting a video about that, once it's ready. We're still in the testing phase on this, as we had to design/build a fancy jig to get the alignment perfect, w/o screw holes. Here's a still photo showing a front face (this one, with screws) being mounted using that jig.



and the new front face coming in v1.44:




- we'll also be phazing in a new water intake thimble filter, switching from the off-the-shelf mesh we've always had, to our own design. That'll be backward compatible to all existing machines, and sold inexpensively for anyone who wants it. Our new design has a much greater surface area, so it should need less frequent cleaning, and not add drag to the pump. Also, it can sit on the bottom of the water tank, without causing a "suction seal", so that we'll have more accurate water tank level measurements. Currently, we need to have a bit of distance between the bottom of the intake tube and the ceramic, or else a suction seal occurs, and water can get pulled up the tube. The new design also means we can use more of the water in the tank (almost all of it), instead of leaving a bit behind to avoid suction. Existing customers can switch to the new uptake filter, and also calibrate their intake tube downwards into the tank, to take advantage of this.



You might notice that this amounts to "not much" and certainly nothing "revolutionary". We've been in the "small evolutionary improvements" stage every since v1.3 introduced the group head controller in April 2020. We're planning on another 2 years (at least) of this v1.4x model, as we're happy with the hardware, and are now mostly focussed on software (app) and firmware. That's where the most interesting stuff from us will come from.

And all the software stuff we do is (a) backward compatible all the way to the first v1.0 machines and (b) free of cost.

-john

Spitz.me wrote:I had the same thought yesterday when I saw your post about the new handles. Interesting assortment of styles. I've actually found a second handle not to be much more useful then having none. My Decent "sticks" to my counter well enough that I don't feel I need much effort to lock it.

The main reason for that 2nd handle is "body mechanics". I'm a (bad) musician (elec guitar and lute), but my teachers always stressed how important it was to have movements that didn't stress the body, to prevent later injury.

When I look at how people lock in a portafilter on traditional machines, I see two methods:
- they put their right hand on the machine, and lock with the left. Our handle makes that motion safer and less lopsided.
- they use their right hand and lean into the locking with their shoulder.

I'm maybe over-analyzing this (yes) but both those motions looked like they could cause body damage over time, and indeed, baristas do complain of wrist injury (though tamping is a much more significant cause of that, I think).

Anyway, the two handles on the Decent allow you to use your biceps to squeeze the handles together. That's a very natural, healthy and repeatable motion. And, the handles are symmetric in placement, so each side of your body is equally exercised, and balanced.

As with most things I say/write, you are welcome to disagree. As to the 2nd handle, most people leave it on, but if you disagree, it's quite easy to unscrew and use the Decent w/o it.

And yes, the rubber feet on the Decent means that it is quite unlikely to slide on most materials.

-john

TIL it wasn't as simple as leveraging so the machine wouldn't shift. Thanks for the insightful response, John. For what it's worth, I'm not using much strength/strain to lock in the portafilter. Certainly, much less than with my BDB. I'm not a huge fan of the starting position of the locking process either, but I also now know that it was with the intent you provided. These are small gripes. I'm a fanboy and I'm loving the machine.

FAQ on v1.44 DE1 machines and other Decent hardware improvements

My posting yesterday about coming hardware improvements, led to a bunch of questions and requests for clarification, so here goes:

A PRICE INCREASE IS COMING: it's our policy to not increase prices during a version run, even if our own costs go up. We're currently making/shipping v1.43 until (we estimate) October, and so our prices for this version will not change. However, as our suppliers have increased prices across the board, v1.44 will likely see a price increase between 10% to 20%. Other espresso machine manufacturers have been increasing their prices, for the same reason. The exactly % price increase will be decided closer to the launch of v1.44. We have given raises to all our employees at the end of 2021, to share in our success, so that isn't part of our pricing calculation.

SILICONE GASKETS: we'll be transitioning to portafilter gaskets made from Silicone, away from NBR (Nitrile) rubber. We're still deciding the exact hardness (70/75/80 shore) we want, so we don't have a timeline for that yet. We'll likely go for light grey or white color, so that coffee grounds jammed in there, are visible. I expect that we'll have these by October, though.

NEW INNER BLOCK IN TEFLON: I've posted before about the new water-distribution blocks inside the group head. We're transitioning away from brass, as it's a heat sink, tarnishes easily, and lead is always a concern that requires constant testing. We've worked on this for two years, and our beta testers all report better tasting espresso, so this is a change we're happy about. However, our most recent testing with teflon and PEEK found that both materials warped in use, so we are doing another round of tests, with other materials. I have my hopes pinned on the plastic used to make baby bottles, as it's extremely tested for food safety, but we'll see. Again, not sure when this will ship, but hopefully by October.

NEW FRONT PANEL STANDBY BUTTON: we're transitioning to a new front standby switch. The current switch is "push in to enter standby mode" which is confusing for many people. The new switch will be pushed out when in standby, and flush with the front panel when power is on (standby=off). It'll also have a power icon. We don't know when these switches will arrive to us, being given a vague "this summer" ship date from the supplier. That's the state of manufacturing under COVID.

Direct dosing with the Key Grinder, using the Decent stand and funnel.

I was delighted yesterday to receive my own Key Grinder from Weber Workshops.

And even more excited to discover that I can grind directly-into-the-portafilter with the Key, by modding it with two Decent products.

This is a workflow that I much prefer to dosing into a cup, by using the Decent bottomless portafilter stand, and tall magnetic funnel. I do the same thing with my Niche grinder. I find that the drink quality is better since the grounds stay fluffier, and puck preparation time is reduced too.

Here's a direct link to those two items, if you'd like to do the same.
https://decentespresso.com/c?s=345+1+409+1

and the product pages:
https://decentespresso.com/portafilter_stand
https://decentespresso.com/funnel

I tried our tall portafilter stand, but it's too tall for the Key, even with our shorter funnel. But this combination (short stand, tall funnel) works well.

The portafilter stand comes with double sided tape, that adheres it to the Key's wood platform.

-john

decent_espresso wrote:
When I look at how people lock in a portafilter on traditional machines, I see two methods:
- they put their right hand on the machine, and lock with the left. Our handle makes that motion safer and less lopsided.
- they use their right hand and lean into the locking with their shoulder.

Me lol. Done it and still do all these years later, every machine, whether the CC1, E61, GS3, BDB I've always held the machine by right even though not needed and locked with left. Just never have no could get used to locking in with just one arm, it's like second nature to me to grab machine each time lol