Hello! I got this machine for Christmas and every video I've seen has the pressure nice and steady right around 9 bars. But mine doesn't stay steady and the pump sounds like its pulsing. The needle sometimes fluctuates an entire bar. There is also sometimes a horrible sound when the pump reaches about 4 bars. I've contacted the seller and their techs insist that this is normal. I'm a bit boggled as every single video I've seen never has this happen.

I've tried everything that I can on my end, tamping better, distributing better, different coffees, fresher coffee, older coffee etc. Below is a video that I showed the techs and they told me it was normal and closed my ticket Thanks so much for your time.

How does it perform with a blank disk in it?

Randy

Hi! Here is the video with the blank basket, it does considerably better but still pulses a bit. Should I be concerned?

Thanks!

About three years ago I had a Rocket Cellini PID with a vibratory pump, and it exhibited this same behavior for several seconds before stabilizing as the shot progressed. It was not a problem.

Rocky

Hi! Thanks for the reply! I contacted Rocket support and they said it seems fine and to grind finer to help. But if I grind finer it takes too long and tastes horribly over extracted. Regardless, it fluctuates like crazy. It varies between pulls even though I do everything the same consistently. I managed to get one good tasting shot yesterday (fluctuating a bit around 8 bars). But now its all out the window again. It's been pretty frustrating.

Mine makes exactly the same noise/fluctuation, never been a problem. Always thought the fluctuation had to do with where the gauge was plumbed in between over pressure valves.

check the OPV that is just after the pump (it is set somewhere around 9 bars), if you close it you should get to 12 bar (then the second OPV opens to prevent overpressure in HX). if it fluctuates with the first OPV closed (there should be a ball valve before it) your pump (Ulka EX5) should be replaced. if its stable at 12 bar then you might want to service the first OPV (open, descale, clean, change gasket, lube, put it back and set to 9-10 bar).
some fluctuations are normal, even your machine should produce fine espresso.

Madman13 wrote:Mine makes exactly the same noise/fluctuation, never been a problem. Always thought the fluctuation had to do with where the gauge was plumbed in between over pressure valves.

Thanks for the reply! I've managed to get the fluctuations to be less crazy through grind. I decided to try my 2 other grinders and even my Aergrind seems to be doing better than my new Bartaza sette 270. I noticed your equipment that you have a Eureka Mignon. How do you like it? I might return the sette and try for something else.

Thanks again!

kolu wrote:check the OPV that is just after the pump (it is set somewhere around 9 bars), if you close it you should get to 12 bar (then the second OPV opens to prevent overpressure in HX). if it fluctuates with the first OPV closed (there should be a ball valve before it) your pump (Ulka EX5) should be replaced. if its stable at 12 bar then you might want to service the first OPV (open, descale, clean, change gasket, lube, put it back and set to 9-10 bar).
some fluctuations are normal, even your machine should produce fine espresso.

Thanks for the thorough troubleshooting tips! I'll have to take a look and see!

GloomyRocket wrote:Thanks for the reply! I've managed to get the fluctuations to be less crazy through grind. I decided to try my 2 other grinders and even my Aergrind seems to be doing better than my new Bartaza sette 270. I noticed your equipment that you have a Eureka Mignon. How do you like it? I might return the sette and try for something else.

Thanks again!

Not a huge fan of the mignon, although I suspect that it might be smal burr grinders (or just small flat burr grinders?) that I don't like I don't have a huge amount of experience to compare with, mainly just my kinu m68. The mignon itself is very nice looking in the kitchen and is small, works well and is capable of making excellent espresso. The problem is that I am constantly needing to make adjustments to the fine/course adj and the sweet spot window is very small. Ex. If I switch coffees the first shot will likely be a sinker or maybe just not that good until I readjust the grinder. As the coffee ages I need to keep readjusting how the grind is and in the process I waste shots down the sink. When a I get the adjustment just right the espresso quality is very good.
With my large conical Kinu m68 I really never have to change the settings even when changing coffees or as the coffee ages, it's wonderful. I only change the settings if I feel like it for a longer or shorter pull but it does not need much changing of the grind setting in general and is extremely consistent