gscace wrote:Cool pen. Is that a Namiki Vanishing Point?

Yeah. I used fountain pens in school and college (England) and missed the feel (not to mention the extra legibility) of writing with them. The Pilot is as convenient and mess free as any ballpoint and writes very smoothly indeed.

Endo wrote:Can I come? I'll be the one wearing the carbon-fibre easter bonnet.

Ok, I can let it pass once, but is that really the second time a Vivaldi owner insulted the looks of a Dalla Corte? I don't own either one, but I do remember a thread called "Is the Vivaldi II as ugly as it looks in all the pictures?" on CG from a week or two ago which included the following...

Endo wrote: Subject: Re: Is the Vivaldi II as ugly as it looks in all the pictures?

Posted February 7, 2009 link
Sorry, I got caught up in a little "name calling" after I saw that title (not the first time for such a title either).

I guess no proud parent likes to hear their baby called ugly.

Given that, can we get focus on the coffee you can make with the DC mini? I hear the Vivaldi is a great machine, so if the reviewers comment that the DC does some things better, that should be viewed as a compliment for the DC, not an insult to the Vivaldi.

I think the info on the DC Mini on this thread has been very interesting (especially the stuff posted by those who have used one).

HA! Damn you evil search button.

I'm just teasing. I obviously need to add more smileys but 3 seems to be the maximum.

The grouphead design on the DC Mini seems like a great design and I understand it looks that way for good reason. Hey, if the E-61 can be popular, who knows. But if they could somehow polish it up like a saturated group like a Synesso, that would be sweet.

If I could stick that big, stable "pineapple" on my Vivaldi I would do it.

By the way, I told my wife our baby had a funny head when he was born too. So it's not the first time i've been in trouble (no more smiley's left...sorry:-)

another_jim wrote:Yeah. I used fountain pens in school and college (England) and missed the feel (not to mention the extra legibility) of writing with them. The Pilot is as convenient and mess free as any ballpoint and writes very smoothly indeed.

I'm severely left-handed, which is my excuse for practically illegible hand-writing. I spent considerable time in early high-school trying to find a pen-type that would help me to write at least well enough that my teachers would bother to read (and properly grade) my tests.

I settled on fountain pens - they did not run away from me like a ball-point does, nor smear as badly as a pencil. I am no pen collector; I keep a cheap Parker in my bag, and have a gold-nibbed Pelikan for my office. There is nothing like a gold nib:


Wow, how's that for thread drift...

Endo wrote: I'm just teasing. I obviously need to add more smileys but 3 seems to be the maximum.

Actually, a post that is either informative, helpful, kind, or even somewhat funny would be a lot better than smileys.

Nib.

Hey - why not leave the pens behind and get back to the real techie stuff?

I haven't seen ONE curve yet on this thread and that made me feel bad so here is one comparing the flow performance of two vibe pumps.

edit - 5/13/09 - replaced image with one showing a more correct flow of the FOT 1106 @ 9.0 bar.

The DC most definitely appears to be fitted with the 1106 model. On another note, a more complete (and fine) disassembly text of this OPV is contained here: The OPV.pdf
What has been termed as a plastic ball in this OPV is actually glass (according to FOT) and I have successfully operated this OPV (with an Ulka pump) in Silvia for years.

erics wrote:... here is one comparing the flow performance of two vibe pumps.

Actually this shows an important point that Salvatore Espresso has argued for years: An OPV isn't needed at espresso flow rates IF you install a Fluid-o-Tech pump, thanks to its lower pressure curve. But at ristretto flow rates, an OPV will still be necessary unless you want ~10.5 bar extraction pressure. Interestingly that's what Jon advocates in How to make a beautiful "naked" triple espresso under Tweaking the Triple Ristretto.

Back to the Dalla Corte Mini. Judging from the pressure curves you've posted, the OPV won't be seeing much action when paired with the Fluid-o-Tech pump, which is a good thing.

Given this pump curve, the OPV on mine was definitely bad, since it was bypassing like crazy ( the noise was worse when I was making espresso than when I was running on empty). Now it quiets down at espresso range.

I have two volunteers for the taste test, more are welcome.

HB wrote:Actually this shows an important point that Salvatore Espresso has argued for years: An OPV isn't needed at espresso flow rates IF you install a Fluid-o-Tech pump, thanks to its lower pressure curve. But at ristretto flow rates, an OPV will still be necessary unless you want ~10.5 bar extraction pressure.

Don't forget about ~11.5 bar singles with the FOT.