Hey, first time posting, hello all.

I have a weird issue when brewing with my EC155m, I get the grounds into my naked portafilter (17g), get them evened out with palm and counter tapping, tamp and prep the machine. Run hot water through for two cycles, connect the portafilter and brew a shot. First shot this morning went fine.

When I went back to brew a second, same process as above, but the shot starts brewing, and about 10 seconds in the grounds blow out around the portafilter and its a huge mess.

I have ordered a new gasket just in case that is the issue, but could overtamping cause this? That is the only different variable that I can track between the two shots.

Alastor wrote:about 10 seconds in the grounds blow out around the portafilter and its a huge mess.

Photo?

James Hoffman reviewed some Under 100£ machines. In his video, starting at about 3:35, he talks about using 14 g in what might be an equivalent DeLonghi machine.

I'll try to replicate the issue and see if I can get a photo or video tomorrow.

Also, the naked portafilter I am using is this one: https://www.amazon.com/Bottomless-Porta ... 08N56L6PP/
Apologies, in my haste I forgot to mention that.

Now, the online questions say it is rated for 14-22 grams, and I have seen the sweet spot as around 17-18 when it is working. But possibly that is part of the problem. When I have backed off dose I get a soggy puck but haven't noticed flavor downsides. To be fair, I am a relative novice at tasting so I may just be missing those flavors.

Thanks for the feedback/questions.

"Soggy pucks" are a visual or clean-up thing. If you think about it, by the time you see the puck as "soggy", the espresso is already in the cup. Shoot for good espresso and, like many do, deal with imperfect-appearing pucks.

There are a bunch of theories about it related to the amount of headspace, the kind of pressure-release or exhaust system, and a bit of magic related to the phase of the moon.

Here is my attempt from earlier, I reduced the dose to 14g, and you can see there is still some small leaks of clear water around the head. Also, you can see uneven distribution as the shot starts, I am working on that.

It tasted a little bitter and sour at the same time, so I am a little unsure of what that means for extraction. I did let it run long, and didn't time it to allow as much time for video as I could.

Interested in your thoughts, and thanks.

Also I immediately cleaned my steam wand after I watched this, someone must have come behind me earlier this morning and enjoyed a drink!

That looks like a poor seal somewhere between the basket, gasket, and group head. I'm assuming that you've locked in the PF securely. Not "gorilla strength", but firmly. I'd first make sure that the gasket face is completely clean and that there are no dents or scratches on the rim of the basket.

Good point, I'll pull the water reservoir and clean the gasket and group head. I looked at the basket and no evidence of any dents or scratches.

Just catching up. Yeah, I didn't realize you were using an aftermarket PF but that explains the blowout you described. Not a high-end machine and probably not designed to be compatible with other PFs (though I can understand trying to get it to work).