Value Of A Bottomless Portafilter In Developing Skill? - Page 5

Beginner and pro baristas share tips and tricks for making espresso.
erik82
Posts: 2146
Joined: 12 years ago

#41: Post by erik82 »

randytsuch wrote:Bought a cheap chinese bottomless from ebay a few months ago.

It does the job, but it is feels light and cheap. Also the ears are thinner, so it goes past 6 oclock.
I might buy a better one at some point.
Those thinner ears can be a big problem. Due to pressure buildup the portafilter will come out eventually and then you'll have a red hot missile flying through your kitchen. I think most experienced (Home)barista have had this happen at one time and it's pretty dangerous (wrong portafilter or not tightenng it enough).

SEMIJim (original poster)
Posts: 90
Joined: 3 years ago

#42: Post by SEMIJim (original poster) »

It's always been my feeling that cheap goods aren't worth my money. "Buy once, cry once" ;)

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randytsuch
Posts: 495
Joined: 15 years ago

#43: Post by randytsuch »

Since it moves farther when you lock it in, it seems more secure to me, not less. And I've had a portafilter come loose, so I know what it feels like.

As for buying cheap, I sometimes regret it, but I still keep doing it. Old dog, new tricks.

erik82
Posts: 2146
Joined: 12 years ago

#44: Post by erik82 »

randytsuch wrote:Since it moves farther when you lock it in, it seems more secure to me, not less. And I've had a portafilter come loose, so I know what it feels like.

As for buying cheap, I sometimes regret it, but I still keep doing it. Old dog, new tricks.
And this is where your thoughts are wrong. Turning it in more means the ears are thinner and you need to turn it in more to achieve the same lock as in a standard portafilter and you're more towards the danger zone. Once the ears/grouphead gasket wear down a bit you need to turn it in even more which may not be possible anymore with the aftermarket portafilter thus leaving it too loose and it'll fly out.
SEMIJim wrote:It's always been my feeling that cheap goods aren't worth my money. "Buy once, cry once" ;)
Same here. Most of the time you pay 50-75% more for good stuff and it'll have 200-300% of the lifespan and works much better. In the end, most of the time, you're worse off and spend more with the cheap stuff and have trouble in between because of a bad fit.

randytsuch
Posts: 495
Joined: 15 years ago

#45: Post by randytsuch »

Thanks for the tip
At this point, it locks fine, not close to bottoming out.

I may switch to the blue cafelat group gasket, which is a little thicker than standard. I already wanted to try their gaskets.

SEMIJim (original poster)
Posts: 90
Joined: 3 years ago

#46: Post by SEMIJim (original poster) »

Y'all were right about the scale, WDT, and the value of a decent tamper. Figuring the same probably applied to the bottomless PF, I went ahead and pulled the trigger on one. It arrived this morning.

Interesting results.

First of all: The bottomless PF I bought was this one: Matow 54mm Bottomless Portafilter. Seems to be of very nice quality all around. Plus is it came with its own basket, which meant I wouldn't have to be swapping my existing non-pressurized basket back-and-forth.

(As an aside: This is the third Matow espresso accessory I've ordered--the other two being a distribution "tamper" and a dosing funnel. They are also of good quality.)

Pulled three shots this morning. The first one was nearly flawless, flow-wise. There was one brief "spit" at the very beginning, then it settled down and was picture-perfect. The second one was not so fun. I got a tasty shot out of it, but there splatters all around the machine. The third one was similar to the second, but not quite as splatter-y.

Bottom line is the thing will serve my need: Helping me perfect my puck prep process.

erik82
Posts: 2146
Joined: 12 years ago

#47: Post by erik82 »

Nice job and thanks for your feedback. Just keep doing what you're doing right now and you'll be making great espresso almost everytime. Key is to never stop learning and finetuning.

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SandraF
Posts: 374
Joined: 3 years ago

#48: Post by SandraF »

I bought the ECM bottomless portafilter when I ordered my machine & grinder. I watch the flow from it every day. When I bought an IMS NANO 18g basket I saw improvements. Then when I bought a new drip screen (IMS), I noticed more improvement (observed by watching each pull).

I bought the Levercraft WDT tool and so far I haven't seen significant improvement. The Eureka Atom 75 Speciality does a wonderful job producing fluffy grounds. Don't need to stir them around much if at all.

Oh, I bought the BT Wedge and noted significant improvement too. So by being able to look at the espresso coming from the basket, I can see where I might need to improve.

(https://clivecoffee.com/products/saint- ... essentials)

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