Espresso Cart - Goodbye Plumbed In - Page 13

Water analysis, treatment, and mineral recipes for optimum taste and equipment health.
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Moka 1 Cup
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#121: Post by Moka 1 Cup »

First of all a big thank you to CarefreeBuzzBuzz for this thread, and to spressomon and all other members for their contributions and suggestions. It really helped me putting this little system together.
After ten day, three pumps, two expansion tanks, several meters of tubing to try different layouts, few days for testing it, the project is completed. Now it will be up to my wife to restore the cart and making it fully enclosed :D . I have tested it for few days and it is working smoothly. So far ...

Also, since I am running the system in a different way, I want to underline that I do not think it is necessarily a better way. It's just a way that works better for me. The reason why I am doing it is that even if I am sure that tubing and fittings are very reliable, I do not want to even have the chance to flood that area of the kitchen with 5+ Gallon of water (worst case scenario). In the way I am running it, in the worst case I am going to deal with "only" 1.5 gallon.
In short I am not using the Aquatec as a demand/delivery pump. Actually I am keeping the pump almost always off and I run it manually only when I decide to. Probably a simple on/off pump instead of a demand-delivery pump would have been more appropriate in my case, but at least I have the option to run it automatically if in the future I decide to do so.
I set the expansion tank to 23 psi (instead of the 38 psi, which would have been just below the ON pressure setting of the pump). In this way I maximize the volume of water inside the the expansion tank by making it work between 60 psi and 25-23-psi (the minimum pressure I need to feed the machine) and it is able to deliver the water on demand, to the espresso machine. Set in this way the expansion tank can deliver about 1.5 Gallon, before reaching 23 psi, when it is completely empty. I am posting a short video that shows how at 26 psi it can still deliver water to the Profitec at 1.5 bar even if it is almost empty (in fact the pressure of the tank drops quickly from 26 psi to 24 psi while doing so). 1.5 gallon gives me enough autonomy for more than two days, all without using the pump. When the pressure gets to 25 psi, or any value under 40 psi, I can turn the pump on and refill the expansion tank again, in a matter of few minutes (literally the time of making a cappuccino), and I don't have to do it every day.
I installed only one drain line, just before the water inlet of the Profitec. I can use it to purge any air from the lines if I have to "prime" the system, or to drain the line if I have to. I can also recirculate the water from the expansion tank to the water tank, in case I decide that I want to depressurize the whole system without wasting water. Something I may decide to do if I leave for a day or two. It was also helpful during the initial testing and cleaning of the system.
I am using two separate smart plugs, one for the Profitec and one for the pump. The one for the pump is really redundant since I am keeping it off all the time and I operate it manually when needed. However I programed the smart plug in order to turn the power off at 11pm, just in case.

Water tank:
4 gallon, it fits precisely under my cart. I can slide it to the front and refill it.
Dicunoy Water Container
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JYVN9XW

Pump:
At the end I decided for the 0.7 GPM model. I do not need more than that, plus this pump is super silent, when compared to the 1.7 GPM. I am actually surprised by some reviews on amazon that describe it as too noisy. Maybe different tubing length and fittings can make a difference, but in may case we can barely notice it if I turn it on when we are talking, in spite of being inside a completely open cart. I made sure to minimize any contact between the tubing and the cart, that may have helped in avoiding additional noise due to vibrations.
So far it has not needed priming when turned on form empty.
Aquatec 5851-7E12-J574 0.7 GPM 60 PSI 3/8 inch JG
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007KDXH5U

Expansion tank:
I purchased a 3 gallon expansion tank, the biggest I could afford with the available space under the cart. As I mentioned it, with the current setting it can deliver about 1.5 gallon and I do not need to turn the pump on more often then every two-three days.
APEC Water Systems TANK-3
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MF53M3C?

Pressure regulator:
I tried a couple of cheaper ones and ended up with the recommended Watts 560 (0-125 psi) with pressure gauge. Night and day, money well spent. I set it in a way that the line pressure while it's filling the Profitec is at about 1.5 bar. Enough to feed the machine reliably and to minimize the noise created by the internal solenoid.
https://www.freshwatersystems.com/produ ... 9869152299
Fittings: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N2SVLQG?

Pressure gauges.
I installed two of them. The one on the left to monitor the pressure of the expansion tank, and the one on the right to check the pressure after the pressure regulator, in order to know at what pressure I am feeding the Profitec.
EANLIN MEASURE 0~100Psi Stainless Steel 1/4" NPT 2.5"
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08F9YSL2N
Fittings: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VZ1M36N, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BVOR4S


Adapters for Profitec Pro 800's 1/8" BSP water inlet.
BWT Reduction FM 3/8" x Ø 3/8" Adapter
https://www.wholelattelove.com/products ... 9280061499
1/8" F BSP X 3/8" M BSP FITTING
https://www.espressoparts.com/products/ ... 1002340539


Few pictures:

The 1 gallon jug is there for collecting the water from the drip tray. I added a sort drain line to empty it periodically and a water sensor with alarm:
WATCHDOG Model BWD-HWA 110 dB Battery Operated Water Alarm
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JOK11K







That tube is the drain line.



And two short videos:

Line pressure at expansion tank almost empty.

This is just to show the noise level of the 0.7 GPM, even if in the video it may appear much noisier that it is.
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CarefreeBuzzBuzz (original poster)
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#122: Post by CarefreeBuzzBuzz (original poster) »

Monte, great job. Thanks for sharing with the community how you set this up. Great use of a smart plug(s) too.

One thought for you. You can buy John Guest Locking Clips. If you are sure you have pushed the tube in all the way and have the clips, I think your risk of water is minimal. And if you want no risk at all why not have a water sensor, and then leave the cart to do what it needs to do. I like you turn mine off with the smart plug at night so it doesn't wake us up.

Great job, nice set up.
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Moka 1 Cup
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#123: Post by Moka 1 Cup »

Thank you for reminding me of the clips. That was supposed to be the last thing, and I forgot of course :roll:. Fortunately I posted the pictures here :D.
One water sensor from my alarm system is under the chart.
I'll run the pump in automatic mode when I am home and see how it works, you are probably right, I am overly concerned. However I think that by turning it manually eliminates the risk of running the pump dry as well.
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CarefreeBuzzBuzz (original poster)
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#124: Post by CarefreeBuzzBuzz (original poster) »

Moka 1 Cup wrote: I'll run the pump in automatic mode when I am home and see how it works, you are probably right, I am overly concerned. However I think that by turning it manually eliminates the risk of running the pump dry as well.
Those are run dry pumps. Just make sure you hear the click for each connection and use the clips and you will be fine. No leaks here for five years. Guessing the same for sopressomon. Plus you have the alarm.

Now all you need is two hooligan cats like I have to supervise the tank refills.
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Moka 1 Cup
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#125: Post by Moka 1 Cup »

My two cats get close to the espresso machine only when we make cappuccino !

I was thinking about this High / Low Water Level Sensor for when, eventually, the cart is fully enclosed ....

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085Y4ZV1K

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CarefreeBuzzBuzz (original poster)
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#126: Post by CarefreeBuzzBuzz (original poster) replying to Moka 1 Cup »


Hmmm no not in my water that I am going to drink and could leach. Won't take that chance. Let the system work as it has for so many. You have the water sensor on the floor as a backup.
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Moka 1 Cup
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#127: Post by Moka 1 Cup »

In case it is of any interest I ended up installing a water sensor only to the 1 gallon jug I use to collect the water from the drip tray.
Inexpensive, super easy to install and it works. The sensor can be dethatched form the alarm and inserted in the container at the desired level. The alarm is loud but I have "dampened" the sound by covering it with some neoprene foam, plus it turns immediately off as soon as you start draining the water from the container.

WATCHDOG Model BWD-HWA 110 dB Battery Operated Water Alarm
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JOK11K
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spressomon
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#128: Post by spressomon »

I've had a slow leak coming from my Swagelok pressure regulator and finally tore the system down this morning to get at the problem; not pretty. Not sure about how/why this would happen but the outboard portion of the regulator is badly rusted and full of nasty rusty water. Waiting to hear from Swagelok Northern California to determine if the needed replacement parts are available.

I expected better from such an expensive component especially given the relatively refined water it has been fed.





No Espresso = Depresso

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Moka 1 Cup
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#129: Post by Moka 1 Cup »

That is bad, sorry. I don't know that regulator, but is water supposed to get into that "chamber"?
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spressomon
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#130: Post by spressomon »

No, water should not have entered into that area of the regulator.
No Espresso = Depresso