I have just returned to Australia after a stint overseas and will get my beloved, single group Slayer out of storage next month. I'm moving into a rental house so don't want to drill holes in the kitchen cabinets to plumb it in.

Does anyone have experience using 15 litre bottle water, pumps and pressure restricters with this size machine. Slayer spec is input pressure between 3 bar and 5 bar. I'm also assuming that I don't need my RO setup with bottled water, although the bladder tank might help smooth out pump cycling.

Any thoughts (or links to previous posts) on pump kit and configuration would be much appreciated.

You may want to check out Espresso Cart - Goodbye Plumbed In.

The setup in the above post is similar to what I run with my Slayer, and it works well.

The 60-psi aquatec pump's pressurestat will cycle between 3-4 bar from the factory (it can be adjusted somewhat), so set your regulator at 3-bar to keep the pressure to the machine consistent.

I would add one thing to it. The Slayer's brew boiler is open to line pressure, and the machine doesn't have a check valve internally. When the brew boiler is heating up you'll see line pressure rise at the regulator, so avoid confusing measurements on the regulator's gauge (or destroying the gauge if it can't handle that pressure), you should install a check valve between the two.

Thanks - that was an excellent post on setting up a Slayer on bottled water. I bought the same pump - Aquatec 5853-7E12-J524 1.7 GPM 60 PSI - even though I had to get a transformer for Australian voltage. The suppliers I contacted here didn't have any stock but I was able to get it from the USA! Global supply chains!!!!!

The Slayer is working after 3.5 years in storage, with the exception of the steam boiler - I'm getting a sensor error - so I will have to wait and see what Slayer Support have to say. For the moment I am only drinking espressos.

I still need to get more permanent water and waste tanks, and tweak the setup, but my current focus is trying to stop the Aquatec pump from doing a few quick pulses/jitters when I transition from prebrew to brew - see the video below

I using an accumulator tank. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Cheers

Paul

Hi Kurt,
Where did you install the check valve - after the Aquatec pump and just before the line enters the Slayer?? I put one there but had a lot of pump jitters (rapid cycling on/off) when I was setting things up. I thought maybe the value as effecting the back pressure to the pump causing it to cycle. I took it out but it may have just been the initial air in the line so I might put it back in.

I am still getting a slight jitter when the Slayer transition from prebrew to brew if you have any ideas?

Cheers

Paul

Yes, the check valve should after the pump and accumulator and regulator

Pump 3-4 bar -> accumulator -> regulator 3 bar -> check valve -> machine

The demand pump should cycle on at 3 bar, and turn off at 4, but without the accumulator, this transition happens very fast. Mine is a small 28 oz aquatec accumulator that serves to stop this kind of pulsing by providing a reservoir at pressure for the machine to draw from. I wonder if your setup has one of these?

Hi Kurt,
I have this 4 gallon RO accumulator tank
https://www.amazon.com/PAE-RO-132-press ... B00A7FCFYW

Paul

Have you set the pre-charge on this tank? With a bike pump while the tank is empty you want to set it 10-20% below the low pressure cutoff of the boost pump, so something like 35 psi should work. Don't leave it pressurized but empty for long periods of time as it stresses the bladder.

Just another point of comparison, but the 1/4 interface on this tank is lower than I have. I've got 3/8 tubing everywhere, and 3/8 interfaces everywhere. The flow rate will be lower through 1/4 tubing, so keep the amount of 1/4 tubing low to make sure the water can move quickly to where it needs to go.

If you continue to have problems, take the machine out of the picture and put a valve at the end of the line to see how the system responds when you open the valve. You should be able to get a lot of water out of the tank as it supplies the demand to keep the pressure high on the output side of the pump, before the pump kicks back on to meet the demand. The machine has a pump which would hasten this demand, but its flow rate isn't very high, nor is the amount of water it needs.

Sorted!! You were on the right track - thanks. I removed a long length of unnecessary tubing to the from the tee to the accumulator. The tubing is not as aesthetically neat but it is short and functional, and there is no random jitter when I pull a shot. When the Aquatec does turn on to rebuild the pressure after several shots, it stays on for several seconds and turns off without jitter.

I also replaced the pressure transducer on the steam tank which had died during its 3.5 years in storage - A$670 (US$460)!!! But at least it is all working again. I am reading some bits about bending or replacing the copper tube to the transducer so water doesn't settle in it, so if anybody has advice it would be appreciated as I don't want to have to replace it again soon at that price.