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Announcing new member of the Bezzera Club.

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  • #31
    Re: Announcing new member of the Bezzera Club.

    Originally posted by telemaster link=1153577525/15#29 date=1154250365
    Great, Mal
    i was recently given an old bezzera 2 group- looks like it could be a similar era- if so id be interested as to what that era is- came out of a family members coffee shop
    inside is very similar- had a leaky boiler seal which pedro from coffee parts recommended covering in sikaflex until i really need to replace it
    thinking of insulating the boiler with ceramic fibre to keep running costs down
    man, does it do a good job though!
    brett
    Gday Brett,

    Welcome to CoffeeSnobs [smiley=thumbsup.gif].
    Yes, you could be right there.... Bezzera stopped making the MiniBar in or around the year 2000, so until I actually remove the boiler from mine and can view the Spec Plate, all I can say is that it is more than six years old but very well looked after. Sparky is the one around here who seems to know a lot about the various Bezzera machines that were available, so he might be able to help out with an ID for yours.

    Yep, I was thinking about using ceramic/mineral fibre material to insulate my boiler too. I dont think it will be very difficult to do as there is plenty of room around it, yours has probably even more room. I havent actually fired up my MiniBar as yet but I am really looking forward to that day after I finish restoring her... havent heard a bad word about a Bezzera machine since joining this forum, so thats saying something . In fact, its usually the opposite, nothing but praise . Cant wait to try it out but will have to force myself,

    Cheers mate,
    Mal.

    Comment


    • #32
      Re: Announcing new member of the Bezzera Club.

      Mal,

      Mine was made in 1996 and so yours would be previous to this time.

      I thought when I got mine that it was only 2 - 3 years old and was disappointed to find out it was ten years old.

      Looking back though, that is the nature of these machines, built to last for decades and to still look good even after 10 - 20 years of use.

      I do wonder how these prosumer machines will last. Most of them have only existed for a few years. One of the most important things is heavy gauge and high quality stainless that has a high chrome content to make it corrosion resistant.

      My machine can still be polished to a mirror like finish and it looks like a new machine.

      Wow.

      Grant

      Comment


      • #33
        Re: Announcing new member of the Bezzera Club.

        Hi Grant,

        Im only going by some info I found by another owner of a MiniBar machine in Europe.... His particular machine had the boiler date-stamped 2000 and was apparently the last year that this model was made (over there anyway). Id say mine was considerably older than his though, as his machine still looked like new under the hood, all shiny and sparkling before he even touched it.

        Anyway, it doesnt really matter that much, as you say, these machines really are built to last.... 20 years would be just a mere hop, skip and a jump for them ;D. Ill be giving the stainless on mine a good polish up too before Im finished, definitely worth the effort. Wow indeed :,

        Mal.

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        • #34
          Re: Announcing new member of the Bezzera Club.

          First up, one bad thing about Bezzera... The BZ35 was not designed for a vibe pump, which seems to be an afterthought. The problem is that the pump has both an OPV and a suppression/check valve assembly. This second assembly is fine with a rotary, but with the vibe, the pressure pulsations cause the check valve to accumulate pressure over and above the nominal OPV setting. In short, its not pressure stable. The fix was to remove the check valve, then the OPV regulates the pressure nicely.

          My mate who has this machine and has done this mod was still grumbling about the shot quality compared to larger commercials. So today he bought it along to the Pioneer roastery in Yandina and put it head to head with their new PID controlled Reneka 2 group. In that company, the Bezzera managed to pull the best shot. The culprit? His grinder. His Rocky has some serious burr alignment problems causing very uneven grinds to result. All the early blonding was cured when he used the Mazzers. So in the end the BZ shone. Im also glad to say that most BZ35s are rotary pump equipped, and so wouldnt suffer this pressure problem.

          As for Bretts machine. It looks like a B2000 semiauto to me. The full machine specs are available on the Barazi web page. All the parts shoud be available for this machine.

          I also took the Faema for a spin today. I logged five 60 ml shots and all were flat to around 0.2C-0.3C and within 0.2C of each other. The irony was that I couldnt pull a decent shot. I tried two and they were all gushers. So I got my tech skills down, but my barista skills still need some refining.

          Sorry Mal, but I still havent had time to measure up my MiniBars steam valve assembly to check for compatibility with the current unit. Ill get this done during the week and get back to you.

          Cheers,

          Mark.



          Comment


          • #35
            Re: Announcing new member of the Bezzera Club.

            HeHeHe, I knew there were bad words about Bezerras out there, thanks for that Mark

            Jealous Brett.

            Comment


            • #36
              Re: Announcing new member of the Bezzera Club.

              Originally posted by Sparky link=1153577525/30#33 date=1154259284
              Sorry Mal, but I still havent had time to measure up my MiniBars steam valve assembly to check for compatibility with the current unit. Ill get this done during the week and get back to you.
              Hey Mark,

              No sweat . Ive got heaps of time up my sleeve so when ever its convenient for you is ok by me.... Pour a nice sweet Ristretto and put your feet up ,

              Cheers,
              Mal.
              P.S.
              Very interesting about your mates machine and the Mazzer/Rocky influence. One has to wonder how the Rockys burrs could get misaligned in the first place :-?, seems almost bullet proof to me, unless theres a manufacturing related problem.... Would be interesting to hear how he goes trying to identify the cause and how, if possible, he manages to fix it.

              Comment


              • #37
                Re: Announcing new member of the Bezzera Club.

                Originally posted by poundy link=1153577525/30#34 date=1154297487
                HeHeHe, I knew there were bad words about Bezerras out there, thanks for that Mark

                Jealous Brett.
                Clutching at straws there poundy ,

                Mal.

                Comment


                • #38
                  Re: Announcing new member of the Bezzera Club.

                  Originally posted by Mal link=1153577525/30#35 date=1154322445
                  Very interesting about your mates machine and the Mazzer/Rocky influence. One has to wonder how the Rockys burrs could get misaligned in the first place :-?, seems almost bullet proof to me, unless theres a manufacturing related problem.... Would be interesting to hear how he goes trying to identify the cause and how, if possible, he manages to fix it.
                  Its a manufacturing fault. When he winds the burrs together they only touch at one point. That point changes when rotating the bottom burr, so its the seating of the bottom burr. He might try and warranty it, (but I think its just out of warranty) or hell have a go at re-seating the burr, maybe with the help of a Dremel.

                  Chaos arrives next week with a new bub due, so Ill try and get you sorted before that Mal.

                  Cheers,

                  Mark.



                  Comment


                  • #39
                    Re: Announcing new member of the Bezzera Club.


                    Just to bat for the BZs again. Once my mate fixed the pressure problem, his BZ35 is producing pure nectar. It easily performed on a par with the new Reneka Viva S and actually pulled the best shot of the day.

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Re: Announcing new member of the Bezzera Club.

                      Originally posted by Sparky link=1153577525/30#38 date=1154323424
                      It easily performed on a par with the new Reneka Viva S and actually pulled the best shot of the day.
                      nough said ,

                      Mal.

                      Comment


                      • #41
                        Re: Announcing new member of the Bezzera Club.

                        hey sparky, what was that pressure problem u mentioned on the bezzera?
                        i thought i had a leaky- i did have a weeping boiler seal and a small leak under the pressurestat- sikaflex for boiler and new pressurestat, but i dont think they accounted for much because only change to boiler cycle is shorter dead band and corresponding shorter cycle
                        i think i was expecting the boiler cycle to be longer- 22 sec to heat, 155 sec cooling- 0.1 bar dead band
                        am going to insulate boiler (ceramic durablanket S)
                        re model- on the front it says MB 3000 compact 2 gr- serial no starts with a 95, but i assume older than that- id actually guess 80s or early 90s by the state of the boiler seal and the repair jobs on it
                        but for free and $330 in parts, not to mention a super forgiving machine- wow!
                        hey mal is that pullman tamper as great as it looks?
                        Brett


                        Comment


                        • #42
                          Re: Announcing new member of the Bezzera Club.

                          Originally posted by telemaster link=1153577525/30#40 date=1154332669
                          hey mal is that pullman tamper as great as it looks?
                          Brett
                          Yep,

                          It sure is [smiley=thumbsup.gif]. Very comfortable to use and easy to ensure an even, level tamp.... and as you say, it looks great! Cant do better than that 8-),

                          Mal.

                          Comment


                          • #43
                            Re: Announcing new member of the Bezzera Club.

                            Originally posted by telemaster link=1153577525/30#40 date=1154332669
                            hey sparky, what was that pressure problem u mentioned on the bezzera?
                            i thought i had a leaky- i did have a weeping boiler seal and a small leak under the pressurestat- sikaflex for boiler and new pressurestat, but i dont think they accounted for much because only change to boiler cycle is shorter dead band and corresponding shorter cycle
                            i think i was expecting the boiler cycle to be longer- 22 sec to heat, 155 sec cooling- 0.1 bar dead band
                            Brett
                            changing the pressurestat membrane is the main option for tightening the deadband short of a PID   (assuming you have a sirai pressurestat as seen in mals pics), although theres not much chance of improvement from .1 if thats your current setting.

                            I also cant see how fixing the boiler leak woud have tightened the deadband,  if you define the deadband as the variation in boiler pressure from the start to stop of active heating. The pressurestat simply opens and closes depending on boiler pressures. It would certainly shorten the cyle time. Did you change the membrane at the same time maybe?

                            btw my cimbalis run about the same ratio approx 7 secs heat, 75 secs cooling. Thats with an 1800watt element and a 2.5ltr boiler.

                            Maurice

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                            • #44
                              Re: Announcing new member of the Bezzera Club.

                              sorry for any confusion maurice- wasnt suggesting boiler seal affected dead band- only thing that did that was installing new sirai pressurestat- old one was working ok from dead band point of view- about 0.2 but underneath it- above membrane seal it was very rusty, little plunger bit was rusted and rubber perished and contacts were all black
                              i think the heater ratio is fine- i was just a bit confused by a few technicians who suggested the boi;er should only kick in every 10 or 15 minutes- now i can only see that happening with a very wide deadband- not ideal any way
                              slight squeal from back of left hand group head- will check to see if pipes from boiler or HX are all sealed- only operates between 1.1 and just above 1.0 bars- so a pressure thing
                              taa
                              brett

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                Re: Announcing new member of the Bezzera Club.

                                Originally posted by telemaster link=1153577525/30#43 date=1154342868
                                sorry for any confusion maurice- wasnt suggesting boiler seal affected dead band- only thing that did that was installing new sirai pressurestat- old one was working ok from dead band point of view- about 0.2 but underneath it- above membrane seal it was very rusty, little plunger bit was rusted and rubber perished and contacts were all black
                                i think the heater ratio is fine- i was just a bit confused by a few technicians who suggested the boi;er should only kick in every 10 or 15 minutes- now i can only see that happening with a very wide deadband- not ideal any waybrett
                                No worries Brett, I think your post was clear, my interpretation may have been amiss :-* Sounds like youve got all the bases covered, I usually find the membranes need replacing but if all the contacts were worn down then it sounds like time for a whole new unit . Assuming your Pressure gauge is accurate .1 deadband is very good for a Sirai pressurestat.

                                As for 15minute deadbands : this I cant imagine except as you say with a wide deadband or something with a massive thermal inertia, way beyond the realm of any commercial coffee machine Im sure. Ill leave it to others in this group to scientifically debunk this

                                btw what temp is the sikaflex rated to?

                                Comment

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