Izzo Alex Duetto II discussion thread

[specialpants]

Re: Izzo Alex Duetto II discussion thread

lol @ dickstiffen. I want to start a website down the line and didn’t think the username was appropriate – hence the new account.

Audiophile, let me know if theres anything specific you want to see. Ill do it on a weekend or whenever I next have time and post it up on here.

[audiophile]

Re: Izzo Alex Duetto II discussion thread

I think this is the link to special pants videos it is under his other you tube name http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjaoPEOJOC8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Thanks Jono, ill check that out & will also have a snoop around the ECA website...
Cheers,
David

[specialpants]

Re: Izzo Alex Duetto II discussion thread

Are there any Duetto owners on here that upgraded from an E61 HX vibe pump and kept the same grinder?

If so, what sort of improvements did you notice in the cup? Ive never used a HX machine before, so I just want to hear your experience on this.

[cambrook]

Re: Izzo Alex Duetto II discussion thread

I have a "noobie" question about the warm-up time for the Duetto...

Ive searched the forums (and the net) and I still dont fully understand why it should take 45 minutes for the E61 group to come up to a suitable temperature. I do see that if the machine is left to warm-up by itself then it would take a long time for natural thermal conduction to heat the E61 sufficiently - particularly on machines like the Duetto where there is >100mm of thin copper tubing between the boiler and the E61 compared to other machines where it is more directly connected to the boiler.

Once the boiler has reached OT, if I run water through the group-head wont it reach a stable final temperature much sooner?

Thanks in advance..

[Dennis]

Re: Izzo Alex Duetto II discussion thread

Hello cambrook

The reason there is a need to warm up the machine for a minimum of 20 minutes (45 is better), is that the group head is made of approx. 4.5kg of brass which, along with the portafilter, also needs to heat up.

Flushing some water through the group will help, but isnt an alternative.

Hope that explains.

[cambrook]

Re: Izzo Alex Duetto II discussion thread

Thanks Dennis,

I do understand the need for heating the group head (and portafilter) properly; I would have thought that it is much more effective to run a decent amount of 93^o water through it rather than wait for thermal conduction via >100mm of thin copper tube?

BTW, Im not suggesting that as soon as the PID shows 93^o that a quick flush means that the machine is ready for use, but wondering if it would be closer to ready and a bit more warming time should get us there?

[TC]

Re: Izzo Alex Duetto II discussion thread

Ill declare my interest as the importer and the bloke who determines Aussie specification.

The Duetto group can and does come up more rapidly as it has high thermosyphon flow.

Let your palate be the judge Cam

[cambrook]

Re: Izzo Alex Duetto II discussion thread

Thanks Chris (again!)  :-)

[scarey]

Re: Izzo Alex Duetto II discussion thread

wait for thermal conduction via >100mm of thin copper tube?

Just to clarify an irrelevant point - the copper doesnt transfer (much) heat, most happens as a result of the hot water circulating through the tubes from the boiler to the group head and back, as part of a thermosyphon.

[Jonty]

Re: Izzo Alex Duetto II discussion thread

Well I picked up my Alex Duetto III and M4D grinder from Chris at TalkCoffee just on three weeks back. It was good to touch base with Chris again and dial in the grinder while there. With such excitement when I got home, I went to set the unit up and since Chris had bench tested the unit, I didnt need to try and fill the boilers without the elements on what is directed by the book : So guess what I did... Changed the Celsius to Fahrenheit on the PID... Sweating like a PIG and with a confirmation email - Chris confirmed at 10pm at night I was on track. What can I say, that is support (A class).
I did in one day grind through .75kg beans just playing with the unit and fine tuning the grinder. The steam power on this unit is amazing, it can blow the milk out of the jug ;D Further this week I have decided to alter the PID as I have found the default settings of P=3, I=.05 and D= 2 to be to aggressive with significant overshots at the high end. The brew boiler is set on 93 and I was easily seeing 96 and 97, even after 1hr on. I am now set on a conservative setting of P=1.4, I=.01 and D=4.4, which is working great with the brew boiler and the steam boiler does drop from 123 down to 120-119 when in use - has no impact to what I can taste.

Im interested how over Alex owners are finding the default settings. I will report back as I over the coming months Ill try a number of minor adjustments to optimise the PID.

Thanks to Chris, I cannot see upgrade syndrome hitting me for a little while...... Maybe a lever for my 50th

On a side note, the wife is loving 100% MM out of the Alex

[audiophile]

Re: Izzo Alex Duetto II discussion thread

After a false start or two (my fault :-[), I finally got to visit Talk Coffee today for my complimentary run through of my Alex Mk3 machine as part of my recent purchase. Chris as always was a gentleman and offered me a yummy coffee when I arrived. I must say I was surprised how much I learned in only an hour! Chris is a patient and extremely knowledgeable teacher, and to anyone wanting to invest a bit of their time and money in very worthwhile coffee education, I recommend Chris highly. He took me through getting the perfect grind, the importance of getting an even, level tamp, temperature settings, preparation and maintenance, milk steaming & the importance of fresh coffee beans. Speaking of which, Chris gave me a heads up about an amazing new blend he has just secured the rights to called "Blend P2". I smelt it freshly roasting in the roaster & it smells AMAZING!! Chris, ill be calling you about an order soon 8-)

Also while I was there I bought a naked pf & Compact Designs knock tube. I just need a tamp mat to finish my rig & im fully set. Now time to start pulling some shots!

Thanks again Chris
Cheers,
David.

[TC]

Re: Izzo Alex Duetto II discussion thread

Thanks for the very kind words David,

I am glad you got something out of the session.

Just a small correction to to your comments on blend P2. I didnt secure the rights to it. I thunk it up in my own head just like that!

Enjoy the brews

Chris

[audiophile]

Re: Izzo Alex Duetto II discussion thread

Chris, I can just see myself flying to Africa and driving through switchback mountains to a remote lot in the Rwandan mountains to find out the secret of "Blend P2", only to be told "Oh no mister, secret not with us...you must to speak to Chris Nartoulee!" Chris who?...."Talk Coffee!, Talk Coffee!! Oztralleea"

[Italian_Bean]

Re: Izzo Alex Duetto II discussion thread

Well I picked up my Alex Duetto III and M4D grinder from Chris at TalkCoffee just on three weeks back.  It was good to touch base with Chris again and dial in the grinder while there.  With such excitement when I got home, I went to set the unit up and since Chris had bench tested the unit, I didnt need to try and fill the boilers without the elements on what is directed by the book  : So guess what I did... Changed the Celsius to Fahrenheit on the PID... Sweating like a PIG and with a confirmation email - Chris confirmed at 10pm at night I was on track.  What can I say, that is support (A class).
I did in one day grind through .75kg beans just playing with the unit and fine tuning the grinder.  The steam power on this unit is amazing, it can blow the milk out of the jug  ;D  Further this week I have decided to alter the PID as I have found the default settings of P=3, I=.05 and D= 2 to be to aggressive with significant overshots at the high end.  The brew boiler is set on 93 and I was easily seeing 96 and 97, even after 1hr on.   I am now set on a conservative setting of P=1.4, I=.01 and D=4.4, which is working great with the brew boiler and the steam boiler does drop from 123 down to 120-119 when in use - has no impact to what I can taste. 

Im interested how over Alex owners are finding the default settings. I will report back as I over the coming months Ill try a number of minor adjustments to optimise the PID.

Thanks to Chris, I cannot see upgrade syndrome hitting me for a little while...... Maybe a lever for my 50th 

On a side note, the wife is loving 100% MM out of the Alex

Ive found the default PID settings far to aggressive as well. The setting Ive settled on is P 1.2 , I .01, D 4.4
With this PID setting I only ever get an overshoot of 1C, which then drops back to set temp quite quickly. To me this is more than accurate enough for my palate.

Remember to with winter upon us, the offset temp *may* also need tweaking.

So many variables..happy experimenting 

IB

[bigbully]

Re: Izzo Alex Duetto II discussion thread

About to pull my first shot ever at home on my Alex!! ;D