Izzo Alex Leva

[SniffCoffee]

Thank you Peter for the photos and first impressions - please keep us updated with more soon!

Sniff

[TC]

Congratulations on the new kit Peter! Our first batch have now sold out but timing is good. We have more arriving tomorrow!

[Dr_Dave]

Great news it has arrived and relatively unscathed
You will love it, they are brilliant machines and it is easy to produce great shots.
I increased my boiler temp to 123C as it suited the beans that I use and this produced sweeter shots. Chris tells me that in Italy some run them very hot - even to 130C from, memory. Don't be afraid to play with the temp
Enjoy it!
Cheers
Dr Dave

[javabeen]

Congrats Peter

I too have noticed the shots have a creamier mouthfeel than my previous machine (VBM Domobar Super). I don't know the reason why, maybe it's the profile the lever applies, not sure, maybe Chris can enlighten us, I'm just enjoying them all the more.

And Dr Dave is spot on when he says don't be afraid to play with the temp. I had mine at 123c for one particular bean and now at 122 for some of Talk Coffee's Mocha Java blend and it seems to balance the choc and citrus nicely for my palate.

Keep us posted. Have fun playing.

Javabeen.

[summercrema]

if boiler temp is 12x degree c, what is the group head temperature? the water hitting the grind?

[Peter42]

yes, playing with the temp seems to be interesting.
I am surprized to hear about 123°C or 121°C. Mine was delivered with 127°C presetting - to fit the dark roasted Izzo beans - as I was told on the phone. (The range acc. to my manual is 121°C to 128°C. )
At these relevant lower temperatures, is it right that there is less steam power and different steam quality, as the pressure is directly connected to the temp?

One question to Alex owners:
It it normal that that for the time it takes in water from the line, the display is off ?
Then it shows 1.04 for a half second - like during start-up - before showing the temp again?
I first thought that the water pressure would not fit and tried between 4bar and 2.5bar on the pressure reducing device in the basement, but without any effect.
Peter

[TC]

yes, playing with the temp seems to be interesting.
I am surprized to hear about 123°C or 121°C. Mine was delivered with 127°C presetting - to fit the dark roasted Izzo beans - as I was told on the phone. (The range acc. to my manual is 121°C to 128°C. )
At these relevant lower temperatures, is it right that there is less steam power and different steam quality, as the pressure is directly connected to the temp?

Our coffee on average is significantly lighter roast than the Izzo product. As a result it requires a lower temperature.

Re temp/steam- slightly lower power, but more than ample.

One question to Alex owners:
It it normal that that for the time it takes in water from the line, the display is off ?
Then it shows 1.04 for a half second - like during start-up - before showing the temp again?
I first thought that the water pressure would not fit and tried between 4bar and 2.5bar on the pressure reducing device in the basement, but without any effect.
Peter

Yes Peter- 100% normal. The PID switches off and power is cut to the boiler element when the autofill cuts in. This is to protect the element in case of a drained boiler

Cheers

Chris

[amellor]

It's done. Newest owner here, but there's a problem.
the supplied hoses wont reach, and the plumber is coming on Friday. I hope they can sort something out, though the braided hose looks special with the 90 degree connecter.

On another note, shortest product manual i've ever read

Chris, Can you tell me where I might be able to buy a naked portafilter ?

[TC]

Hi amellor and congrats on becoming the latest CS'er to own one.

An extension of the inlet hose- easily done in either John Guest or braided- so don't worry.

I'll add a naked portafilter to our website for you. Naked Portafilter | Talk Coffee

Enjoy the newie. I know you will!

Chris

[amellor]

I finally got me new machine connected to mains... temporarily, there is a drip leak :-(

However i'm a bit concerned about the water coming out of it. I've attached a picture with the water out of the filter tap vs the water out of the machine.
the cloudy one with the white sediment is from the machine.

Has anyone else had this with their machine ? suggestions on what I should do welcome. I am going try and cycle a few liters through it to see if the sediment goes away.

There is one other Issue, when the machine is at pressure, it sometimes has trouble filling the tank and sounds an alarm. this required me to power off the machine and one again. I'm currently suspecting I need a higher plv in front of the filter (I have a 350kpa plv in front of the water filter) to counter the pressure from the boiler, any other thoughts we here have ?

[javabeen]

Hi amellor

Can't say my water looks like that. I'm not plumbed in though, I'm using the flojet pump fed from filtered water. How long has it been like that, is it just since being plumbed in? Maybe just flush a heap of water through the group and hot water tap, like a few litres? Keep us posted on how you go.

[javabeen]

I've been meaning to give an update on how everything is going with Alex Leva but I haven't really had a chance. I've been playing around and having some remarkable coffee so far, I haven't had a bad shot yet.

The pours are amazing, moosey and smooth. The planets lined up for me this afternoon and I had my first god shots from Izzo Alex using Talk Coffees shed shandy. It was repeated with another shot shortly after, so there's some great temp stability there. I'm impressed that every time I step up to the machine to make an espresso, I pull on the lever to do a flush and I don't get spluttering water, just a nice rain shower from the group of hot water.

I also posted in the cup tasting thread about shots from some of my home roasted Costa Rica coffee. Again beautiful, balanced syrupy pours, easily reproduced.

I'm impressed with the difference and improvement this machine has made to my espresso. I've got about 1.2kg of home roasted coffee resting and I can't wait to get try it out as it comes of age. Oh and some PNG Wahgi from Talk Coffee. One very happy camper!

Stay tuned
Javabeen.

[TC]

Yes definitely have a flush. Might be something from the filter?

350kPa PLV is the flow. I have occasionally seen an alarm on 1st fill, but not thereafter- assuming your filter is not restricting flow too much.

Cheers

Chris

[amellor]

I've flushed the machine with 5-10L of water, It is much clearer now, still a tiny about of sediment, but almost gone.

the water fill issue is still there, not much problem when there is under 1 bar but always fails to fill when the boiler is at 1.2 bar or higher.
when I open the filter dispenser tap to get a pressure drop in the line, water flows into the boiler.

now to pull my first shots

[amellor]

I cleaned the area to take a photo over the weekend,
guess I should share it here

love the machine, so much easier to use than the silvia, so quiet and mains connection is a blessing.
I just want to keep it clean and polished.

No longer having my issue with the water pressure, and i've only choked it once (who ordered that 90 second ristretto)