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EM6910 v Silvia v the world!

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  • #31
    Re: EM6910

    its much tighter Marc.. very positive and solid

    Comment


    • #32
      Re: EM6910

      Had a chance to muck around with the em6910 last night..sorry no pics.

      First impressions: Silvia killer =]. Qualified to say so? Maybe. I have owned one, work as full time barista and demand perfection. The drip tray is something Rancilio Silvia can learn from. Emptying it was a breeze! No need to temp/time surf. No need to wait for boiler to recover for steaming milk....and by then the crema would have dissipated leaving u not much to work with for latte art. All of the above points on the Silvia was a major PITA for me as I am used to commercial machinery. SPEED SPEED SPEED.

      Dialed it in with some almost stale beans on my Cadet. Perfect extractions.....it seems to me the best extractions are in the mid dark brown area and not the wide light tan area of the extraction gauge.

      Sunbeam has seemed to address all the problems that has haunted the 6900. I myself have never owned a 6900 (thank god?) but have had a Silvia.

      For its price range, screw Silvia (unless youre an espresso only person) and go the Sunbeam. By the way I do drink short drinks.....but mainly a short macchiato and when milk is introduced, the differences in taste is undetectable and muted to me.

      I had a few niggles with the machine....more details to come later....I have to run

      Comment


      • #33
        Re: EM6910

        Okay I now have a chance to continue my post from above.

        First off, Id like to say the group is really really high....you can dose this thing and tamp seriously like 2 or 3mm from the top of the basket and just get an imprint of the screen. You really need to overdose this machine to get results. Underdose by a fraction and youll get very soggy biscuits!

        One thing I found annoying was the fact that the PF handle can spin around on itself, rather than being rigidly screwed in like many other commercial PFs. The PF is also made from steel, so the heat retention isnt that good. Leave it out of the group for a few minutes and youll need to run some hot water through it to get it back up to temp.

        Just a tip for those wanting to get the double spout off.....wrap masking tape around a screwdriver then use it for leverage to get the thing off....dont use dowel like the manual suggests. Much easier with a screwdriver.

        Last night I threw my LM double basket in to the PF and couldnt get it back out! The spring is a higher gauge than most commercial springs....I suggest you replace it with a thinner one if youre going to be backflushing or using non-stock baskets. Its a nightmare getting non-sunbeam baskets out. I cut my finger doing it!

        Im glad to see sunbeam have put in a non crappy plastic tamper that is actually 58mm in diameter. I never used it though....good ol CoffeeLab! Except the sunbeam baskets seem a touch wider than 58mm. My trusty digital vernier calipers says the double is 58.6mm in diameter and my single 58.9mm. The Sunbeam baskets are virtually ridgeless. They knockout very cleanly unlike my LM which collects crud in its ridge.

        More playing around tonight!

        Comment


        • #34
          Re: EM6910

          Mate - what do you mean about the PF handle spinning around - my two dont do it.

          Also the Sunbeam baskets get easier to remove after some use - but are still tight enough to be servicable.

          I have no problems at all using the non-stock standard size baskets that I purchased from Barazi just of Beaudesert Rd. I actuall sent those to Greg Pullman for a custom tamper to fit the double in particular, because I dont like the mm or so gap with the Sunbeam one.

          The PF is heavy even though its steel. I leave mine just in the head so it get nice and hot - the group head itself gets very hot compared to my earlier EM6900 - there is no comparrison in heat; even at the warming plate (which is a very good size).

          Cheers
          Cheers

          Comment


          • #35
            Re: SUNBEAM EM6900

            Ive just bought a shiny new EM6900 today in the Boxing Day Sales. Imagine my frustration when after setting it all up on the bench & avidly following the "before your first coffee" procedure - the machine never got hot enough to flush the water through it. The lights just keep on flashing and the machine gets pretty hot up top but apparently not hot enough. I read elsewhere in the thread that these are supposed to heat up after 5 mins or so, so I guess an hour is way too long :-D

            Gee it looks nice on the benchtop - I"m admiring it now, as I sip my Moccona ;-(

            Can anyone out there suggest what Im doing wrong? (apart from sipping instant).

            Comment


            • #36
              Re: SUNBEAM EM6900

              Originally posted by lckevin link=1166175758/0#11 date=1167129993
              Ive just bought a shiny new EM6900 today in the Boxing Day Sales.  Imagine my frustration when after setting it all up on the bench & avidly following the "before your first coffee" procedure - the machine never got hot enough to flush the water through it.  The lights just keep on flashing and the machine gets pretty hot up top but apparently not hot enough.  I read elsewhere in the thread that these are supposed to heat up after 5 mins or so, so I guess an hour is way too long :-D  

              Gee it looks nice on the benchtop - I"m admiring it now, as I sip my Moccona ;-(

              Can anyone out there suggest what Im doing wrong? (apart from sipping instant).
              Welcome to the the world of Coffeesnobs Lou

              I suggest that what you are doing wrong is that you blew your bucks on a piece of unreliable junk. Get a full refund and get something more reliable. It looks like the 6910 may be ok...When it comes to the 6900, there are more tales of heartbreak than happiness...

              Take it back tomorrow. Regardless of what you paid, you were ripped off..

              2mcm

              Comment


              • #37
                Re: SUNBEAM EM6900

                When you first turn it on for the very first time you shouldnt need to wait for it to heat up. There is a button combination to start priming the machine. I cant remember what they are just at the moment but they should be mentioned in the primeing section. You then need to run a full tank of water through before using it.

                You dont mention whether you succesfully primed the machine

                Comment


                • #38
                  Re: EM6910

                  I take that PF handle spining around thing back....it wasnt screwed in to the PF head properly :P

                  Played with it some more tonight....lets talk about steaming ability.

                  Firstly, we have the ability to choose dryness or wetness of steam by the programming interface...a nifty feature. The texture of milk I was able to get was on par with Silvia. However it is no match for Silvias boiler.

                  I played around with some of the programming features tonight, such as steaming dryness (as alluded to earlier), as well as volumetric programming. Very easy to do! All you have to do is RTFM =]

                  I am still getting used to steaming milk....below is a small collage of photos from tonight

                  1-3: single pours
                  4: shot
                  5: shower screen impression on biscuit when overdosed
                  6: knocked out single spout biscuit
                  7: shiny milk on em6910...not my best latte art :P

                  PS: sorry about the quality of the photos. it was taken with a nokia phone! the pictures do not properly represent the true colour of the crema in the pours. They were very rich with lots of tiger striping during the pours and mottling and flecks in the actual shot.



                  Comment


                  • #39
                    Re: SUNBEAM EM6900

                    read my em6910 review.....get a refund and spend some more money on the 6910....it is beautiful to work with.

                    i once had a silvia and now I have the sunbeam....i choose sunbeam over silvia anyday.

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Re: EM6910

                      Wu - I have played around only a little with the steam dryness program and have re-set it to standard but have dropped the steam temp by 5 degrees to allow me more time to texture; seems to work well on my drop of choice which is long life sogood soy. What did you come up with?

                      Comment


                      • #41
                        Re: EM6910

                        I prefer a boiler to. I have a sunbeam ristretto and its boiler is about the size of the Silvia and goes like the clappers. However, when I pull a shot with the Ristretto I then have to wait a minute or so for the boiler to heat up for the steam function...I assume that Silvia is the same and as such it seems to me that whilst the shot is being extracted the milk is being worked on the EM and you get a significant head start on the stretching - and as such it would work out about the same....is this a fair summary given that you own both?

                        Comment


                        • #42
                          Re: SUNBEAM EM6900

                          Thanks guys - well it was a great buy I thought at $405 but not if it doesnt work!! The help line diagnosed the problem as a faulty circuit board wanting 3 weeks to be repaired. Ive called in to Myers and they will be either (1) shipping another unit from a store elsewhere in Oz (there arent any units left in the ACT) or (2) upgrading me to a 6910.

                          So, heres hoping that there arent any 6900s left in Myer NSW stores. $405 for a 6910 would be an excellent value purchase...with the money saved I could maybe pick up a grinder... Thanks for your advice, Ill let you know how it turns out.

                          Comment


                          • #43
                            Re: SUNBEAM EM6900

                            my EM6900 was fine. It was a later model red one. I sent it back however for the steam to be turned up if possible and ended up being sent a stainless steel EM6910 - which is better, but the old one was fine. I reckon that you cannot go past the 6910. It is a very solid bit of kit at some 14 kilos dry. But the later 6900 should be solid also. Mine was and it seems that there are plenty of people who are happy.

                            I dont buy the idea that just because other machines are made in Italy (or Spain) that that makes them better than Chinese built machines. For an example look at Greg Pullmans post about the swarf or other buildup in the Silvia. I have said it elsewhere in another post, but Sunbeam are selling truck loads of these things -they are walking out the door - compared to Rancilios etc and as such there will be a percentage (like any machine) that have problems, its just that 2 per cent (picking a figure) of 10,000 throws up more problems posted on the site than 2% of 1000.

                            And..you cannot go past the Sunbeam, Australian based, warranty.

                            Dont get me wrong. If I wanted to get bigger later I would ring someone like 2MCM and go for an expobar or similar, but for this part of my coffee life I simply cannot see better value around than the EM6910.

                            Cheers

                            Cheers

                            Comment


                            • #44
                              Re: SUNBEAM EM6900

                              I have a family member who has a sunbeam and they love theirs, they have had no issues with it and are very pleased with it.

                              It all comes down to your budget, I was fortunate enough in that I had the $$$ to buy my Gaggia at around $600, I also had my heart set on the gaggia machine. I was however, looking at the sunbeam too, it was just that I had the extra money to buy the Italian machine and I got it for a good price.

                              I am of the opinion that you can get good coffee out of a basic machine if you can get good quality coffee and a decent grinder. I got great coffee out of my old phillips espesso duo and hand grinder, not as good as I get from my gaggia machine and grinder, but it was better than any other alternatives.

                              When you are first starting out, there is nothing wrong with starting on a basic model, after all, when driving cars and riding motorcycles we start with the smaller, basic models and work our way up to the better models, we also learn a lot more about driving the machine too. It also helps you to appreciate the rolls royce when you get it.

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                Re: SUNBEAM EM6900

                                Hate to be an iconoclastic spoilsport, but sales volumes in shops which are not coffee machine specialists is not necessarily a yardstick of quality.

                                I read some time ago that the biggest-selling appliance in Myer is the coffee machine.

                                Now, this is from a department store where:

                                -Their semi-automatic range stops at the Gaggia. The next costliest are the fully automatic.

                                -if you mention Rancilio to the sales assistants they look at you blank. Ditto if you ask for coffee cleaner.

                                -they tell you the reason why one machine costs more than an identical-looking one is that one is plastic, the other metal. Otherwise they both make an identical coffee. .

                                You can deduce from all this what the organisation knows about coffee and coffee machines, and what sort of clients buy them.

                                Sunbeam might be selling truck loads, but so is Myer selling truckloads of of stuff in the $100 - $500 mark, and then the $1100 -$2500 fully automatic range.

                                -Robusto

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