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Its going to be a loooonnnggggg day in the shop waiting to get this home to try it out. Its not quite as bright of a yellow as in the photo, but bright enough.
All up, the condition is "pretty good", especially for what I paid. The group handles and baskets look like they havent seen detergent / cafetto ever, very brown caked on oils in both handles and baskets, but this is easily to resolve.
Underside of the group looks clean, a few grinds of coffee here and there but not unexpected. From looking at the shower screen, I cant see how this comes off, looks like some sort of plug or something(there isnt a screw?)
Steam wand tip is dual hole, as per the group handles / baskets, has quite a layer of old milk caked on the bottom of it, nothing a soak in cafetto wont cure Im sure.
The water resevoir doesnt seem to lift out (has 2 tubes in the side of it?) so will need to be filled as a pour over. Might have to investigate a plumb in kit as I can see this being a bit of a pain (machine sits underneath some cupboards).
Originally posted by 0F39323D28332E5C0 link=1260867503/18#18 date=1261347016
From looking at the shower screen, I cant see how this comes off, looks like some sort of plug or something(there isnt a screw?)
The E61 screen does not have any screws or other fixtures. It basically slides on and the group seal fits snuggly over the screen which holds it all in place.
To remove you have lever the seal out first which can be tricky/fiddly. You may damage it during removal so I would purchase a spare seal/screen before doing this. These are inexpensive consumable parts.
I dont you need to remove it for cleaning purposes, just do a couple of thorough detergent backflushes.
In order to get it out you basically have to lever out seal
I just couldnt believe my eyes when the fixed price offer came in. Unlike the Silvia of the same vintage that got sold last night for just under $800!!
No, no coffee made yet, will get it tidied up when I get home, soak the handles / baskets etc while its warming up then give it a shot.
The auction stated it had "just been serviced" and looking at the shower screen, this is entirely possible, but Ill make sure I order some more seals / screens as backups anyway.
Got it home and immediately put the group handles in to soak, let them soak for a good 20 mins while letting the machine warm up.
When I plugged it in and filled it with water, the control panel flashed and the pump made a brief sound (presumabely filling the boiler) and then nothing (or so I thought).
Sure enough, boiler started to gurgle a bit and I could feel the machine getting hotter.
I tried the steamer first, but the knob just totally unscrewed. Mild panic, but took the end off and found the clip that holds the washer in place had come out, 1 min fix and good to go (phew).
Will have to study up / practice on the brewing tips.
Using the single filter, filled this up, tapped on bench to settle, then refilled, leveled and tamped. Tried to put this into the group, no go, far too much coffee in there. 2nd attempt was better (no tapping to level settle), just filled with coffee and tamped. Grind was a bit fine, but still produced an "ok" shot.
Steaming is in a totally different league to the 6910, very quick, will certainly take some getting used to. Not so much "microfoam" formed on the first attempt, but wasnt the worst milk I have ever done either. Poured a roughish thick tree (rosetta would be too much of a stretch) so there is plenty of potential.
Will have to make do until later in the week when I have more time.
I took me but a short time to get used to my HX, getting good on it is another story. Since every variable can radically affect the taste of the end product, a new machine is a lot of new variables all at once.
I suggest you work slow at changes, I didnt and sometimes had confusing results.
I am having real trouble with dosing. Have read through the tips linked to above, but they just dont seem to be working for me.
Have tried -
Dosing the basket to overflowing and tapping to collapse, refill, wipe with straight edge and tamp. Far too much coffee, fails to lock in at all.
then
Dosing till overflowing, no settling tap and wipe with straight edge till level. Tamp, still too much coffee, locks in but coffee puck gets destroyed by shower screen when locked in.
Down-dose (put less in the basket). You might need to scrape some grounds out with your finger before tamping. This is where dosing tools would be useful.
Its trial and error until you work out the right level.
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