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I have a Gaggia Classic that's about 10 years old, still working well. I've just done a full strip down and clean out, replaced a few seals as required.
I'm building a cabin at the moment, which will be a weekender for a bit, but then will be our permanent home in the near future. Power will be from a solar system, which currently has a cheap 1000w inverter that may get upgraded in the future, however I hope to postpone this purchase as long as possible and perhaps not make it at all if we find we can manage it.
I've done a power audit on all my essential appliances, and the coffee machine comes in at number 1 at around 1.3 to 1.4 kW draw when the heating element is on. The pump itself is pretty low power, only around 60w.
We will have a wood burning stove that will be running most of the time, with a wet back and hot water storage, so we will have hot water more or less on demand, with the ability to bring this to the boil quickly.
So, short of upgrading the inverter or changing methods, my thought is to disable the heating elements and use boiling water off the stove instead of the normal cool water resevoir. I anticipate running the pump for a while to warm the machine and group up before brewing a shot. Milk would be done seperately by either a stove top boiler/steam wand, or by heating milk in a saucepan and using a plunger to froth.
Has anyone done this and have any comments based on exerience?
Can anyone point out any fatal flaws in this process? I'm slightly concerned that the reservoir, pump and intake tube might not be designed for the temperature, but I could potentially replace these parts with something that could if need be.
I'm aware of alternative method, so I'm not really looking for suggestions at this point. We have a large plunger and a 8 cup moka, but I've never been happy with the results from these. The Gaggia is pretty reliable and I know how to use it, so I would prefer to stick with this machine first.
I'm building a cabin at the moment, which will be a weekender for a bit, but then will be our permanent home in the near future. Power will be from a solar system, which currently has a cheap 1000w inverter that may get upgraded in the future, however I hope to postpone this purchase as long as possible and perhaps not make it at all if we find we can manage it.
I've done a power audit on all my essential appliances, and the coffee machine comes in at number 1 at around 1.3 to 1.4 kW draw when the heating element is on. The pump itself is pretty low power, only around 60w.
We will have a wood burning stove that will be running most of the time, with a wet back and hot water storage, so we will have hot water more or less on demand, with the ability to bring this to the boil quickly.
So, short of upgrading the inverter or changing methods, my thought is to disable the heating elements and use boiling water off the stove instead of the normal cool water resevoir. I anticipate running the pump for a while to warm the machine and group up before brewing a shot. Milk would be done seperately by either a stove top boiler/steam wand, or by heating milk in a saucepan and using a plunger to froth.
Has anyone done this and have any comments based on exerience?
Can anyone point out any fatal flaws in this process? I'm slightly concerned that the reservoir, pump and intake tube might not be designed for the temperature, but I could potentially replace these parts with something that could if need be.
I'm aware of alternative method, so I'm not really looking for suggestions at this point. We have a large plunger and a 8 cup moka, but I've never been happy with the results from these. The Gaggia is pretty reliable and I know how to use it, so I would prefer to stick with this machine first.
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