As an epitaph to this story, I actually did end up buying a second hand ECM Giotto from a dealer that had given it a service before I bought it. That gave me some confidence that it was at least operating reasonably after I walked out with it. It's a plumbed model that was a custom build for its time. It's great to have a plumbed machine. No refilling of water, which is awesome.
So I got the machine in early January (actually, it was a combined Christmas and anniversary present from my wife as guided by me - she's a keeper). I also bought a Compak K2 Push grinder to upgrade from the Sunbeam EM0480. The Giotto worked swimmingly until the end of April when threw a heating element. Three weeks later, the pressurestat packed it in. The repairer assured me the two were unrelated and it was just bad luck. All up, the repairs cost about $250. All has been fine since. Here's my brief analysis of the pros and cons of my experience.
Pros
1. I love the machine and it's a talking point for visitors. It really is a beautiful thing to behold. I do like shiny things.
2. It reinvigorated my passion for making coffee. It made me re-learn all parts of the process. Grinding, tamping, extracting and frothing milk all suddenly required me to be much more attentive to the process and made me taste my coffee more critically. I think I got lazy after owning my Sunbeam for quite a few years and my coffee drifted into mediocrity.
3. The quality of the extraction is superb. How much of that has to do with my being more attentive to the process is hard to gauge but I'm pulling some cracker coffees with it.
4. It cost a quarter of the price of a new machine. It'll take many more repairs for it to make up the difference in cost of a new one.
5. I love that it's plumbed. No water refilling is a dream. I'm not sure I can ever go back to a tank model.
CONS
1. It's already had two repairs and only time will tell if it will require many more.
2. It takes me more time to make my coffee. It needs longer to warm up than my old Sunbeam and is a little more difficult to clean up. This one's marginal as I've got my process down pretty well now. Having said that, as of two weeks ago, I hooked the machine up to a Belkin WeMo and I've got it starting automatically 10 minutes before my alarm goes off.
3. The machine and grinder are big. They take up more real estate on the bench than my Sunbeam combo. Makes it a little tricky as we have limited bench space.
4. The machine is noisy on startup. I'm not sure I even need an alarm clock as the machine wakes me before the alarm goes.
In conclusion, would I do it again? The answer is an unequivocal YES. Of course, if the machine blows up in a month's time, I reserve the right to change my mind. As a long term case study, I'll check in from time to time and update you all on any issues that I might have.
So I got the machine in early January (actually, it was a combined Christmas and anniversary present from my wife as guided by me - she's a keeper). I also bought a Compak K2 Push grinder to upgrade from the Sunbeam EM0480. The Giotto worked swimmingly until the end of April when threw a heating element. Three weeks later, the pressurestat packed it in. The repairer assured me the two were unrelated and it was just bad luck. All up, the repairs cost about $250. All has been fine since. Here's my brief analysis of the pros and cons of my experience.
Pros
1. I love the machine and it's a talking point for visitors. It really is a beautiful thing to behold. I do like shiny things.
2. It reinvigorated my passion for making coffee. It made me re-learn all parts of the process. Grinding, tamping, extracting and frothing milk all suddenly required me to be much more attentive to the process and made me taste my coffee more critically. I think I got lazy after owning my Sunbeam for quite a few years and my coffee drifted into mediocrity.
3. The quality of the extraction is superb. How much of that has to do with my being more attentive to the process is hard to gauge but I'm pulling some cracker coffees with it.
4. It cost a quarter of the price of a new machine. It'll take many more repairs for it to make up the difference in cost of a new one.
5. I love that it's plumbed. No water refilling is a dream. I'm not sure I can ever go back to a tank model.
CONS
1. It's already had two repairs and only time will tell if it will require many more.
2. It takes me more time to make my coffee. It needs longer to warm up than my old Sunbeam and is a little more difficult to clean up. This one's marginal as I've got my process down pretty well now. Having said that, as of two weeks ago, I hooked the machine up to a Belkin WeMo and I've got it starting automatically 10 minutes before my alarm goes off.
3. The machine and grinder are big. They take up more real estate on the bench than my Sunbeam combo. Makes it a little tricky as we have limited bench space.
4. The machine is noisy on startup. I'm not sure I even need an alarm clock as the machine wakes me before the alarm goes.
In conclusion, would I do it again? The answer is an unequivocal YES. Of course, if the machine blows up in a month's time, I reserve the right to change my mind. As a long term case study, I'll check in from time to time and update you all on any issues that I might have.

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