Faema Carisma S1?

[Greenlai]

I set it between 0.8 - 1.2 bar for most coffees. Darker roast 0.8 bar to tame the bitterness, lighter roasts up to 1.2bar to get more chocolatey notes. Bear in mind lower pressure will also reduce your pressure for steaming milk. 1.5bar would be a bit too high I think and probably close to blowing the pressure relief valve.

[adam0bmx0]

Hi all,

New member (well joined a while ago but not posted much, 2015!), and have just bought a Carisma S1, just un-boxed it and have cleaned and filled it with fresh water and ran a few cycles through the group head.

What temperature and pressure are people generally using on these?

Pressure is currently set at 1.5 bar and temp is 129 degrees C (from factory)

Thanks

Adam

[AndyJayCoffee]

I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction for spare parts for this machine.
I pulled the water tank straight up for cleaning however as I lifted it up the plastic connector that holds to water outlet and immersed hose to the water tank just snapped. I can now no longer securely tighten the locking ring. I would replace the whole tank if I could find one any help much appreciated.

[Greenlai]

Mine used to read 12bars during extractions prior to the mod.

I'm now stopping the pump half way through the extraction by pulling down the lever half way and the remaining built up pressure finishing off the extraction - mimicking a lever machine with the decreasing pressure. Early days but seems to produce a less bitter shot.

[cafelazio]

Thankyou Greanlai. I figure my Carisma is running a couple of extra bars but it makes very good espresso, especially with my home roast. After 2 years of owning the Faema Carisma s1 it is a brilliantly designed espresso machine .

[Greenlai]

Thanks for sharing o ring mod. Good one.
Did you measure extraction pressure at the group or from the machine gauge ? And any idea how much it differs at the group from where it is connected at the pump?
Thanks for the info anyways.

No problems cafelazio. I measured the pressure at the group and it read 9bars but the gauge on the machine read 10bars.

Still no leaks and going well

[cafelazio]

Thanks for sharing o ring mod. Good one.
Did you measure extraction pressure at the group or from the machine gauge ? And any idea how much it differs at the group from where it is connected at the pump?
Thanks for the info anyways.

[Greenlai]

That is a good fix if it works, interested to know how it went Greenlai; is there a difference in your extraction ?

I don't have a golden palate and there have been a few variables since the change (new beans and grind) so hard to say. The mod does work and there's no leaks after a week. The beauty of it is it's cheap, reversible and the rubber o-ring has enough give for you to adjust to different pressures without any leaks, at least down to 9Bars without issues.

[cafelazio]

That is a good fix if it works, interested to know how it went Greenlai; is there a difference in your extraction ?

[Greenlai]

Finally got around to adjusting the OPV. I used a rubber O-ring as a shim to reduce the pressure. It seems to seal pretty well - no leaks. It's also easily adjustable with the O-ring still sealing at different positions. I've got it set at 10bars static at the moment. Haven't made a coffee yet though.

[Greenlai]

I wonder, since it appears adjusting the spring on the OPV could be problematic, whether a washer can be placed instead to back the spring out similar to what was done for the earlier non adjustable Silvias

[Greenlai]

As you say, if the spring tension is reduced you would expect the OPV to open at lower pressure. Unfortunately this is not the case, the moving part inside the valve is not really constrained so unless it is tightly held against the seat it can get out of alignment which causes erratic pressure readings.

I have definitely noticed an improvement since I changed the valve, every coffee since has been good unlike before when it would randomly vary from bitter to sweet shots. I think I had just become accustomed to channeling which is no longer evident in the pucks. I don't know if the same improvement would be seen from an unmodified OPV or if it was because I fiddled with mine that it was so prone to channeling.

On an unrelated issue, has anyone been able to find a replacement filter cartridge? I bough an aftermarket one from ebay previously but the store has closed down. It also leaked a lot of the resin beads into the reservoir.

I got mine from Jetblack Espresso, in tank anti scale filter $12.50

[cafelazio]

Hi excee, try fridgefilters.com.au/In-tank-Water-Filter/ the're part of Bombora Supplies $9 and free shipping and they send reminders. I also had one of those square filters that came with the machine; it leaked resin. I use an API test kit and regularly check water hardness and carbonate hardness, in conjunction with a brita water filter jug. So the water i feed my Faema Carisma is v.good. It is a bit of mucking around but i think it's worth it.

[excee]

As you say, if the spring tension is reduced you would expect the OPV to open at lower pressure. Unfortunately this is not the case, the moving part inside the valve is not really constrained so unless it is tightly held against the seat it can get out of alignment which causes erratic pressure readings.

I have definitely noticed an improvement since I changed the valve, every coffee since has been good unlike before when it would randomly vary from bitter to sweet shots. I think I had just become accustomed to channeling which is no longer evident in the pucks. I don't know if the same improvement would be seen from an unmodified OPV or if it was because I fiddled with mine that it was so prone to channeling.

On an unrelated issue, has anyone been able to find a replacement filter cartridge? I bough an aftermarket one from ebay previously but the store has closed down. It also leaked a lot of the resin beads into the reservoir.

[Greenlai]

Definitely do not try to adjust the OPV unless you plan to replace it. Mine has not worked properly since I played with it.



Thanks to the revival of this thread I finally replaced my OPV with the model I discussed earlier. It was nice to get a steady pressure reading again with the new valve, I have adjusted it to 10 bar with a blind filter and it sits there nicely. I've yet to make a coffee with it and don't expect any huge improvements but the extra consistency can only help.

In addition to the valve above you will also need the following items to replace the OPV:

https://www.jetblackespresso.com.au/shop/p/elbow-1-8MF/
https://www.jetblackespresso.com.au/...cone-pipe-6x9/

So for around $50 of parts, plus teflon tape, and a couple of hours work I was able to fit the adjustable OPV, should have done it ages ago.

Thanks for all the info excee. Wonder why your opv hasn't worked properly since adjustment. From my understanding, it's a spring loaded valve with the tension in the spring controlling the brew pressure. I would have thought loosening the spring tension would reduce the brew pressure but I guess there's more to it. I'm not in a rush to adjust it at the moment because of the poor access.

I'm also curious as to whether the reduction in the brew pressure will make a difference in the cup so will be interested to read how your shots are with the lower brew pressure.