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Upgraditis part II:
I bought this beauty in November 2012. It is a great machine, has served me well, but the missus thinks it's ugly, a kitchen renovation is coming, and so I have decided to part ways with my Achille on the never ending journey that is upgraditis.
You can read a great thread about the Achille here, which includes posts from me about the mods that SuperPhil from Talk Coffee carried out shortly after I bought it, and living with it:
http://coffeesnobs.com.au/brewing-eq...6-achille.html
The mods were carried out late 2012, and the machine has worked day in day out ever since. The group is easy to keep clean - four allen bolts come out and then you lift the spring out making for easy cleaning and re-lubing of seals. I've cleaned the group every 6 months or so. A quick flush after every shot helps keep it clean!
After each shot I flush a little water through the group to wash off the grinds and this also prevents any thermosiphon stall issues (see thread link above). It makes two shots each morning plus a few more on the weekends, so it hasn't ever really been heavily used.
I'm in Canberra - but don't have the original packaging (it came in a box on a small pallet) and the plan is that if the machine doesn't sell locally then I will be taking to Chris at Talk Coffee in Melbourne where he will be able to properly crate it and have it couriered to its new owner. I will probably get SuperPhil or Rick the Coffee Machinist to give it a good going over - and a future owner might like to talk with them about any potential mods...although it makes great coffee without them.
I've been running the machine off its internal tank but it can also be plumbed in - it came with a stainless steel braided hose. SuperPhil noted that this should be attached with care so that the nut inside the machine isn't loosened.
Quirks? As documented in the thread above, the rotary pump is noisy. Because I run it off its internal tank the solenoid switch is also noisy.
I have it set up on a timer switch. It comes on at night to recharge the boiler (this means the boiler is full in the morning and the pump doesn't come on), then is set to come on each morning about an hour before I need it so that the group is nicely warmed up.
The goodies will include a couple of tampers and a bottomless portafilter plus plenty of single and double baskets, and some little silicon mats to put on the warming tray.
Piccies below.
The apparently out of focus shot is actually focussed on a light scratch on the left hand side caused by the handle of my HG-One one morning.
All this will cost you $2200. Retail new they're over $4k so you're getting a bargain. Read the thread above for more info - Paolo, another lever fanatic like myself, still rates his as one of his best machines.
Cheers
James/Sniff
I bought this beauty in November 2012. It is a great machine, has served me well, but the missus thinks it's ugly, a kitchen renovation is coming, and so I have decided to part ways with my Achille on the never ending journey that is upgraditis.
You can read a great thread about the Achille here, which includes posts from me about the mods that SuperPhil from Talk Coffee carried out shortly after I bought it, and living with it:
http://coffeesnobs.com.au/brewing-eq...6-achille.html
The mods were carried out late 2012, and the machine has worked day in day out ever since. The group is easy to keep clean - four allen bolts come out and then you lift the spring out making for easy cleaning and re-lubing of seals. I've cleaned the group every 6 months or so. A quick flush after every shot helps keep it clean!
After each shot I flush a little water through the group to wash off the grinds and this also prevents any thermosiphon stall issues (see thread link above). It makes two shots each morning plus a few more on the weekends, so it hasn't ever really been heavily used.
I'm in Canberra - but don't have the original packaging (it came in a box on a small pallet) and the plan is that if the machine doesn't sell locally then I will be taking to Chris at Talk Coffee in Melbourne where he will be able to properly crate it and have it couriered to its new owner. I will probably get SuperPhil or Rick the Coffee Machinist to give it a good going over - and a future owner might like to talk with them about any potential mods...although it makes great coffee without them.
I've been running the machine off its internal tank but it can also be plumbed in - it came with a stainless steel braided hose. SuperPhil noted that this should be attached with care so that the nut inside the machine isn't loosened.
Quirks? As documented in the thread above, the rotary pump is noisy. Because I run it off its internal tank the solenoid switch is also noisy.
I have it set up on a timer switch. It comes on at night to recharge the boiler (this means the boiler is full in the morning and the pump doesn't come on), then is set to come on each morning about an hour before I need it so that the group is nicely warmed up.
The goodies will include a couple of tampers and a bottomless portafilter plus plenty of single and double baskets, and some little silicon mats to put on the warming tray.
Piccies below.
The apparently out of focus shot is actually focussed on a light scratch on the left hand side caused by the handle of my HG-One one morning.
All this will cost you $2200. Retail new they're over $4k so you're getting a bargain. Read the thread above for more info - Paolo, another lever fanatic like myself, still rates his as one of his best machines.
Cheers
James/Sniff
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