LaSpaziale S1 Vivaldi I Website

Design changes were incorporated into S1's shipping from Chris Coffee starting on 2/20/2004. This page documents that machine or earlier machines that have been upgraded to be equivalent to the new S1. Those with original earlier machines should check out the Archival S1 page.


What is this S1 Web Site?

I was an early adopter of the LaSpaziale S1 Vivaldi espresso machine solely available in the US from Chris Coffee Service. Over the course of the first couple of weeks of use I was left scratching my head over a few features that seemed to be incorrectly documented. I was also bothered by the rattling noises from what I assumed would be a very quiet rotary pump machine. My personal investigations, conversations with other owners on the Coffee Geek web site, and discussions with Chris Nachtrieb, owner of Chris Coffee Service quickly led to an understanding and resolution of these issues. At that time I added a single S1 web page to the coffee hobby section of my personal website to document my findings.

Kudos to Chris for his excellence of support of the S1 and kudos to LaSpaziale for being quickly receptive in resolving all issues that Chris and/or his customers have reported.

Be sure to check out the S1 Forum (link at top of this page). Feel free to leave me a personal message on that page and. or requests for others things you'd like to see covered here.


Mini-Review

Click here to read my S1 Vivaldi I impressions or click the "Mini-Review" button at top of this page.

Click here for an unabridged S1 Vivaldi I review by Dan Kehn


A Photo Tour of the S1 Vivaldi I

Take a Look Under the Hood - See what this puppy looks like inside from several angles.


Power Analysis

This is a recent addition showing a power analysis and MS Excel spreadsheet model for estimating the cost of electricity to run an S1 Vivaldi I 24x7.


Water Flow

This page includes a drawing of the water flow through the S1 Vivaldi I.  This information can be useful for troubleshooting or for just plain understanding how the S1 Vivaldi I works.


Repair & Adjust

There are several sub-pages included in this section which cover:

  •     R&R of Steam Boiler Heater Element
  •     Expansion Valve Adjustment
  •     R&R of Steam Boiler Heat Sensor
  •     R&R of Motor Mounts
  •     R&R of Steam Arm

Steam Arm Replacement - The attached PDF file has exploded diagrams of the following steam arms: S1/VII std, S5 replacement, and No-Burn Arm replacement.  If you are taking your apart for cleaning, repairs, or replacement this will help you get things back together in the proper order. Also, it includes part numbers you can use in case you need to order a replacement.  Actual gaskets are taped onto the sheets adjacent to where they go so you can figure out which is which.

Note: The steam arm in the upper right on the first page is the original S1 steam arm in case anyone out there still has that one. This was replaced with the current steam arm over 3 years ago.


FAQ Page

Frequently Asked Questions


Documentation

NOTE: LaSpaziale continued to manufacture the S1 Vivaldi 1 for a number of years outside the U.S. even after the S1 Vivaldi II was released in the US and some other parts of the world. As soon as the S1V2 was designed both the S1V1 and the S1V2 shared a common controller board that can be switched to emulate either machine. Therefore, if you own an S1V1 manufactured after June 26, 2008 you make have a "hidden" S1V2 inside your machine. To tell if this is the case, unplug the machine and then plug it back in while watching the front panel display. If you see either two green or two yellow lights blink once, your machine has the dual mode controller board. If neither of these happens, your machine has the original S1V1 controller board.

However, if you find that your S1V1 does have a dual mode board and you want to switch to S1V2 mode in order to obtain the S1V2 advanced features, from the above menu navigate to the S1V2 website, download a copy of the S1V2 Users Manual and follow the instructions found there.

This is the definitive S1 Vivaldi I Owner's Manual. It is a major improvement on the original LaSpaziale version. This update posted on 03/31/2014.

S1 Owner's Manual (1.1MB PDF) (Added Missing Boiler Refill Alarm Description)

LaSpaziale Parts Catalog (7.8MB PDF)
This manual has parts for all LaSpaziale machines. not just the Vivaldi I. If you need to order parts for your machine, this document can be useful in providing the correct part number.


Detailed Temperature Measurements

Extensive measurements have been made at 90±3°C,95±3°C, and 100±3°C.  The attached PDF file includes the data, test methodology, and conclusions.

S1 Vivaldi I Temperature Measurements (16K PDF)


The S1 Vivaldi I has a Magnetic Personality

S1 Vivaldi I Cheat Sheet, Rev B (24K PDF) - This is a small instruction sheet for Dose Mode, Master Temperature, and Fine Temperature programming. I created them on an 8.5"x11" sheet that holds 10 and printed them on flexible magnetic stock on a ink jet printer. It fits great right above the control panel as you can see in this picture.


Shower Screen Options

The S1 Vivaldi I, like the commercial La Spaziale espresso machines, comes with two shower screens stacked with the smaller screen below the larger screen. Experiments were under taken to see if both screens are required since the the two screens stick down into the portafilter and reduce the amount of coffee that can be packed in. It seems that use of either screen alone increases the chances for channeling. However, an alternate configuration of the two screens has been discovered that may reduce the likelihood of channeling but definitely allows the use of a larger quantity of coffee. It is shown in this alternate screen configuration document.

Note: The original placement of the shower screens is recommended with the thinner diffuser (below left) shipped on all Vivaldi I's purchased after ~June 2007 and on most other Vivaldi models.

The diffuser on the left is the new, thinner one with the holes arranged in a circle.
The diffuser on the right is the older, thicker one with holes in star-like pattern. The shower screens in the middle show the alternate screen configuration with the smaller screen upside down and inserted inside the larger one.

To use this shower screen configuration with the diffuser:

  • 1) lift diffuser straight up and slide the screen assembly (as shown) under it.
  • 2) Insert the bolt through the shower screens and then through the diffuser and tighten into group.
Chas Rimpo
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