The S1 Cafe - Helping Your Espresso Dreams Become Reality

Hi all,
I rebuilt an old S1 V1 back 1 1/2 years ago and upgraded it with a dual manometer and added the brew gauge, connecting it to where all the S1 V2 pressure capillary tubes are hooked up - bottom right by the pump. I noticed that the brew pressure gauge showed a pressure ramp-up....cool. Well, I sold that upgraded unit and bought a new S1 V2 and this pressure gauge only showed max pressure as soon as the pump kicked in.....

I purchased a new S1 V2 a few weeks ago (yeah, not my first!) and Vario and knew that I wanted to make this new unit act like the old updated unit to show actual pressure at the puck. Knowing there is a pre-infusion chamber option and a bolt on the side of the brew head, I knew this was the place to start.

Here's what I used:
male-male adapter
capillary tube
brew pressure gauge
3"x2"x1" project box
teflon tape
hot glue gun

Pictures of the process:
http://picasaweb.google.com/highstrings ... V2WBrewMod#

Video of the results:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UlJ5RwjowM

Now I can measure the puck during brewing for feedback on my dose, grind, etc. I will say that this has been very helpful and my shots have been better knowing this info. Perhaps I am the only one that will benefit from this :-)

- Darren

That's excellent. Now you get the pressure at the grouphead rather than at the pump outlet. It's like having a built-in Scace! Good use for the mechanical pre-infusion port!

Brilliant!

Since I have the single S1 gauge that shows only steam temp, I was considering adding a second liquid filled gauge next to the original but I like your solution even better!

I never realized how UGLY that green and red stock dual manometer guage looks until I saw your nice, big white and stainless gauge (especially your photo#4 without the project box). I may consider buying a second stainless front panel and installing dual white/stainless gauges. (Or maybe add a hole through the big S1 and installing it there).

Excellent!

Great idea! Brilliant execution and flawless finish! I am impressed and actually considering something similar. Like Endo said, maybe in the place of the S1...

And great setup!

Thanks for sharing.

Glad you guys like it and see the value of the idea. Now I just need to add a light to the bottom of the project box to illuminate the brew path when using my new bottomless triple! A full LED set with switch wouldn't be so bad (hint...jman, post pics of your led lighting)

Endo - If I were you, I would go buy a liquid filled pressure gauge that goes up to 200 psi, the male-male adapter, and either get a capillary tube or try and make one and hook it up (if you don't have the preinfusion chamber). Heck, even if you had the preinfusion chamber you could probably put a t adapter and split it to hook the p/i chamber and second gauge.

On the original s1 I had it only had the single gauge. I bought the red/green dual manometer and an updated spash guard. What I like about having the white/stainless gauge on the project box is that it is VISIBLE without having to stoop down. About cutting a hole on the "S1", you may want to find out how much one of those new top panels would cost, unless you won't have any upgradeitis or it doesn't matter. I know the back splash panel with cutout for gauges was around $35 when I bought it for the S1 regular back 1 1/2 years ago.

Slo - it is a piece of cake, well, not too hard to do this. Instead of adding another gauge, you can also get a cap for where the capillary tube attaches, get the male-male adapter for the grouphead, and re-route the brew pressure capillary tube to this location. I.e. move the tube and cap up the old well (like they are trying to do in the Gulf with BP)


The good thing about the way I did it is I can easily remove it in about 15 minutes in case I ever upgrade and the new owner doesn't want it. But, I think this new mod will make this an even better unit.

Shoot, the Vario with only 2 days of use is grinding some great shots - fluffy with minimal to nil in clumping! I see that all of the above have a Vario!

I agree with all your points. Seems like you've thought this out very well. Congrats.

As you say, the easily removeable aspect is something worth considering.

You've got me inspired now. I may try an outboard mounted stainless box with gauge instead. I may mount it on top. We'll see.

I assume you got your capillary tube here:

http://www.chriscoffee.com/products/hom ... illarytube

How about the male-to-male adapter?

Where did you get your 16 bar Orman brew gauge? I only see the steam boiler version at Espressoparts:

http://www.espressoparts.com/cgi-bin/ep ... _id=277607

FYI I just had to get replacement upper panel and the cost from Chris' was $97.35 plus shipping. The reason I needed the panel is a long story I may share sometime but it had to do with shipping. No, not from Chris'. That was for a Mini but you would think the "regular" would be the same.

I'd bet that Chris Coffee could sell all the parts needed for this mod/upgrade (cap tube, gauge, adapter). As long as the connections fit it doesn't matter what gauge or capillary tube you get. I'd just mention what size the ends are, but they are probably pretty standard. The male-male adapter can be found at specialty hardware stores. There are Lowes/Home Depot here, but they don't - have to go to a mom/pop specialty shop.

Endo - I was really hoping to mount the box on the top/side of the unit, but couldn't find a good way to snake the capillary tube. Couldn't go through the top panel - no room; side panels - no space. The only other option would be cutting a groove in a side panel or top of the unit, or snaking the cap tube back and down through the bottom of the unit, back around to the side or back and then up.....not something I wanted to do. Be creative! I received my new Vivaldi on a Thursday, had to go away for the weekend so had 3 days to think up a way to connect it all together (although I was away from the unit). If I can find a stainless project box I might change it to that.

Endo wrote: I never realized how UGLY that green and red stock dual manometer guage looks

Hey, it's to match the comic sans font of the buttons!

Hi All,

I am going to pick up a Mini II in a couple of weeks and will be getting the preinfusion option. I like the idea of this extra gauge at the group head. Has anyone installed this on a Mini? I have to have a non-plumbed unit or I would go with the S1. Trying to make the best decision. This will be my 2nd espresso unit. I currently have an Expobar Office HX unit and a SJ grinder. Have been home roasting for about 10 years and enjoying espresso for 1-1/2 years. I am looking forward to a DB unit.

Thanks in advance!

Gary

I have not tried it yet on my Mini, but there is no reason it should not work since the brew heads are identical.

I love my Mini, but if you have your heart set on a regular S1 (for whatever reason) and have no plumbing near by, you can always run it off a 19L jug and a Flowjet. Lots of people run it that way.

Endo,
Thanks for the response.
I think the main differences between the two are the rotary pump, programmable pre-infusion and plumbed in requirement.
The Mini has an optional pre-infusion chamber at about 6 seconds.
the rest of the features seem about the same.
Am I missing something?

Also, if this is the main difference, then it seems for me that the mini would be the better fit as it is more portable.

I use bottled or filtered water on my HX pour over unit now and soule do the same for the mini.
Comments appreciated.

Regarding the origional content of this post. With a mini with pre-infusion, A tee connector would be required at the head.
I have heard a lot about Chris's service after the same. Does he help source the parts for these kinds of mods to his machines?
I suspect that it would void the warranty if one did this.

Sorry about thge dumb questions. I do want to get this purchase correct.
Thanks,
Gary

Also, the Mini steam boiler is half the size (1.2L) and the steam control is a lever rather than a knob.

None of the features on the Mini are actually better or worse than the regular S1, since argumnets can be made for either. Personally, the portable Mini fit me better and the price difference was about $500 for me at the time, so I went with that. But I'm sure I would have been happy with either.

Here is a summary of the pros and cons I've heard of the Mini versus regular S1. It might help you decide:

Smaller Steam Boiler:

Pro: Quicker heatup, less costly to replace.
Con: Less hot water, cannot be opened to descale, heater can't be replaced.

Vibe Pump:

Pro: Cheaper to replace, less to go wrong (no rusty bearings or dead motors), slower pressure ramp-up.
Con: Noisy.

Steam Lever:

Pro: More ergonomic, professional feel.
Con: On/off control.

Progressive Pre-infusion:

Pro: Linear pressure increase.
Con: Fixed pre-infusion time, can't be switched off.

Resevoir:

Pro: Makes unit portable, no plumbing hastles and cost.
Con: Requires fill-up.

Well, after much deliberation I finally made my decision between the S1 and the Mini.
I ordered an S1V2 last week. It arrived yesterday. I however am out of town until Saturday.
I can hardly wait to get it operational. Picked up a flojet, acumulator and bottle of water plus some Watts fittings for 3/8" tubing. Paired the machine up with a like new K30 grinder. I am very curious to experience the difference between this new setup and my Expobar Office and SJ grinder.

I am also very thankful for this forum. I have learned much from reading the posts and will probably have quite a few questions.

The first mod will be this additional gauge, but not for a little while.

Gary

Luscombe wrote: I am very curious to experience the difference between this new setup and my Expobar Office and SJ grinder.

Me too! Expobar was one of the machines that I could buy when I was looking for an espresso machine. Keep us informed, please. Thanks.

Wow, it has been almost two years since I posted this. I did receive the S1VII form Chris Coffee. Aside from a problem when it arrived, which Chris promptly took care of, it has worked flawlessly. Since it has the preinfussion chamber on the group head, I ram not so sure that I could do the above modification, although I would like to.

I have nothing but praise for this machine. It is extremely stable and shots are repeatable. Honestly, it is probably beyond my capabilities. I like the fact that I can control a few of the many variables. My work schedule has taken me out of town every week so I have only been able to use the unit on weekends. I have not been able to experiment with the infusion, temperature, dbl sngl baskets yet. I found a pretty good groove for the dbl basket and get consistent shots. I typically did not have the time on weekends to paly. I will now.

For me, this has been the perfect machine. If I had to do it all over again, I would do it the same way.

Gary

I'm reviving this from the dead as I am going to do the same thing so I thought I would post a few clarifications.

-The group head bolt is part 490 on the group head parts schematic. It is a 5mm Allen bolt and it has the 1/8G (BSPT) threading, so if you are looking for the adapter to connect it to a Chris Coffee capillary tube you will want a 1/8M-1/8M (M=Male, not any type of threading) adapter, part #67490 at CafeParts.com. How I will do it will be posted on my other thread about tearing apart my machine.

I'm a little curious as to how this location will stand up to time since it is very close to the back flush process.

**Edited to change BSPP to BSPT as the BSPP threads use washer seals of some sort since they do not rely on the taper to provide a seal.**

Rather than duplicating my post I'm linking to my other post in case someone finds this one.

viewtopic.php?f=57&t=2244