The S1 Cafe - Helping Your Espresso Dreams Become Reality

I've seen the 20A to 15A adpater cord. Does anyone know if someone sells a 15A to 20A, or would that be illegal?

Easy enough to make, but I thought I'd ask.

If you are moving up to 20a why not just install a 20a plug on your machines power cord?

Endo wrote:I've seen the 20A to 15A adpater cord. Does anyone know if someone sells a 15A to 20A, or would that be illegal?

Easy enough to make, but I thought I'd ask.

Unless 20A outlets are different in Canada, all the 20A outlets I have seen in the US will take 20A or 15A plugs. So of you want to plug a 15A plug into a 20A outlet and run the machine in 20A mode it will work, no adapter necessary.

chas wrote: Unless 20A outlets are different in Canada, all the 20A outlets I have seen in the US will take 20A or 15A plugs. So of you want to plug a 15A plug into a 20A outlet and run the machine in 20A mode it will work, no adapter necessary.

Good to know. That seems like the simplest option since I can switch back to a 15A outlet easily if I change locations.

I check the 20A outlets at Home Depot. They take both 15A and 20A plugs.

I'll have to switch my home wiring from 14 to 12 gauge to go to 20A and also install a 20A breaker, but I was just wondering if the stock 15A plug and cord on my machine can take 20A so I wouldn't need to change it. I can't tell if the cord is 14 or 12.

Maybe I'll just play it safe and do like everyone else and install a 20A cord and plug and put a 15A pigtail on when needed.

Why the sudden lust for 20a? I thought you were satisfied with the 15A performance.

JohnB wrote:Why the sudden lust for 20a? I thought you were satisfied with the 15A performance.

I'd like to get more predictability of when the steam boiler heater will come on.

I find that if the steam boiler heater is on and I choose the riight sized tip area I can balance the pressure increase with the pressure descrease, and steaming is very predictable. On my Silvia I could see on my PID display that the steam temp/pressure was steady within 2 deg C for as long as I wanted to steam (a good balanced system).

As you know, on the 15A Mini Vivaldi, the steam boiler heating gets interrupted due to the brew boiler taking priority. On the small boiler Mini, the pressure can go very low if this happens. Going 20A gets rid of this interruption.

On the flip side, on the Mini it may also turn out to be impossible keep the element "on" all the time during steaming since it may be too powerful for the boiler size (and require too big a tip area). So I may be stuck swinging back and forth in this pressure deadband. Big commercial DB machines have huge steam boilers so they don't experience this swing . That's why I don't have the same trouble making microfoam on the commercial LMs.

Probably not an issue unless you are trying to make perfect microfoam.

Endo wrote:
On the flip side, on the Mini it may also turn out to be impossible keep the element "on" all the time during steaming since it may be too powerful for the boiler size (and require too big a tip area). So I may be stuck swinging back and forth in this pressure deadband. Big commercial DB machines have huge steam boilers so they don't experience this swing . That's why I don't have the same trouble making microfoam on the commercial LMs.

Probably not an issue unless you are trying to make perfect microfoam.

Its not an issue on the S1V2 with the 2.5 litre boiler either.

Well, this is an old thread but i figure i'd pitch in...
Since i converted my v1's cord to 15 by changing the plug, and all of them machines seem to have an inside switch, I'd guess it is safe to assume that the cord is safe... for 20 on all... no?

Since they are designed as 20A machines I'd have to agree.

This just in to my world...
http://www.orphanespresso.com/index.php ... cts_id=870
could this work??

fiddlefly wrote:This just in to my world...
http://www.orphanespresso.com/index.php ... cts_id=870
could this work??

For what? You already have a 110v machine don't you?

to be able to run it 20 a safely in a 15 a outlet...

Perhaps there is some confusion here.

There is no safe way to draw 20 amps through a 15 amp circuit. Some might feel that it is OK to use a 15 amp outlet if the wiring is 20 amp, but I think that is still being penny wise and pound foolish since a 20 amp outlet costs little more than a 15 amp version.

Mark

Spend the money on a dedicated 20A circuit.

Endo wrote: I was just wondering if the stock 15A plug and cord on my machine can take 20A so I wouldn't need to change it. I can't tell if the cord is 14 or 12.

Still wondering....is it safe to flip the switch and draw from a newly installed 20A outlet through the pre-installed 15A plug? The only part I'm worrying about is the 15A cord itself (not the machine). Not sure if the 15A cord uses 12 gauge or not.

You can presume that 15A cords are not adequate for 20A use. No manufacturer is likely to over-build in that manner; it is too expensive and opens them to potential product liability issues. In addition, the majority of cords have the information on them (at least in the USA). Look with care at the cord and see what it says (I must admit that I have not checked to see what the cord on my 20A Vivaldi says).

It is possible that the Vivaldi's are built with 20A cords (but different plugs) since they have the switch to run at either amperage. Again, I would look along the entire length of the cord to see what, if anything it says.

Good luck,
Mark

Actually, Chris Coffee just wrote me back and told me the 15A plug and cord is fine for 20A. They used to simply switch the plug from 15A to 20A but now they just sell the 20A version and give you a convertor cord if you want 15A (saves them time that way). They said just to make sure everything on the opposite side of the pulg (outlet , wall wires, breaker, etc) are 20A.

But since mine came directly from LaSpaziale with the dedicated 15A plug and cord, I'm still wondering. I'll have a close look tonight to see if anything is written on the cord.

OK. Found a few stamps on the cord. One says 14awg3xc. I assume this means 14 gauge wire annd max 15A?

Now I'm pretty sure it's NOT safe to run it in 20A mode. Does anyone know for sure?

How about all you owners with the 20A plug. What's stamped on your cord?

Endo wrote:OK. Found a few stamps on the cord. One says 14awg3xc. I assume this means 14 gauge wire annd max 15A?

Now I'm pretty sure it's NOT safe to run it in 20A mode. Does anyone know for sure?

How about all you owners with the 20A plug. What's stamped on your cord?

12AWG/3xc & its a very beefy cord that you wouldn't mistake for 14g/15a. Looks like the cord on my mig welder.

14 Gauge = 15 Amps
12 Gauge = 20 Amps
10 Gauge = 30 Amps
08 Gauge = 40 Amps
06 Gauge = 65 Amps

So if you want to run 3 mini's on one plug, you need 6 Gauge.

If you try to run on 20 amps with the 14 Gauge cable, you may run into trouble, including damage to the machine.

Looks like I'll need to switch the whole cord and plug when I go to 20A. Not a huge deal I imagine, although I haven't yet looked to see how it's attached on the inside.

Seems the Mini Vivaldi 2 from CC all come with the thicker 20A cord but the Mini Vivaldi that comes direct from LaSpaziale can have either a 15A cord OR a 20A cord. Good to know.

Thanks MDL for mentioning to check the cord itself.

Hey SnowDragon....those warm espressos must taste pretty good way up there in Nunavut on those cold nights. Bet there aren't many other Vivaldi owners too near by!

Yes...Warm...Good idea.

Yes I probably am the only MV2 owner so far up north.

It's been a year now since I got my baby in and have no regrets.

Next stop, roasting.

SnowDragon wrote:Next stop, roasting.

Yes....I would imagine this would be a necessity!