Mini Vivaldi Steaming Capabilities

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LDT

Mini Vivaldi Steaming Capabilities

Post by LDT »

I wanted to share some observations steaming milk with the Mini. I have had mixed results so far because of varying steam supply. Some background - I am running machine in 15 amp mode. I have checked the water level probe on top of boiler and it's pushed all the way down. I have been advised by tech support to drain water from wand prior to steaming and wait for red boiler light to stop flashing (indicating boiler is up to proper temp/pressure). Tried this last evening and it worked well - steam was strong all the way to 145 to 150 degrees for two lattes (steaming done probably 4 minutes apart). This morning when I did the same thing the amount of steam fell of after about 12 to 15 seconds and I had a hard time hitting 150 degrees and microfoam was poor quality. Now I am advised that the group boiler may be calling for heat and thus keeping the steam boiler from coming on. Have any of you experienced this before? A dedicated 20 amp circuit would perhaps solve the problem, but I really did not think I would need to do that when I purchased the machine. I guess I am still learning the idiosyncrasies of the Mini. :-?
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GDK
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Re: Mini Vivaldi Steaming Capabilities

Post by GDK »

You may have notice the steam boiler has hysteresis. You probably chose the worst point in time to start steaming - the steam boiler was just about to turn on to catch up when the brew boiler went on at that same time and prevented that. I purge the wand just before I start the steaming, then wait a few secs for the steam boiler to get to max pressure and then start steaming. You are correct that with 15A circuit brew boiler has priority. I swapped the breaker with 20A and I think it is worthed. Note that even with the 20A, on initial start, the Vivaldi runs the brew boiler only until it reaches temperature once and only after that would run the two boilers in parallel, as required.
Endo

Re: Mini Vivaldi Steaming Capabilities

Post by Endo »

I run my Mini in 15A mode and can't say I have any problems.

Ater 40 minutes warm-up, I first do 2 warming flushes and then pull my shot. After the shot, I get my milk ready, and then wait for the brew boiler to finish a heating cycle (which gives me a little over minute window until the next one). I pull some steam to get the steam boiler to turn on, and after about a 5 seconds reheating, the heater goes off and I start steaming the milk from full pressure. After 20 seconds of steaming, the pressure drops below 1 bar, but I am done steaming my 6 oz of milk, and with no brew boiler interuption.

I do this mostly for consistancy, so that I start and finish steaming always with the same pressure (1.3 bar at start, 1 bar at finish). Without this, I need to adjust my mixing transition time and total steaming time to accomodate the lower pressure. This is possible, but you need to have developed a good feel (and ear) for knowing what stage of frothing your milk is at. This only comes with experience.
LDT

Re: Mini Vivaldi Steaming Capabilities

Post by LDT »

Thanks for the responses. I should have mentioned the quantity of milk I am steaming each time - typically 12 ozs. in 16 oz pitcher. My wife and I take 16 oz. lattes to work every morning. The amount of milk I am steaming each time is twice the amount you mention (6 oz.). Is the amount an issue for the Mini??
Endo

Re: Mini Vivaldi Steaming Capabilities

Post by Endo »

What is your pressure at the end of steaming?

If I was always doing 12oz, I'd consider switching to 20A.
LDT

Re: Mini Vivaldi Steaming Capabilities

Post by LDT »

Sometimes when I finish steaming 12 ozs. of milk the pressure is midway in the green section (this almost always translates into good microfoam) and other times it drops into the blue section (sorry I am at work and don't have the machine in front of me to get the actual pressure readings).
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chas
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Re: Mini Vivaldi Steaming Capabilities

Post by chas »

If you are plugged into a kitchen circuit, the odds are (unless your house is really old) that it is already a 20A circuit but without the 20A outlets installed. Sometimes this is because there are other outlets in the kitchen on the same circuit. In such a case you can probably at least temporarily switch the S1 into 20A mode and see if that is the solution to your issue before forking any more money out to an electrician. While testing just don't run any high current devices in the other outlets on the same circuit. Having a 20A S1 and a toaster oven running on the same circuit at the same time wouldn't be a good idea. :bom:
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LDT

Re: Mini Vivaldi Steaming Capabilities

Post by LDT »

Great idea! This evening I will check the guage of the wiring, determine what else in on the circuit and check to see if the circuit has a 15 or 20 amp breaker. If all is a go, I'll wire in a 20 amp outlet and give it a try. Thanks for the suggestion.
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chas
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Re: Mini Vivaldi Steaming Capabilities

Post by chas »

If you are running 15A mode now I assume you have a 15A plug on your S1. (Was your unit shipped with a 20A plug on the S1 and then a short 20A-15A adapter cable?) Just to test whether you get the performance you are looking for out of 20A mode, you can certainly try it while plugged into the 15A outlet. The only thing the 15A outlet does is prevent you from plugging a 20A plug into it so you don't overload a 15A circuit. So even if you have the wiring and the breaker on that circuit to support 20A there is not really a rush to install the 20A outlet - at least not before you validate that 20A does what you want.

Even if you have another outlet on the circuit and it is a 20A circuit. If its just an outlet that you occasionally use to say plug in a blender, a mixer, or other very intermittent use, low power device, I wouldn't worry about it. That's the case in my house and I have never tripped the breaker even though the S1 by itself slightly exceeds 20A when both boilers and the pump are all on.
Chas
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LDT

Re: Mini Vivaldi Steaming Capabilities

Post by LDT »

After rechecking, I have been steaming just over 10 ozs. of milk at a time not 12 ozs. as previously mentioned. The Mini was shipped for 15 amp mode and I also ordered the adapter.
I haven't opened up the machine to flip the switch to 20 amp mode yet, but I did find I have two 20 amp circuits in the kitchen for above counter outlets and I now know which breaker the outlets are connected to. I also found I have a dedicated 20 amp circuit for a microwave which I am no longer using. Unfortunately its not accessable without some re-wiring or drilling. Anyway, I will report back when I give the 20amp mode a try this weekend. Again, thanks for all the input. This is a learning experience many of you have already gone through.
LDT

Re: Mini Vivaldi Steaming Capabilities

Post by LDT »

It does work better in 20 amp mode, but it's also technique. I am guessing with better technique 15 amp mode would work fine in most situations.
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