Machine tidy up...

This forum contains various threads with photos on how to perform various maintenance and repairs on your S1.
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pev
Latte
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Machine tidy up...

Post by pev »

Hi all,

I'm hoping this forum might be more active than the date of the last post indicates! :-D

I've just picked up an S1 Mini VII second hand which Im dead chuffed about as have wanted one for ages! Its pretty tidy and the previous owner(s) have looked after it but I i did a quick strip-down to have a check & clean and bar the usual detritus its in pretty good nick. Of course there's a bunch of the expected stuff and I've got a few questions if anyone might know the answers...
  • A few of the thumbscrews are missing but theyre not a metric thread - anyone know offhand what they are as I can't find my thread gauge?
  • Theres a random loose grey cable with a cover on behind the pressure gauge (looks like it has a fair bit of spare coiled length). Would this be something that someones disconnected or for an optional item?
  • The screw holding down the cup tray is missing - does anyone know its spec as I cant find any pics? I'm guessing its just a short philips one that sits under the tray or is it some kind of captive screw?
  • I left it on this afternoon and the pump randomly kicked in for a few seconds after 40 mins or so - is that normal?
  • I can't find an 'official' manual from LS but have found a few versions of the manual from Chris Coffee. However my (UK) machine is a bit different in that the control box has a second switch next to the "full / eco" one (15A/20A in the US) - this second switch is just marked "on / off" and is currently set to off. Anyone know what it actually does?
Anyway, looking forward to reading through the forum history for interesting stuff...

~Pev
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chas
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Re: Machine tidy up...

Post by chas »

pev wrote: Thu Apr 18, 2019 10:22 am Hi all,

I'm hoping this forum might be more active than the date of the last post indicates! :-D

I've just picked up an S1 Mini VII second hand which Im dead chuffed about as have wanted one for ages! Its pretty tidy and the previous owner(s) have looked after it but I i did a quick strip-down to have a check & clean and bar the usual detritus its in pretty good nick. Of course there's a bunch of the expected stuff and I've got a few questions if anyone might know the answers...
  • A few of the thumbscrews are missing but theyre not a metric thread - anyone know offhand what they are as I can't find my thread gauge?
Define a few. Mine only has two - one on each side near the front behind the drip tray which holds on the bottom, front of the two side panels. I can probably find out what size they are if these are the ones you are talking about.
  • Theres a random loose grey cable with a cover on behind the pressure gauge (looks like it has a fair bit of spare coiled length). Would this be something that someones disconnected or for an optional item?
That's for connection to the optional, external timer module which you apparently don't have.
  • The screw holding down the cup tray is missing - does anyone know its spec as I cant find any pics? I'm guessing its just a short philips one that sits under the tray or is it some kind of captive screw?
I can also find out the size of this one for you. It is a normal slotted screw and is NOT captive
  • I left it on this afternoon and the pump randomly kicked in for a few seconds after 40 mins or so - is that normal?
Normal
  • I can't find an 'official' manual from LS but have found a few versions of the manual from Chris Coffee. However my (UK) machine is a bit different in that the control box has a second switch next to the "full / eco" one (15A/20A in the US) - this second switch is just marked "on / off" and is currently set to off. Anyone know what it actually does?
As noted above you do NOT have the optional external timer module. If you did this switch would be set to ON. Since you don't it must be in the Off position or you will not be able to pull any shots.
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
Hottop P/B
pev
Latte
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Apr 17, 2019 9:03 pm
Location: UK

Re: Machine tidy up...

Post by pev »

Hi Chas,

Thanks for the reply / info!

Thumbscrews - OK I have two ; had read various things people had written about there being three one side and four the other and how hard it was dropping the rear ones etc...! I was planning on making up some hardwood panels sometime so sounds like it's not worth bothering with.

Timer module - got it thanks!

Tray screw - I'll grab a 10mm one and give it a go.

Only thing other than that I've noticed is that it seems that the volumetric dosing is massively random and looks like its working off time not volume...? Is this switchable or am I missing something obvious? If the flow meter was faulty, would there be an error thrown?
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chas
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Re: Machine tidy up...

Post by chas »

As for the thumbscrews and other screws holding the sides on, I guess it does depend on the model and the year it was made...and in the USA whether it is one of the customized models built to Chris Coffee Service specifications.

The volumetric doser is what it is. It has a rotating vain inside with a magnet on the end of one or more of the veins and detects how many times it turns due to the water flowing through it. I am not sure what percent accurate it is, but I would guess not greater than +- 10%. On top of that, if you are going by when you pull a shot, then the type of coffee, grind, age, and weight factor into how much of the measured volume is retained in the puck on each shot. To test how well the volumetric aspect works you should always check it out with an empty portafilter.
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
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chas
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Re: Machine tidy up...

Post by chas »

There is a flowmeter error code that can be thrown. However, 99.9% of the time when this occured it's because the machine has been chokoed due to grinding the coffee too fine. On the other hand if you see this error code and the flow seems fine, then it could be a flowmeter problem.

Should you ever need it, all the "brains" of the flowmeter are built into the lid which you can usually purchase much cheaper than buying a new flowmeter.
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
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pev
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Re: Machine tidy up...

Post by pev »

Ah, I don’t think it’s that - the flowmeters I think should be < 5% error as there’s not much scope for error, I’m setting at 36ml but seeing repeated shots coming out at 40 - 80ml which is obvs a bit beyond that! If I do a shot without the PF attached puts out over 120ml - bit time seems pretty constant hence wondering if it had a alternate time base mode... I’ll stick an oscilloscope on it and have a look at what’s going on, thanks!
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chas
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Re: Machine tidy up...

Post by chas »

The way the volumetric doser is supposed to work is as follows:
  • Place in doser programming mode, turn water on, then off again when the desired amount has been dispensed.
  • The control board counts the number of revolutions of the volumetric dosers internal vane and stores this number
  • When a shot is pulled the shot runs until the number of "ticks" received from the doser matches the stored value.
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
Hottop P/B
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