A Couple of Questions About my new Mini II

[johnnyboy5]

First of all, I love it. I've had it for a week and I can't get enough of it. I also can't believe how great this machine looks in the kitchen. Way beter than the pictures. Anyway, a couple of really newb type questions (for which I apologise):

1. The machine came with 2 extra screens (I think that's what they're called), a large rubber circular ring, and a metal key of sorts. What are these for? Are the screens and the key in case I need to replace the screen on the group head? Why would I need to do this? Where does the rubber ring

2. Second question is on water filter that it came with. I am using this, but see that the replacements are expensive. I have RO water in a cooler near the Vivaldi so I have also been using RO combined with some tap water (very roughly, 2/3 RO and 1/3 tap. Should that do the trick to prevent scale build up, or do I need to get filters anyway? BTW, I live in Oakville, just outside of Toronto.

As always, your expertise and asistance is much appreciated.

[JohnB]

La Spaziale expects you to drop & clean the screens & diffuser block regularly as the 2 screen set up traps the grinds that would normally end up in the 3 way valve. With this set up you only need to do a chemical backflush session every 3-4 weeks although you should be doing plain water backflushes at the end of each day.

They give you an extra set of screens so you will have no excuse not to have a clean set on hand. The "key" is the wrench you use to undo the bolt that holds in the screens. The large rubber ring is a spare grouphead gasket that you will use to replace the one in your grouphead in about a year when it becomes hard & begins to leak around your p/f when pulling shots.

I swap out my screens every 3-4 days as the old grinds will affect the flavor of your shots. Have you downloaded & read the comprehensive owners manual posted on this site? s1v2/MiniV2Manual/Mini_V2_Owners_Manual_RevB.pdf

As to the filter question buy a liquid hardness(GH) test kit at your local pet/fish supply store & test the water you are using.

[johnnyboy5]

Thx for the quick and helpful response John. Just downloaded the comprehensive manual and will read thoroughly. So much to learn!

[Dodger1]

+1 on John's comments

Small world. I lived in Oakville, on Queen Mary Drive, for a couple of years and really liked it, aside from the bumper to bumper daily commute.

If you haven't dropped the screens yet, you'll simply be amazed at the amount of grinds that build up. I do a couple of plain water backflushes at the end of every day, clean the screens once a week and do a chemical backflush ~ every 3 weeks.

[johnnyboy5]

Small world indeed. I didn't realize I needed to take apart the screens. And I assume that mamoth steel brush is to clean the screens, or does it have some other purpose I'm missing? Thanks.

[chas]

Small world indeed. I didn't realize I needed to take apart the screens. And I assume that mamoth steel brush is to clean the screens, or does it have some other purpose I'm missing? Thanks.

In a previous post you stated that you had just downloaded the manual and were getting ready to read it. Apparently you haven't gotten to section 8 yet!

[JohnB]

Small world indeed. I didn't realize I needed to take apart the screens. And I assume that mamoth steel brush is to clean the screens, or does it have some other purpose I'm missing? Thanks.

La Spaziale was nice enough to include that brush for those of us that own charcoal grills. It does an excellent job of removing the burnt on crud & rust from the metal grill bars. NEVER use that monster on your Vivaldi! Buy one of the Pallo/Coffeetool 3 in 1 brushs with the stiff replaceable nylon bristles that won't scratch the hell out of your machine like the metal monster.
http://www.chriscoffee.com/products/hom ... coffeetool

[johnnyboy5]

No, I didn't quite get to section 8 yet (5 kids will sometimes derail the best intentions). John, thanks for the tip on a proper brush from Chris. That looks more reasonable.

[chas]

No, I didn't quite get to section 8 yet (5 kids will sometimes derail the best intentions). John, thanks for the tip on a proper brush from Chris. That looks more reasonable.

That explains you're need for caffeine!

[Dodger1]

If you need some water hardness test strips, I can recommend these:

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

Since it's easy to get confused, here's a quick video on how the screens and diffuser go back together:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUM9kKvn_Eo

Five kids, yikes. I'm assuming you only brew decaf for the kids ;)

[johnnyboy5]

Thanks for the video link. Brilliant. Yes, 5 kids absolutely requires frequent and substantial caffeination. That's why I decided to make the jump to quality gear!

[chas]

If you need some water hardness test strips, I can recommend these:

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

Actually you are in the minority if you like the ones Chris sells. My hardness is in the 0-7 grain range. The ones Chris sells are different shades of greenish blue in this range. I can never tell on those strips where my hardness falls in this range.

A number of folks in other threads (just search hardness) recommend the hardness strips manufactured by Hach. You can purchase them directly from hach.com or here is another alternative: http://www.diywatertesting.com/sofchekx3.html. These are the ones I now use. They use a different range of colors that is easier to read.

On the other hand if you already have a fish tank you probably have a liquid test kit that contains a hardness test. These also work well (better than the CC strips).

[JohnB]

I wasn't impressed with the CC strips either & much prefer the liquid kits.

[MDL]

I have been using the same strips that Chas suggested and have been ordering them from the same place. They are much less expensive than the ones Chris sells and they are much better for my use (clearer range of colors across the hardness range). I have not felt any need to move to a liquid test kit given these strips. Clearly a liquid kit has the potential to give more detailed information, but I have not felt a need for such.

Take care,
Mark

[johnnyboy5]

Thanks for the advice on the test strips guys. I will definitely pick up some of these and give them a try.

[GideanYates]

Hi there ,

First time poster here and new MV II owner. While I just upgraded from my Sylvia I am still a bit taken aback by my leap into the deepend of prosumer espresso machines...I'd never thought I'd spend north of 2K on a machine but heck I'm hugely into coffee houses so why not have one at home :-).

That being said given my commitment and mildly obsessive compulsiveness I have a few questions......

1) Is there no backflush disc or blank basket included with the manchine? Yup, to all you folks who are asking didn't you backflush your Sylvia....bad home barrista....I'm endeavoring to improve my barrista skills (I'm kinda lazy).

2) I'd like to remove the water filter and use softened water straight away. I've read folks are mixing RO water with tap. Why not straight RO water?

3) What are the expected stock pressure gauge settings. The Steam side (right side if I'm correct) stays at 1.25 bar and drops to 1ish when I use it. The group pressure sits at O and goes to about 7.5 ish.

[JohnB]

1) Is there no backflush disc or blank basket included with the manchine? Yup, to all you folks who are asking didn't you backflush your Sylvia....bad home barrista....I'm endeavoring to improve my barrista skills (I'm kinda lazy).

2) I'd like to remove the water filter and use softened water straight away. I've read folks are mixing RO water with tap. Why not straight RO water?

3) What are the expected stock pressure gauge settings. The Steam side (right side if I'm correct) stays at 1.25 bar and drops to 1ish when I use it. The group pressure sits at O and goes to about 7.5 ish.

Welcome to the forum! All machines sold by Chris Coffee in the U.S. come with a rubber back flushing disc. Evidently this isn't part of the factory package although you might ask your supplier about it. Since you didn't get one just buy the blind basket as it works better. You will want to do plain water b/fs at the end of each day & a detergent b/f every 3-4 weeks. Hopefully you received the spare set of g/h screens & wrench? Swap out the screens & clean the diffuser block at least once a week as grounds get trapped between the 2 screens (by design). I prefer what I get in the cup with my S1V2 set to 8.5b using a grouphead gauge.

From what I've read straight RO water does not have enough/any? minerals so your low level sensor won't work & it also doesn't make particularly good tasting espresso. Do a search on Home-Barista for more info on RO water.

Your steam pressure sounds about right but your brew pressure is way low. Set it up to between 8.5-9b using a blind basket/pressure gauge. Your machines gauge will read about .5b higher then your b/b reading. If you don't have a pressure gauge just set the pressure to read slightly over 9b on the machines gauge & then readjust per your taste.

I have my S1V2 set to 8.5b using a grouphead pressure gauge as I prefer the results over what I get at 9b. Of course you probably can't directly compare shots from a rotary pump machine to a vibe pump machine as the vibe ramps up slower.