The S1 Cafe - Helping Your Espresso Dreams Become Reality

Well, today I had a certified electrician install a dedicated 20 amp line in my kitchen for my mini. I know others have said it makes no apparent difference. And, I just made myself a latte and it appears that is the truth. Still, just like everything else about this hobby of mine, once the seed is planted, it grows and grows until I succumb. I had this feeling of incompleteness knowing that the machine was designed for 20 amp and I was running on 15. Also, maybe someday I'll have a machine that can only be run in 20 amp mode. Or, I'll get a juicer or some other high powered appliance. Plus, as I research the topic, I continually encounter the idea that most modern kitchens have a dedicated 20 amp circuit. Who wants to have an old fashioned kitchen. So, I sprung (sprang?) for it. Here's a question I asked many times on-line and never could get answered. The response was always - "it depends". Well of course it depends. But I am capable of inference, deduction and otherwise extending the information I have to fit my situation. I assume many others are as well. So, here's my experience. Last February I had an electrician come to the house to get a price for this project. He told me many things I ought to have done - In the end he gave me a price of $3000 - $680 of which was for the 20 amp circuit. I paid him $80 for the privilege of having him come to my house and try to sell me a bunch of things I did not want. I asked him to leave and set aside my desire for the 20 amp circuit. A couple of weeks ago the niggling thought reentered my brain and I started to search on-line. The first company I contacted would not give me a price. They wanted my to take it on faith that they would get whatever I needed done for $90 an hour. How many hours? However many it takes. I didn't like that approach. Then I found a web site called ServiceMagic.com. They referred me to an electrician that came to the house and gave me a price of $400. That was for installing a new wall socket, running the wire to the basement in my ranch home and then about 40 feet of wire to the breaker box and a new 20 amp breaker. Voila! Now I feel complete. For the time being. YMMV.

$400? Of course it is up to you, but to me, it seems like a huge waste of money.

Why would you want to steam at the same time as your shot anyway? I'm too busy looking at the pour from my bottomless portafilter and determining when to cut the shot for optimum taste.

Surely you can wait 25 seconds before you start steaming your milk. After all, your not running a cafe. Making coffee at home should be a pleasure, not a race.

I thought I explained it quite well. I felt incomplete.

If this can help, having recently installed a dedicated 240 Vac line in the garage for my coffee roaster, I consider the price tag that you received very resonnable.
The 20 Amp wire, new breaker and wall outlet are well worth over $100.00 in material cost. Having a 20 Amp outlet in the kitchen may not be a necessity but it is a very convenient thing to have.
Sure, it is possible to run the Vivaldi in 15 Amp mode but I run mine in 20A and never had to wait between coffee and steam and that is the only way that I want to use this machine.
Well done!

With union plumbers and electricians I always estimate materials and reasonable labor,then double it. So $400 sounds about right!

I'm not arguing the cost. In fact, I think having 20A in the kitchen is very praticle for several reasons which are not related to the Vivaldi. For these reason it may be a very good idea for Richard to spend $400.

Last week I was working all day in a cafe getting in some pratice on a 2 group NS Aurelia (this years WBC machine). I could pull simutaneous shots, and steam 6 oz of milk in about 4 seconds with the 16L boiler! So was I faster that my 15A setup at home? Not much. What sets the pace is almost always on the handle side of the PF.

So if someone is thinking of adding 20A for the sole purpose of adding speed to the Vivaldi, unless you have the skills to keep up, you're wasting your money.

I installed a dedicated 20A, 120V to my espresso counter myself. Cost including breaker, romex, box, and receptacle was under $40. I also installed a 30A, 120V line for my roaster. Both can be converted to 220V if needed using the same wiring, but new breakers and receptacles.

Endo wrote:$400? Of course it is up to you, but to me, it seems like a huge waste of money.

Why would you want to steam at the same time as your shot anyway? I'm too busy looking at the pour from my bottomless portafilter and determining when to cut the shot for optimum taste.

Surely you can wait 25 seconds before you start steaming your milk. After all, your not running a cafe. Making coffee at home should be a pleasure, not a race.

are you suggesting that you can't pull a shot and steam the milk at the same time on a 15 amp circuit with the Mini??

Johnlyn wrote:
are you suggesting that you can't pull a shot and steam the milk at the same time on a 15 amp circuit with the Mini??

No. You definitely can.

The only issue will be the steam boiler heater won't come on so your pressure will drop a bit lower by the end of the steaming (since the boiler is rather small).

This will likely not be an issue, unless you are having trouble getting repeatable milk texture for serious latte art. For me, I do latte art every day and consistancy is important. It can make the difference for getting multiple rosettas for example. I usually wait for the steam heater light to turn off to signal maximum pressure, then start steaming. The brew heater usually stays off if I time it right. This way I get the same starting and finishing steam pressure EVERY time.

Of course it would be much esaier to just go 20A, but I don't like playing with that wiring stuff.