The S1 Cafe - Helping Your Espresso Dreams Become Reality

Hi all, I love my VII. I use it daily & I am always happy that it is my machine. A few weeks ago I noticed a crack in one of the plastic side panels. I contacted my supplier & to my amazement, a replacement panel is about $130.00 holy smokes!!!! that's one expensive chunk of plastic. It figures out to about $1.00 per square inch. Does anyone have a spare left side panel in red that they would be willing to sell for a realistic amount of money? Or does anyone know where I could get a replacement part without feeling stupid about what I've spent?

How bad is the crack?
I wouldn't replace it unless it is really bad.
Maybe a little Superglue can go a long ways but I know a crack would be tougher to fix than a clean break.
Can you post a small close up of the panel?

When I bought my machine in March of this year I asked Chris how much side panels cost because I was considering different colors. At that time the side panels cost about $85 each. If you have not contacted Chris I suggest that you check with him:

http://www.chriscoffee.com/

Take care,
Mark

Camera is at my office

And all this time, I thought the plastic was used to reduce cost.

$135 for one panel? Sheesh....

Here's a pic of the crack. Wouldn't you know... it has to be right in the front. They say necessity is the mother of invention, when I first got my machine I thought about making a pair of sides out of rosewood or some other exotic. Seeing this crack each time I make an espresso just might be the push I need to get it done. The machine would sure look sexy with rosewood sides now wouldn't it?

This looks like the type of thing that might happen if the thumbscrew on the top, front was racked down hard for a long time with the corner of the front panel adjacent to the double black line not properly fitted into the groove in the side panel. (That is where the double black line meets the side panel.)

And those rosewood panels sound like a great idea!

dAmN.

That is one big crack....
and I meant the one on the S1's side panel.

The break looks clean enough to give 'ol Super Glue the college try, it's already broken so you have nothing to lose.

Speaking of cracks you should see my house after an 80ft poplar tree came down on it right at sunset today. At least we're all OK and the LaSpaz and the roaster survived, too. The back deck took the brunt. It WAS about 6 feet off the ground. The outdoor cat was on the deck waiting for dinner. I suspect she's now in the next county and won't be seen for days!

Can't say I'm looking forward to Christmas Eve with a Chain Saw.

I was about to pull an espresso shot but now I've switched to a different kind of shots! Merry Christmas from Mother Nature!

chas wrote: I was about to pull an espresso shot but now I've switched to a different kind of shots! Merry Christmas from Mother Nature!

Those are the kind of shots I'll be drinkin' all night...into tomorrow! (Psst, I'm talkin' about booze)
Yeah!
Merry Christmas everyone



Last year a walnut tree missed our car by 4 inches.
I was disappointed it didn't get hit because the tree belonged to the city...

chas wrote:This looks like the type of thing that might happen if the thumbscrew on the top, front was racked down hard for a long time with the corner of the front panel adjacent to the double black line not properly fitted into the groove in the side panel. (That is where the double black line meets the side panel.)

And those rosewood panels sound like a great idea!

That is very astute of you Chas. When the heating element went on my machine about 6mo ago... reference stuck in economy mode post by me.
I got a new one from Chris at no cost because I was still under warranty.
I had the darndest time getting the end panels back in place after I installed it, & probably tweeked this one. Sorry to hear about your house.

Thanks. It sure is a mess!

HOLY SH....!!

Ouch, but here's the silver lining. What if the tree hit your propane tank??
That might have been very ugly.

:D And think of all the handles you can make with all that wood!!



OK, I'll leave now...

In that photo it's hard to see between dusk and all the limbs, but I have a Weber gas grill on the right side of the deck which also came through unscathed. I need to use it to cook salmon tonight! As soon as the tree guy shows up with his chains saws and chipper I should be able to move it to the other side of the deck that is undamaged and off the right side of the photo and carry on.

At least I won't have to shovel snow off that deck this winter!

Amen about missing the 100 gallon propane tank especially since I just had that puppy refilled last 3 days ago.

It's good luck already, hopefully you'll do better next year :)

It would have been luckier still if it hadn't happened at all, but it's good that you can find some help to grind the tree up and haul it away during the holidays.

Ideally, homeowner's insurance will take the hit, won't it? And I hope the deck had been up long enough to need some work.

This time you could design in an outdoor espresso bar for those nice-weather days.