The S1 Cafe - Helping Your Espresso Dreams Become Reality

chas

Is this just the stock size LM that fits their 58mm baskets? Do you have a recommended source? I'm guessing a bunch of us might like to try this mod. Those LaSpaz springs are a real pain in the @$$! If these turn out to be truly wonderful I may have to chew on Chris' ear to see if LaSpaz will make a...

chas

Are the S1 PFs a standard size such that you can just order the handle from Les - assuming one can get the plastic handle off? Or do yo have to send the handle to Les anyway?

chas

Did you buy the whole thing as an assembly or just the handle and put that on your existing S1 PF? If the latter how did you get the existing handle off?

chas

This topic actually brings up a related one I've been pondering lately. The conventional wisdom of the perfect coffee shot depends on grind, tamp, 8.2-9.5bar group pressure and the 25 secondish shot. This has all been developed for the most part by users of the 58mm portafilter. However, we are usin...

chas

Anyway, while I was having such fun, I also installed a temporary pump pressure gauge (below). Hours of twiddling with pressure ensued shortly thereafter. I settled on 9.5 bar as my preferred setting for good crema production and channel-free shots, which is slightly higher than Schomer's recommend...

chas

Lou: Your 2nd photo down from the top shows an extreme close up of the steam boiler. You can clearly see the two fat brown wires connecting to a cylindrical blue safety device with an orange button on top. On my S1 there is an identical one of these devices screwed into the group boiler and the two ...

chas

Hi All, I am now the proud owner of an S1 I found on ebay last week at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4355213884 I was the first bidder and took the Buy Now price of $359. As he seller was close by, I asked if I could pick it up and have him deduct the shipping, and he agreed...

chas

Can you break out your digital camera and post a couple of shots of this arrangement? If I understand correctly that one would need both the original S1 diffuser AND the pod adapter with the smaller screen to attempt duplication of your experiment, you'll be lucky to find someone else. It lets me ou...

chas

NEC: Is there a problem with the URL you are using to point to your photo/avatar? All I am seeing is the dreaded box with the red "X" in it.

chas

I think most of us that have a PF pressure guage have noted this. Theories abound. We'd like to think it is a side effect of air getting caught in the PF and affecting the reading. At least we want to believe that it's not a problem with the machine. Try filling the PF with hot water before locking ...

chas

I also heard from one of the original S1 purchasers that hasn't posted here in many moons, that he just ground down the bolt head on the stock part until it was about half the thickness. He was very pleased with the result.

chas

I've heard of people with other new machines having trouble with metal shavings, too. At least you only had to ship from New Jersey. It seems like it's always something with this Italian equipment when first purchased. In my case, boith my S1 AND my Mazzer Mini-E worked backwards. The S1 was fixed w...

chas

Michelle:

Before you know what hit you you'll find roasting addictive, too. I started out small and the next thing I knew, I had a Hottop and a 4lb barbeque grill drum!

chas

How are you liking it after week one?

chas

That's the way I did it, too. When I sent my instructions to Chris-tech for review, his only comment was that the nuts on the top of the pump should be tightened more than hand tight as I had indicated that I had done. So I changed the instructions to reflect that even though I didn't and couldn't f...

chas

Chris made it sound like late winter/early spring. There will be a replacement tray and a fair amount of cutting on the bottom of the chassis to retrofit. I'm not expecting a free upgrade this time around. As a matter of fact I probably won't do it - at least not right away. I really don't have my S...

chas

My usage is up, too. When I moved here 7 years ago and went house hunting, one of my must-haves was a hot tub. I actually found a house with an indoor hot tub room. As I discovered when living previously in Phoenix for many years in a house with a pool, usage dwindles over time. After not using the ...

chas

I haven't followed the advice Chris passed along from LaSpaziale on using that long handled brush to clean the group head. I did, however, borrow the idea of rotating the shower screens each time so I can get back in business while the dirty set soaks in Cafiza. From this thread you have probably al...

chas

Szir, any resolution yet? I assume by now you either figured it out over the phone or you're boxing it up to ship back... The good thing about the fact that Chris phone service is so excellent is that, if you are the least bit mechanically inclined, most things can be figured out and repaired withou...

chas

Year 2 portends to be the really interesting one. No more warranty - flying without a net!

chas

The S1 arrived on my doorstep one year ago today. It's been an interesting ride and one that has been very enjoyable. Had this unit been purchased from anyone other than Chris Nachtrieb, however, I may not feel that way. In the past year I have: - Replaced the circuit board because of a design flaw ...

chas

And I never wait until its cool enough so I burn the backs of my hands, too!

chas

Definitely let us all know what the final resolution is. It'll probably happen to others of us sooner or later. There's a pressure release valve on top of the steam boiler. This is supposed to be the only place that "leaks" if the pressure gets to high. The group boiler uses the expansion ...

chas

I turned my S1 off while I was out of town over the holidays. When I turned it back on there was a noise that hadn't been there before. It was a definite steam pressue escaping kind of a noise coming from the top area of the steam boiler. I finally got around to pulling the covers so I could check i...

chas

Are you talking about that big brass drain plug that sticks down through the bottom of the chassis? If that's what it is and you haven't tried to tighten it, give that a go. Otherwise, I'd recommend a call to Chris Coffee first thing in the morning. You'll probably need to talk to Chris ( the tech, ...

chas

Chris told me recently that he buys them all as 20A models. When somebody orders a 15A model, his techs change the plug and flip the internal mode switch.

chas

Check your breaker box. Even though my house is 25 years old and all the outlets in the kitchen had std outlets, all the circuits are actually 20A so I just changed the outlet to 20A on one of these. It's even a worst case scenario in my case since the only other outlet on the same circuit is the on...

chas

First I've heard of a price increase. Any idea how much and how soon? Chris told me recently that LaSpaz is designing a new version of the S1 that will have a plumbable drip pan. It will supposedly be possible to retrofit existing S1s though it sounds like it will require sawing out a piece of the b...

chas

If you don't get any takers you can always buy the S1 pod adapter kit from Chris:

http://www.chriscoffee.com/products/home/parts/s1podkit

This kit appears to include the old diffuser disk.

chas

Not 100% sure what you're looking for. At first I thought you were looking for something like Rancilio and a couple of other vendors make for their espresso machine that the machines sit on. They usually match in size and finish to the espresso machine and have a couple of drawers that pull out in t...

chas

Interesting. I've e-mailed the question to Chris for clarification. I'll post his reply when received. I sure thought the softener cartridges were a replacement item rather than rechargeable. I've looked in various places for lower cost sources for these cartridges. Neither on Chris' site nor any of...

chas

Sounds like a call to Chris Coffee Tech Support is in order.

chas

It's a replacement cartridge. You can't recharge it. I did a web search and found a much better price on the softener cartridges and the carbon filter cartridges than Chris' prices. I think I got 3 carbon cartriges with a smaller filter particle rating than the ones Chris sells for the price of one ...

chas

You're right. If the Boiler lamp is Off the boiler is powered down. This should only happen in either 15A or 20A mode via a momentary press of the Boiler button. If the power is cycled Off, then back on the S1 is supposed to go back to Boiler active mode.

Your analysis is probably correct.

chas

1. Isn't the 15A unit always in Economy mode regardless of the LED? Yes, but since Economy mode is always on the LED should always be On. 2. Has anyone ever had there machine produce steam when the boiler LED is off? The boiler isn't always off in Economy mode.. The LED off just means the element is...

chas

Got my Thor last night. Still not enough shots to give an opinion. However, I compared it to my EPNW all stainless and my Reg Barber stainless with Rosewood handle. The EPNW is 575g, the Thor is 342g, and the Reg is 325g. To my surprise, the micrometer measured all three to be exactly 53mm. I was ex...

chas

I think so. One came with mine. It only fits in the single basket. You should call Chris and get them to mail you one or tell you where they packed it in case you overlooked it. It's pretty small.

chas

Old but still interesting and relavant interview with Chris:

http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany/st ... tml?page=1

chas

That's the way it is. I even tried pulling the catch wire out of the groove and bending it so that it doesn't stick out as far. It only helped a little. If you take it out completey, then the PF isn't held in place at all. Now that I've gone crotchless, it's pretty easy since you can press your thum...

chas

Chas, Do you have a Thor? Bob I ordered one last night on your recommendation. Of the ones pictured above, the bottom tamper for the S1 is internally weighted to approximate the feel of stainless steel and convex (and it's about $94 with shipping!) I don't think the Chris version is either weighted...

chas

The photos of the Chris Exclusive S1 tamper on the Thor site are much better than the ones on Chris' site: http://www.thortamper.com/images/Christamper.JPG Thor also has a couple others for the S1 that look neat: http://www.thortamper.com/sitebuilder/images/KCtripleplay-195x324.jpg http://www.thorta...

chas

I think the optimum thing to do is clean the machine as you are doing BEFORE you backflush, then backflush a couple of times with water and no detergent. That way you pretty much ensure that you are not pushing additional gunk up and out the three way. And if there is any loose material that has got...

chas

After cutting the bottom out of my portafilter, I discovered I couldn't reliably get a good tamp that would eliminate channeling especially down the sides of the PF with any of my tampers except the POS plastic tamper that came with the S1. At least I think it's the one that came with the S1, it cou...

chas

Welcom to the "club" Barry. If you haven't already done so, click the "Go to S1 Web Site" link above. On the home page is a link to my own S1 User's Manual. You might enjoy a read while waiting for your new machine. I sent an electronic copy to Chris when I made it. He seemed exc...

chas

I see that Chris has those all wooden Thor tampers now in 53mm. That would make a nice stocking stuffer. http://www.chriscoffee.com/products/home/espressoaccs/thor58mmmyrtletamper He also has a neat looking all purpose espresso machine tool which would look great right next to that tamper. http://ww...

chas

I never heard back from Reg on how to fulfill my tamper mod request. In the mean time I went with the naked portafilter which has me tamping with the POS plastic tamper than came with the machine.

chas

I'll be interested in comparing notes after you've got a few days or weeks under your belt. As you see from the photo I posted above, before the chop job, I previously used the PF without a spout. From posts on ac this gets you part the way to the crotchless improvement anyway. The raves about incre...

chas

Amen. When I first fired up my S1 after the upgrade I thought I must have knocked a wire off the motor. Then I noticed that shot was coming out just fine.

chas

Sorry. Make that "NOTE THAT THE CYLINDRICAL PART OF NUT (A) GOES THROUGH THE MOUNTING HOLE ON THE MOTOR BASE."

chas

I assume you're talking about the photo on my S1 website with the photo of the new motor mount next to the older motor mount. If so, the answer is "No". this photo is correct. The round part goes down from the top through the motor mount hole. Then you grab the square part with the wrench ...

chas

It's hard for me to be authoritative since I already had the duramat in when I did the mount upgrade. But even with the duramat installed the difference with the new mounts was extreme. So my guess is that you will NOT need the duramat after you install the new mounts.

chas

From Alt.Coffee: Carl Staub of Agtron and others have found that the standard tamp only compresses a layer of coffee in the top of the basket. What Staub is apparently now recommending is a four-quadrant tamp with a tamper about 1/4" smaller than the basket. In other words the drill goes like t...

chas

I'm still waiting for the 53.5mm. In the meantime I am happily using the POS tamper that came with the machine - which is 49 or 50mm - to do a four quadrant tamp followed my a polishing tamp with the 53mm. So far the crotchless PF tells me this is the best solution. We'll see of the 53.5mm changes t...

chas

No, the thinner disk is the factory configuration now, at least I think it is. I meant the factory configuration for the two shower screens with the smaller one under the larger one rather than the smaller one upside down on top of the larger one.

chas

I was going to post this over where I mentioned going "crotchless" but it also seems like a good fit here. I've seen a thread on ac from those who have gone crotchless before. With a normal unchopped PF you can believe you have no channeling based on checking the condition of the puck afte...

chas

After playing around with the 54mm for a while, it is too snug. I'm having Reg ship me a 53.5mm base. I think that will be perfect. We'll see.

chas

The cleaning did the trick. It was filthy. I'd really let 'er go this week and the crotchless PF told the tale. After the cleaning, the pour was at thing of beauty - and I used the 53mm tamper. Photos of a pour to come. For now here's a photo of the chop job. The process was painless enough with a d...

chas

Me, the new drill press, and the portafilter came through the surgery just fine. As I feared, my tamping needs attention. The first 10 seconds of the crotchless shot looked really good, then it when real blond and a high pressure jet started squirting out the front of the PF onto the counter. It wou...

chas

I'm ready to do the deed. I found a great sale at Sears on a low-end drill press. I've also scoped out that 1 7/8" hole should be about right for the S1 PF. 58MM Pf owners seem to be using 2-2.25" holes. I'll take some before and after photos and maybe even videos and post my results. Wors...

chas

OK, it's documented here. If you use IE you'll even hear a recording of what my S1 sounds like after installation of the new motor mounts. http://www.s1cafe.com/s1v1/S1MotorMounts.php Late breaking update from Chris. Unless your serial number is lower than 252263 you don't need to do this since you ...

chas

Wow! I finally called and talked to Chris' tech Chris Kramer and found out the proper way to install the new S1 motor mounts today. It took a little trial and error to figure out how to get the new mounts installed given the tight spaces involved and my aging, fat fingers. After I got it all back to...

chas

In various threads on this forum, owners of the new, quieter S1s have compared their machines to the photos of mine on the S1 Web Site and we have also verbally compared notes. We could find no differences. I was about to ask new users to check out how their motors were mounted as this seemed to be ...

chas

My best guess is 53.5mm. Time to ask Reg if it would be better to just have him ship me a 53.5mm convex stainless part and use my current handle or to have him shave down my 54mm. I'm guessing the former due to round trip shipping costs from Maryland to Vancouver on top of the $15 shaving cost. (At ...

chas

It's convex. While it works ok, it's not perfect. I'll probably send it back and have Reg shave it down for me to either 53.7mm or 53.5mm.

chas

I got my 54mm Reg Barber a few days ago. The jury is still out as to whether there is a noticeable taste difference. However, with the 53mm I always had a ridge of coffee around the edge of the PF where it didn't get tightly packed right up against the sides of the PF due to the space between the ed...

chas

I don't think the diffuser disk makes any difference in channeling by itself. The thinner disk was introduced to address the user complaint that the entire diffuser disk/ shower screen assembly stuck down into the portafilter so far that many couldn't get in as much coffee as they'd like. Of course ...

chas

I agree. It's like using a shotgun to kill a mosquito. I have a group brush from my old Isomac Tea days. The bristle part is 270 degrees of a circle with a perpendicular angled handle made to go up inside the group/gaslet area and scrub it. It worked great. Too bad there doesn't seem to be a 53mm ve...

chas

Chris tells me he got the low down on that wire brush from LaSpaziale along with why the dual shower screens and why it comes with two sets of screens. They don't recommend backflushing with detergent. Here's their recommended algorithm which was designed with light commericial use in mind. * With u...

chas

I just had a lengthy chat with Chris who is just back from a trip to Italy. He says the only thing LaSpaziale did to quiet the new S1s was to replace the fairly hard rubber spacers between the bottom of the pump motor and the chassis with soft rubber spacers. He's going to ship me a set next week so...

chas

I've done most of my limited experimentation at 95+-2C. I keep coming back to 95C as the one that suits my taste buds best. However, some coffees do need a change, usually downward. It seems like some coffees have a sharp temp "spike" where you really have to nail the optimum temperature f...

chas

Whoops, I screwed up. Should have given you this link to the stainless steel base rather than the one to the aluminum base:

http://www.espressoparts.com/index.php/ ... 1000/3053S

chas

http://alistair.coffeed.com/

http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/espres ... 9300#69300

And then search alt.coffee and Coffee Geek for crotchless.

chas

Chris Coffee has this one with flat bottom only for $35. Espresso Parts in Seattle has both the flat and convex versions of the same tamper for $32. http://www.espressoparts.com/index.php/detail/10/143/1000/3006SS You can also get just the bottom disk part from them. So you can buy a convex tamper v...

chas

I have one of each. They are very different. I think the convex seals the edges with less pressure and allows more coffee to fill the basket by making the center lower than the side, thus allowing room for the shower screen bolt head. I like the heft and feel of the flat tamper though. I switch bac...

chas

I'd bet good money it was cleaning the gasket that fixed it since the screens completely captured inside the gasket

chas

Have you tried the alternate screen config below as shown on the S1 site. It cured channeling for me,

chas

Here are some temp measurements I took to see impact of using a towel over the cups on the warming tray.

chas

Yes, it does seem to vary a lot by brand, blend, roast, and age. Even with the coffee tamped to the same spot on the side of the PF basket every time, I am amazed at the range of particle sizes that still result in a 25 sec pour with the same tamp pressure. One would think that larger particle sizes...

chas

Mine may still drip like yours when first turned on. It's been on non-stop except for maybe twice during the summer while I was out of town and I haven't paid much attention to warming up drippage on those two occasions. But the constant dripping of about 12oz per day has definitely ceased.

chas

Has anyone removed and replaced their group gasket yet in a non-destructive fashion.? I used to pull the one out of Silvia and clean it fairly regularly. Then I graduated to a Tea and scratched my head for a while trying to figure out how to remove its gasket. (Silvia's was a cinch.) Then I googled ...

chas

It's sitting in a drawer waiting for the one I use to clean my barbecue grill to wear out :lol: There was no explanation that came with the S1 of what this was to be used for and it seems frightfullly large to use for anything. I have a very small wire brush which I can't even remember buying years ...

chas

I think I noted this in the quieting thread several weeks back. After beating my head against the wall in tryiing to get the dripping expansion valve to stop by multiple disassemblies, adjustments, cleanings, and finally replacement with no luck, I had resigned myself to it just being a design issue...

chas

The only photo I've ever seen where the middle rear section is black is on the Chris Coffee website. This photo was probably taken by LaSpaziale of an early mockup. There is one other key difference in the Chris Coffee website photo and the actual units. Of all the times I have looked at the photos,...

chas

I've varied the temp a few degrees up and down from 95C and keep ending up back at 95C.

Occasionally I'll find a coffee that tastest a little better at 93 or 94. I can't say I've found one whose taste improved above 95C.

chas

well if nothing else, I'm pretty proficient at removing and installing the skins. dropped an email with Chris' Coffee for help. observations for the quieting thread: there are two full strips of squishy rubber under each side of the tray warmer. the side panels have a nylon barbed insert thing in t...

chas

After pulling a shot I end up with water standing on top of the puck. Any ideas why? The shots are good as far as body, creama, etc., and when knocked out the puck comes out in one piece. 1) Add a little more coffee so there's no room for water on top of the puck. 2) So long as the coffee tastes fi...

chas

INteresting. I still haven't gotten around to asking Chris if he's noticed anything. IN part I guess it depends on what LaSpaz thought was rattling. How about the grate over the drip tray? Doesn't yours fit in snuggly or does it have some play?

chas

John's recommendations are good. I probably backflush with Cafiza a little more often that he does and backflush with plain water less often. YMMV. One thing you should make part of the plain water regimen is to do a few standard backflushes and a few where you slowly loosen and tighten the PF (the ...

chas

Dan had me review his write-up but it sounds like he added that afterwards. I don't remember that piece of advice. Did he say what this was doing for the owner? What Chris recommended - and I do - is place a clean dish towel folded in half over the cups on the warming tray. This holds in the heat an...

chas

Hum. They sound identical. Time to see if Chris has figured out what, if anything, they did. Found anything else different relative to what I hae documented on my S1 Site?

chas

Is the back panel on your S1 three sections that are rivited together?

How about the side panels? Do they just attach with three screws; i.e. nothing really holding on the lower rear corner?

chas

Are you just talking about the thin, sticky-backed rubber strips shown on each top rail between the letters D and E?

chas

I called and asked for 53mm double baskets. They asked me what machine I had and I told them an S1. They said ok two 53mm baskets for an S1. I have no idea what I actually got except it says on the invoice La Spaziale Double Portafilter Basket Item code SP..16 $9.99 ea. Going to their web site I ca...

chas

Guess I'll have to breakdown as well. They'll wonder why the sudden run on 53mm baskets!!!

chas

Dave: This is off-topic for this discussion thread but I assumed you might recheck in here before you saw a post in the more appropriate location. You say you have a brand new S1 from Chris. Recently Chris told me that in this new batch La Spaziale had done something to address our complaints about ...

chas

The machine is quiet now, the expansion valve no longer drips, so I am going to leave "well enough alone" until I have to pop the covers to fix something. However, I did take this photo of the bottom side of my drip tray which also includes photos of each side of some small pieces of the D...

chas

My 'perfect" amount is that which, when tamped, is as much as I can cram in the basket and still be able to easily snug up the PF w/o the coffee wedging up against the shower screen. That's about 1/3 the way between the line inside the basket and the top of the basket. For different coffees thi...

chas

THe PF pressure guage already occupies the threads where he spout goes, so it's already been removed. I suppose one might be able to locate a T adapter that can screw to the bottom of the PF, then screw the pressure guage onto one side of the T and a needle valve on the other side.

chas

What did you order? The SAE.34 double basket for Saeco machines? Also, how about running a test for us with the old and the new baskets? See how long it takes from on to auto-shutoff for a double with just the empty baskets in place so we can see if the new one causes a measureable flow rate change....

chas

barjohn wrote:Two questions: What is a doppio? and Did the convex tamper make any difference?

That would be me before my first two cups in the morning or...

Definition: A drink made with 2 shots espresso, and 1 shot hot water.

The S1 Cafe - Helping Your Espresso Dreams Become Reality

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Re: Group pressure flucuation

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One Year Down the Road

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Chris Nachtrieb Info

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