From La Pavoni Europiccola to Profitec Pro 400 E61 HX Espresso Machine
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- čas přidán 29. 07. 2023
- My new home espresso machine to take over from my La Pavoni Europiccola is a Profitec Pro 400, which is a heat exchanger machine that uses an E61 group head. I also draw and describe a Process and Instrumentation diagram of an E61 heat exchanger espresso machine.
- Jak na to + styl
The drawing was enlightening! Thanks for this 😉
Amazing illustration! I finally understand
Yes- I was surprised I couldn't find an example on the internet so I had to draw my own very rough one. Glad someone found it useful!
I love my profitec 400. Looks great , simple and effective with no superfluous settings.
I enjoy mine. Heat up time means I need to plan ahead more than before. I am very glad I added flow control to get closer to my old lever machine taste and to save shots that would otherwise have run too fast.
Thanks for a well put together video and diagram. Would you recommend the flow control as a very beneficial upgrade? Thanks again.
After having a lever machine I couldn't be happy without some flow control. I think the main benefit is that as the puck dissolves during the shot you can reduce pressure to avoid creating a channel which would add bitterness. It also lets you save a shot if you made a mistake and your grind was too coarse or does too low. For $200 it was definitely worth it. A cheaper option is to just install the pressure gauge and just turn the pump on and off a bit. Pressure gauges are very cheap and easy to install.
Thank you.
Thank you! Why did you not opt for a dual boiler machine instead?
A heat exchanger machine seemed more appropriate given I only make 4 to 6 coffees most days. It still has PID temperature control (even though there are only 3 setpoints) and allows for brewing and steaming at the same time. The boiler is larger than many dual boiler steam boilers which promised better steam potential. Because I bought it secondhand, If it doesn't deliver what I need I can always sell it and upgrade.
You mentioned steaming milk on your Pavoni with the one hole tip works well for you. Would you mind recording your workflow? I've set my boiler pressure to 1.1 bar, have the 1 hole tip, use a small pitcher, but still struggle to consistently steam properly. I get it right one every 4 times.
I have 2 different 1-hole tips. The one with the smaller hole (1.2mm compared to 1.5mm) makes very good textured milk but is a bit slow. The large hole one is like you say - sometimes it is good. I also run the boiler at a higher pressure of 1.4 bar - and hence start with a slightly lower group head temperature. Otherwise, I use the "normal" technique, i.e. angle the steam tip so the milk swirls, let it start swirling and then introduce air as slowly as possible until the pitcher is body temp, then submerse the tip until finished. I hold my hand around the pitcher until I can't hold it any longer and then steam for another 18 seconds. I have timed that so it reaches 65'C. Note that when the tip is fully submersed, I still hold it close to the surface but not so close it sucks any more air in. I use the same technique on the Profitec and it is perfect every time - so much easier. Here is the link to the better La Pavoni tip - coffee-sensor.com/product/la-pavoni-stainless-steel-single-hole-steam-wand-tip/
This is a video of me using the larger-hole steam tip - i.e. the not-so-good one czcams.com/video/DOm0dMNtfd0/video.html
my profitec pro 400 drips water from basket and backflush hole, very slow drips but consistent, is this normal?
No, I don't think that is normal and mine doesn't do that. There is certainly some dripping from the back flush outlet while first heating but it stops. There must be a seal that needs replacing. I would guess it is the valve seat seal for the lower valve operated by the lever. Basket leaks would be a leak in the valve seat seal for the upper valve operated by the lever.
@michaelporter000 Thanks for explaining, I got mine just 3 days ago, will take it back to the shop.
That's a really nice machine! But you won't get rid of your pavoni, will you?
No. Ironically I found temperature control better on the La Pavoni until I recently bought a temperature probe for the Profitec and discovered that 30 minutes heat up time is the absolute minimum and I have to use the high heat setting. Now I don't get sour shots on the Profitec but the best shots still don't seem quite as good as the La Pavoni.
@@michaelporter000 you came to a conclusion that a lot of folks came to in my understanding. Nothing beats a manual machine in terms of shot quality. A semi automatic machine like the profitec makes brewing consistently easier at the expense of getting those really good shots. Plus, Heat exchangers come with their own limitations, heat-up times being just one of them. It seems like there ist No perfect machine. I will stick to manual brewing as you have the most control over the relevant parameters.
Congratulations…….I was just to the point to buy a La Pavoni ( Second hand) because of your previous video and how good it was……but with your “frustrations” …..I’m in a doubt now…..
It is still a great machine. You have to weigh up whether you are prepared to add some mods to control the temperature and then accept that the shots are smaller (14g) and milk steaming is slow and making back to back shots is slow. But on the plus side the coffee is unbeatable and the satisfaction is immense.
@@michaelporter000 indeed I saw that a shot has a ratio of 2:1…..not enough to fill 2 cups in 1 shot ( I think)? Even with a 20 grams basket and Fellini move.
No wonder u cant good flavour coz you didn't tamp 😂, i got same machine and it's really good, i can imagine the sour taste of your coffee without tamping it to compact the ground coffee.
I always tamp, but sadly I forgot while filming. Doh!
No tamp?
Yes, that was unintentional. When the camera turns on, my brain turns off!
The video was well made. You are in a unique position to compare the flow control of a lever vs a flow control. I have espresso machine envy
I didn t see you tamp
Yes. Completely forgot with the camera running. So embarassing!
Bruh... You have a 2000USD coffee machine and you still don't know you need to tamp ?
Yup- just a brain fade!