lachris
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I've been trying to decide on the Alex Duetto vs other double boiler. ANy feedback on this one or others I should be considering? Grinder to match???
lachris
lachris
Alex Duetto
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Mark at Whole Latte Love
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There are many good dual boiler machines. If you read some of the other forums such as Home Barista or Coffeegeek there is lots of discussions on the different options. They are all very good machines and are great for making an excellent espresso consistently. We sell a couple here and they are the Dalla Corte and the Brewtus 3. Both good machines. One thing you will notice on all the forums is people trying to say why the machine they sell or the machine they have is better then the others. There are some points that may be valid and some or most unfortunately are BS. Read about the machines, email the people that own the machines you are considering or visit the owner forums of those that use them and ask what you think is relevant and see where that takes you. No matter what machine you get the grinder is actually as important if not more important in getting the best espresso, as is the machine.
CCafe
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Mark at Whole Latte Love said:
Amen
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lachris
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Well after more research and some phone calls I decided on the Vivaldi. There is just too much support and history behind it and if you look at the inside - the Duetto is just crammed full of stuff, while the Vivaldi seems to have a more open case with room to work on should you have to. It's that water tank on the Duetto that takes up a bunch of the space. Also, placement of the electronics near heat sources I believe will be a factor.
Just my thoughts on the two.
Just my thoughts on the two.
JohnB
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lachris said:
As the owner of an S1V2 I definitely think you made a good choice. Check out the S1 Cafe if you haven't been there already. http://s1cafe.com/
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lachris
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I had an issue with the S1 right out of the box. The boiler relief valve (I guess) seems to be stuck or something. Once the boiler comes up to temp - I get this slowly building hissing - so much so that I feel like it is going to blow, so I push the boiler button and turn off the heat to it and it falls off to nothing. When looking at it, it seems to be coming form the big brass valve sticking out of the top of the boiler - the one with the little thingy sticking out of the valve. If I push down on the thingy - it will stop hissing - when I let go, it starts hissing even louder....
The problem has been forwarded and is being looked into. frustrating...
The problem has been forwarded and is being looked into. frustrating...
JohnB
New member
If the pressure drops off immediately it sounds as though the boiler may be heating but not filling. If I turn off my boiler the pressure stays up until the water/steam cools down. Post your problem here & you may get a quick answer: http://s1cafe.com/viewforum.php?f=29
Alun_evans
New member
You could also look at the Astoria +4. This machine has a boiler for hot water, then mini boilers for each group. This means you can of course set the temperature for each group. Actually the temperarture can be set for the mini boiler AND the group. I admittedly am a CMA dealer, so have a browse around and compare apples to apples. Here is teh +4U website
http://www.plus4youtherevolution.com/
http://www.plus4youtherevolution.com/
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lachris
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Alun_evans
I already pulled the trigger on the Vivaldi S1. I looked at the +4. It looks like a real commerical unit instead of something that would set on my wifes counter...IMO. Very Nice!
Company sending out new valve to replace bad one today. We'll see what happens. Anyone know the size of the deep well socket I willl need to pull the bad valve off and put the new one back in? It really is a shame that you have to do this on a new machine - I guess these things happen....
I already pulled the trigger on the Vivaldi S1. I looked at the +4. It looks like a real commerical unit instead of something that would set on my wifes counter...IMO. Very Nice!
Company sending out new valve to replace bad one today. We'll see what happens. Anyone know the size of the deep well socket I willl need to pull the bad valve off and put the new one back in? It really is a shame that you have to do this on a new machine - I guess these things happen....
JohnB
New member
lachris said:
Try asking on the Vivaldi forum, someone may have a machine opened up. If you remove the rear cover you can remove the valve with a crescent wrench. It will be interesting to see if that solves your problem. Did the boiler ever get up to the 1.3b cut off point?
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lachris
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It was the pressure relief valve. It was not a 22mm socket - 18mm if I recall now. All is working fine. Funny, the new valve looks nothing like the old one except it fits in the space. Pressure looks right and tight. All is well!
Replacement part came from Chris' Coffee in pretty good time - I followed up with them about the valve looking different - they said it's right.
Thanks Dave Blane
Thanks Chris' Coffee Service
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