Rocket Mozzafiato Pump Pressure Low

[Alex8888]

Hi,

I have a new Rocket mozzafiato type v5 and Rocket faustino grinder. Since I bought the machine couple of months ago I have tried everything i could think of to get the pump pressure up to 9 bars or the "green zone". The espresso is watery and weak and as you can see in the video I have uploaded the coffee runs through fast and the pump pressure in the first video is 4 bars the most and in the second video it reaches 8-9 bars after too many seconds. I have the same rocket machine at work and there the coffee is much much better and the pressure reaches 9 bars only a second after I lift the brew lever. I do everything the same when making coffee at work and at home so I'm thinking something could be wrong with my rocket.

I have uploaded these videos:
1: http://www.vimeo.com/996880632?share=copy
2: http://www.vimeo.com/996877899?share=copy

I have tried adjusting the grinder settings to finer grounds, put less and more grounds in the portafilter, put less and more tamp pressure, filling the portafilter as much as possible and pressing firmly so I could almost not insert the portafilter into the group head. That is when I get the best espresso and the best pump pressure, but the amount of grounds and tamp pressure is abnormal.
I've tried to find a solution on google without luck. I've tried all kinds of coffee beans, incl. beans roasted just a week before. I've tried using different portafilters. As you can see in video 2, the pump pressure reaches 8-9 bars with this double portafilter but in video 1 I use the bottomless portafilter and the pump pressure reaches 4 bars. So that seems to matter. Then I have tried using the backflush cap to see if the machine is able to provide a pump pressure of 9 bars, and the machine is able to.

I have never opened the machine itself to try to fix anything on the inside.

Does anyone have a clue what could be wrong or what I could be doing wrong? More things I can try to fix this?

Thank you

 

[RockyCoffee]

I wonder if Alex8888 is still around or still has his Rocket.
I found this thread/post because I have a similar problem and have been searching the net for answers.
I have a Rocket Mozzafiato Chronometro Evoluzione R - (which is the Mozzafiato with a Rotary Pump)
The machine has recently become very noisy in the 'pour' phase with the Pressure Pump Gauge showing low pressure (4 Bar) for most of the 'Pour cycle' and only struggling up to 10 Bar at the end of the pour (Noise disappears when it hits about 8+ Bar.)
Quality of the pour is still OK but sounds to me like something is failing. If I recall, it used to quickly come up to full pressure when pouring.
First thing that occurs to me is that the Rotary Pump is failing but I am not a technical person so what would I know?
I have contacted the supplier who said they were unable to offer any opinion/assistance based upon description and the video that I sent them.
I live in the country so no local Authorised Service Agents or even trained technicians.

 

[froze]

People spend too much money on a fancy espresso maker that requires more attention to detail and maintenance, kind of like buying a Ferrari! Both are great machines but...

Mozzafiato’s weak‑shot complaints aren’t surprising, HX machines can be finicky, and Rocket’s HX tuning runs hot, forcing big cooling flushes.

What the Rocket gives you is:
E61 group
HX boiler
Strong steaming
Beautiful stainless build
Classic prosumer workflow

But what it doesn't give you is:
Stable brew temperature
Consistent extractions
Modern PID control
Easy workflow
This is why people get weak shots, and HX machines run hot, and Rocket tunes theirs extra hot. If you don’t flush correctly, you get under‑extracted espresso.

In that last sentence is a hint, you need to flush it correctly and try a new shot. Either read your manual on how to flush it correctly or go online and try to find a video for that particular model that shows how to flush it correctly.

I am not a fan of fancy technology, cars are having a lot of problems with technology issues today, I try to stay away from that sort of stuff. I have a simple to use Cafelat Robot that did take some experimentation to get the correct shots because it is not automatic, but I did figure it out, and that machine gives me some creative control over my shots. Another machine I almost bought was the 9Barista, this thing will make perfect shots every single time, but it doesn't give you much room to experiment, and it cost more than the Cafelat Robot did. Of course, neither of those will steam and froth milk but I don't like that sort of thing anyway so why buy something that can do that if I'll never use it? Even if I did use milk, I would just buy a cheap milk frothier.

Anyway, the Rocket needs to be flushed BEFORE every single shot! No exceptions, because the heat‑exchanger overheats the brew water while the machine sits idle. If you don’t flush enough, you get weak, under‑extracted espresso. If you flush too much, you get cool water and sour shots. This is exactly why Rocket owners complain about inconsistency.

What I could find on the internet is this:

After the machine idles for 2–3 minutes:​

You must do a cooling flush until the water stops “sputtering” and becomes a smooth stream.

2. Before every shot​

Even if you pulled a shot 90 seconds ago, the HX overheats again. You must flush again.

3. After steaming milk:​

Steaming superheats the HX. You must flush again before pulling another shot.

4. After long idle periods (10+ minutes):​

You need a long flush — sometimes 6–10 seconds — to bring the brew temp back down.

Like I said, you own a Ferrari, so there is more to operating your machine then just plug and play. I don't have the patience for that sort of nonsense which is why I got the Cafelat Robot!