ACS Vesuvius Evo Leva

Adrianmsmith

Cuprajake horrible colour though, that is 🤭😜

LMSC

Adrianmsmith beautiful colour, IMO 😁

dfk41

I am not sure what the stats say about a lever accident. I have owned levers since early 2013 and pulled thousands of shots. It did happen to me once when I pulled the lever down, realised I had not engaged the pf and stupidly put no pressure against the lever before I lifted it back up. Yes, it made a hell of a noise and I would not like to have been in the way! But, the way I get around this is to take hold of the lever handle whilst standing close to the machine, then take a step backwards taking me away from the machine. I do not need to do this now of course but if you are unsure, try this until you are comfortable at guessing the distance

Norvin

I have only ever had a near miss with the lever, I was careless and operated the lever with a wet hand, it slipped. I now stand to one side out of the way when operating the lever, still with one hand. It has risen rapidly on a few occasions when I have lifted the lever with an empty pf but no harm done. My wife uses the machine twice daily, she uses two hands and has never had a problem. It isn’t a problem once you realise the danger and take appropriate actions.

dfk41

Norvin I now stand to one side out of the way when operating the lever

Good point! I use my left arm and so stand over to the right. I do not think the lever could actually hit me. So many of the functions I use to make coffee are done on autopilot

rxmnt

LMSC Thank you, all of those reports of happy customers make me more confident in this purchase.

My current setup is a Lelit Mara X, paired with a Niche Zero and Eureka Mignon Specialita:

I haven’t really dabbled into using water as another parameter, as of now, I just use water filtered through one of those table water filters.

I thought about going for a “middle class” machine and buying a better grinder along with it, but for now, I hope that my Niche is good enough for the Evo.

LMSC

rxmnt I just use water filtered through one of those table water filters.

Not sure what it is. Most of us feed mineralised RO or RODI. Some manage with mineralised zero water. :-)

PS:

Nice set up. What is it you find the current set up lacking?

DavecUK

LMSC Nice set up. What is it you find the current set up lacking?

I assume that Gillette feeling?

rxmnt

LMSC Oof, that’s a good question. I think there’s no specific issue I could pinpoint, it’s more a mix of frustration from not being able to produce tasty coffee from certain beans, paired with the curiousity of what kind of improvements a high-end machine could bring.

I originally wanted to go for a Decent, because I like the thought of being able to control and observe all of the important parameters, something I could not do with my Mara X (at least not in any useful way). I wanted to be able to change small details, analyze the extraction, and be able to master even the lighest of light roasts perfectly.

Then I took a step back and realized that for probably 95% of the time, I don’t really want to experiment and analyze, I just want good coffee. I also went to a lot of great coffee places and realized that I just don’t like light roasts that much. I then read a few posts by people saying that they owned a Decent, but were never really able to truly reproduce a lever machine style shot on it, especially with darker roasts (something about the “thickness” or body, I can’t remember).

So I took the budget I had saved up for a Decent and looked for a lever machine, and that’s how I arrived at this machine 😀.

Edit: Regarding water, I’m using one of those water filter jugs where you can insert filter “cartridges”, like this:

Adrianmsmith

rxmnt
I went for a fit it and virtually forget it solution.

I fitted a regulator as my system was initially for synchronika and wanted 2.5 bars at the regulator. Have left it set the same, now it feeds the duo and the Vesuvius. Not necessary but that’s still a lot of pressure to an open ended tube.

Regulator feeds isolator valve then everpure claris filter head and brita flow meter (brita meter half price compared to the everpure meter on eB and all have ⅜ fittings)

I use everpure claris ultra cartridge which seems perfect. Now on the 3rd cartridge without issue

Took half a day to plumb in as washing machine is in the room behind. But used water feed and drain from washer for coffee machines.
Fitted inspection hatch in bottom of kitchen cupboard in case I need to quickly isolate.
All system is on the floor under the cabinet.

With the everpure head you have a choice of bypass setting depending on your initial hardness. There’s then a table recommending capacity of the cartridge.

Now my solution is quick and easy and I love it.
I’m not saying it is technically as good as the RO + additives methods suggested above but I do not have time to think about that .

Emptying the drip tray is a chore I don’t want and will say plumbing that in is a must as well as the feed to the machine so water chemistry wasn’t going to be a thing!!

I only have a TDS meter so no real quality checks. Just TDS and every few weeks I pull a glass of water and put it in the fridge to taste later.

I rarely use the kettle now as the Evo is usually on so all hot water and tea also comes from it and ensures plenty of water flow through the steam boiler.

I’d guess any filter system aimed at coffee is just as good, I just stuck with what the ECM supplier recommended. No doubt you Bella fans would end up with a bwt!!

Pipe work to both machines

LMSC

rxmnt it’s more a mix of frustration from not being able to produce tasty coffee from certain beans, paired with the curiousity of what kind of improvements a high-end machine could bring.

Curiosity is an itch, which must be scratched 😁

You are always going to get some beans creating issues, irrespective of the machine. The Evo may address your taste aspect, which is relative. A lot of variables are at play in making coffee. You have a good machine and a good grinder.

The water is one crucial variable and it has been covered in detail. It might be a contributing factor in those coffee beans. Perhaps, it was something to do with a puck preparation or the beans weren’t good. May be, they don’t suit your taste. The coffee machine isn’t responsible for these issues, IMO.

To give an example, I recently bought an Ethiopian. It made great coffee on some machines. It was decent for me as a filter and I just didn’t like it as an espresso, despite my best efforts. 🤷😊

The Evo or the Vostok are great machines; and, they will serve you well for a long time, if you do what it takes to maintain it, which isn’t really much.

What ever you buy, please take your time, think it is the right machine for you and decide. GL! 😊

DavecUK

That’s not a fantastic solution for water, because depending on how hard your water is, the filter will deplete faster and mostly they give a max filtration number which is rarely achieved.

The Zero water and ad a touch of bicarb might be a better option, or RO water with Bicarb added. The undercounter systems can be quite cheap and the countertop systems very versatile and convenient, with 2 not requiring a drain tube into the sink and they also do hot water so you can save space by removing the kettle.

Loonster

I wonder if they shipped any of the units with the safety system.

DavecUK

Loonster I wonder if they shipped any of the units with the safety system.

Mine should be the first, as it’s already fitted, just waiting for it to arrive….shouldn’t be long now. Then I can pave the way for new users with an updated user guide and overview of the machine.

rxmnt

Oh man, I just found out that the prices listed in the offer were without VAT. That’s really unfortunate, I’m not sure if I want to drop another ~1000€ in taxes on this machine, even though I’m sure it’s worth the price.

Am I the only one who was surprised by this?

LMSC

rxmnt It is always without VAT and taxes! :-)

DavecUK

rxmnt Am I the only one who was surprised by this?

Because they deliver worldwide, the VAT rate would vary depending on where it’s going.. They a firstly a manufacturer and not great at marketing/sales. Perhaps it needs to be clearer on the website and Maria, their sales manager needs to emphasise it more when giving prices.

Trust me though…the machine is so worth it….endgame, you won’t want to upgrade again!

chlorox

rxmnt

There isn’t a real danger at all if one has the usual common sense. I owned an izzo lever for more than a decade without ever having any danger from the lever handle suddenly shooting up. U will not regret buying any good lever over a pump machine!

Cuprajake

chlorox this we can agree on. id go even further to narrow it down to that specific lsm 54mm group

MacPhisto

I ordered the safety lever because I make mistakes. I’ve bounced too many portafilters off the floor to think I’m infallible. And, by definition, I’m using the machine before I’ve had my morning caffeine fix. Sometimes guests who are lever novices will use the machine when I’m not around.

If I have the ability to reduce risk without an exorbitant fee or downside in use, I’ll take it.

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