ACS Vesuvius Evo Leva

Norvin

Walked into the kitchen to find that the Evo had dumped the contents of the water tank onto the work surface. It didn’t take me long to find the fault; there was a small fountain of water coming from the center hole in the pressurestat. Some internal membrane had failed.
Replacement ordered from Espresso Solutions, £20 fast delivery, great service, other sellers on the internet were much more expensive.
Remove RH and rear cover, remove counterweight and move the electrics to one side to get some room to swing a spanner.

Whole job took less than an hour.

DavecUK

Norvin Reduce the expansion valve pressure a tad…!

Norvin

DavecUK
Thanks Dave. I’ll adjust it once I finish playing with pre infusion pressure. The valve was set at about 1.2 bar out of the box, presumably because they are mainly used as a steam stat. My old valve was adjusted to about 2 bar.
Here is a picture of the old stat, from the staining it looks like it has been a weep for some time.
BTW I tried to contact you on your email but it kept bouncing back.

Hugonl37

DavecUK
How do I do this? Is it a screw? I can only see the middle screw, doesn’t that adjust preinfusion? What is ‘expansion valve pressure’?

Adrianmsmith

Norvin

To adjust mine I used Dave’s trick. Electricians tape in the bottom of the basket. Forms a 99 percent seal and allows pressure to slowly drop if you put the tape “just right,”

I found my expansion valve was set far too high from the factory. Gave it a clean and some Moly. Think it did the trick. Haven’t had any complaints……. Yet.

Worth swapping to the MK2 just to not have a pressure stat (well, maybe!!)

Inspirado

DavecUK

I am rereading all these old threads - I am also expecting to purchase some v2 parts from ACS (flush lever, rotary pump and safety system). Can this revised pressure sensor be retrofit on a v1 machine (or does it require additional electronics which my machine does not have)?

pinky-and-me

Inspirado The electronic pressure sensor requires the replacement of the main board (and display firmware update). The old one doesn’t have the necessary connector. Also, I was told that the safety system can only be retrofitted in the factory.

DavecUK

Inspirado Can this revised pressure sensor be retrofit on a v1 machine (or does it require additional electronics which my machine does not have)?

I think it might be possible to fit a force transducer, but it could involve either a mother board swap, or you reflashing the firmware. and changing some electrical connections/wiring. In short, it’s probably not worth it, especially as the Swiss made sensor is not particularly cheap.

Inspirado

Thank you both. Understood - figured it was worth the ask.

re the safety system - I have emailed with Maria directly and she indicated that it is end user serviceable. She pointed me to the below video:

https://youtu.be/GMw0ZjTtjVI?feature=shared

Blackbirdman

Since the EVO Leva has a pump for pre infusion that goes to 6 bar I was wondering if it is possible (and wise) to do a Turbo shot?

I was thinking of setting the pre infusion to 6 bar and either lower the lever or activate the flush lever (maybe the best option).

Never had a turbo shot before but since this machine is able to supply lower pressure it made me curious. So the question is: has anyone tried it this way and is it wise or will I wreck something. (Perhaps the pump is not made for this?)

DavecUK

Blackbirdman Should be OK

Adrianmsmith

Blackbirdman

Just be aware the timer stops at 30 seconds.

Paulo added a message to say your a fool, you should have lifted the lever!!

I’ve not tried it but played with the blind filter at various pressures and you should be ok but not sure what the actual advised working limit is. It did sound ok up to around 4 bars but it is all within design limits. If you manage to break it please let us know 🤬😜😁

Blackbirdman

Adrianmsmith hahaha thanks for the heads up! What makes you say up to 4 bar? I was going to try 6 bars…

Adrianmsmith

Blackbirdman

I think you will be good. Was just joking about breaking it 😜🤬

I was using the blind basket not coffee so, no flow which will be a big difference. It will be interesting to hear from you how the pump and pressure sender react to a full shot at this pressure. It sounds interesting to try. What ratios do you use for a turbo shot

I must try this as well.

@DavecUK do you have the spec or part number of the pressure sender being used. Would be interesting to read about it.

rxmnt

So, my Evo just arrived. Just because I’m very cautious right now, is there anything I should do before the first use? Any safety screws to remove or something like that? As of now, I’ve just attached the feet and put water in the tank.

For the start-up, the manual says to turn the machine on, pulling down the lever, and opening the steam valve. Is that something I do instantly? So, turn on, immediately pull down lever and open steam valve? Or do I wait a bit?

Adrianmsmith

rxmnt

Keep the tank topped up during the initial filling.

Close steam valve once boiler is full (when pump stops filling it!!) no water or steam will come out until up to pressure

Lift lever once water comes from group.

Be careful with that if you are new to levers. It’s a strange feeling with no coffee in the portafilter, lifting the lever back.

Definately a 2 hand job until you get the feeling for it.

DavecUK

rxmnt For the start-up, the manual says to turn the machine on, pulling down the lever, and opening the steam valve. Is that something I do instantly? So, turn on, immediately pull down lever and open steam valve? Or do I wait a bit?

It’s to fill the boilers, or ensure they are filled. Pull the lever down, open the steam wand toggle…then turn the machine on.

Once water comes from the group, it means the brew boiler is full, carefully control the lever and raise it to the upright position using both hands to hold it.

Once the pump stops. the service boiler will be full and you can close the steam wand. Unless it’s a Pump time out code, then switch on and off again (I wouldn’t think you will get a time out code though, the pump fills quite fast).

Blackbirdman

Adrianmsmith was thinking to start off with 15g in and 40g out in about 15 seconds. But it will be a first so we will see what happens! Waiting for some new espresso to come in but will make sure to keep you updated.

DavecUK

Adrianmsmith @DavecUK do you have the spec or part number of the pressure sender being used. Would be interesting to read about it.

It’s a Huba (Swiss Made) Model 503.931.00003 You might have trouble finding that variant in the 503 range as it’s p.max = 32 bar. You can glean the infor from this PDF as there are many subtypes. https://www.hubacontrol.com/fileadmin/user_upload/domain1/Produkte/EN/Datenblatt/503_pressure_sensor.pdf

You absolutely must use the correct one and they will be expensive, well over £100

rxmnt

DavecUK

Thanks Dave, I managed to turn it on without it expoding :D.

Is the information from the old user manual regarding the 8°C temperature offset still correct? So, if I wanted to brew with 93°C, I’d set the brew boiler to 101°C, and the group heaters to 93°C? I was a bit surprised when I saw that, I mean, surely the water doesn’t lose 8°C on the way from the boiler to the group?

Also, another question regarding accessories. I’ve ordered two IMS baskets from the B66 line, the 26 and the 32. I’ve read in older replies that many people use the Force or Bravo tampers with those baskets. Is that still the current recommendations, or are there other (maybe cheaper?) self-leveling tampers out there?

Adrianmsmith

DavecUK

Thanks Dave. This was just to have a look and out of interest. I sure hope I don’t need to be sourcing one In The near future. 😁☕

More than happy with everything so far.

Blackbirdman

So I tried the turbo shot. I made a video which you can check out below (sorry for the music, hadn’t realised it would be so audible.)

It was 17 grams in and 45 out ( i aimed for less but it kept going) in about 20 seconds.

At first, the pump didn’t reach the 6 bar it was set to and was more around the 3-4 bars. Later it went to full “blast” (which you can hear quite well) and the digital pressure showed 6 bar.

Taste wise it was sourish to begin with, but when the shot cooled down it was alright. Not bad but not great either. But of course this was a shot in the dark. I went from mark 10 to 12 on my DF64 (not sure if it will tell you anything but it may give you an idea).

Fun to try and the machine didn’t break down :).

See this link for my first ever YouTube shorts:

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