ACS Vesuvius Evo Leva

Blackbirdman

Adrianmsmith I see you have bigger holes in the driptray. Did you make them yourselves? Seems like a nice improvement!

Adrianmsmith

Blackbirdman

Yes bigger holes.

Contentious statement number 1 😜

Then wire drip tray is actually more practical than the more beautiful laser cut stainless version.

Contentious statement number 2 🫣

This machine should always be fully plumbed in to fully appreciate it’s ability

Main reason for cutting the holes is I stay at the machine for cup warming, portafilter cleaning etc etc. a lot of water relatively gets dumped through the tray and it just splashed too much with the tray as it was, as cosmetically pleasant as it is.

I’ve probably not finalised it yet as I’m still most likely swapping over the water and steam outlets. I do have another tray though should I wish to do a final design if it doesn’t look the part after further refining.

Be warned. If you are going to try this make sure you have the required kit to polish it back up. A rag and solvo won’t do it!!

Feels like it’s A4 stainless. Not the stuff for Screwfix jobber drills either 😎

Paolo’s eyedrop shapes make for a great shape to expand from and the material is fantastic once polished back up.

ManicAsif

Thanks @Adrianmsmith, @Cuprajake

Thats very helpful, I will get the smaller basket on order (and puck screens, just in case) and whilst waiting, will try the 21g dose

Come to think of it, I think did I faffed around with the grind unnecessarily - first two shots were so good, when the 3rd wasn’t so good, I ground finer, when it more likely to be poor tamping and puck prep

I also played with the dump pressure and changed from 7 to 5bar - no idea why :)

lesson of the day, don’t make multiple changes at the same time ffs :)

thank you hoping for a more productive day tomorrrow - though that said, only one of the 6 or 7 shots was thrown away! - quite forgiving this machine!

Inspirado

I bought and installed the flush lever retrofit. I am mechanically inclined but it’s a very simple job. Remove circlip (tiny screwdriver, maybe wooden toothpick, or dental pick) and rod, remove one of the group nuts and set screws, then swap the levers. I needed to adjust the black teflon piece a bit via the screw on the back of it, which was not described in the instructions, but that was easy. They do describe in the instructions that the piston may need to be pulled if you can’t remove the set screw but I had no issues there. Reinstall set screw, reinstall nut and circlip and good to go. All in all maybe 20 minutes.

I also applied some molykote while disassembled just cuz.

Inspirado

Oh I also bought the rotary pump “retrofit”. That seems like a larger job requiring drilling into the SS frame rails. I’m waiting on that one but will post here the results.

Agree the black drip tray does look real nice.

Adrianmsmith

Inspirado

I assume TX USA means you are not close enough to Derby UK for me to offer some help fitting? Sounds like a nice Sunday afternoon coming up…..

DavecUK

Inspirado That seems like a larger job requiring drilling into the SS frame rails.

Use a good cobalt tipped bit and be careful of it chipping out, so use oil to keep things lubed.

Inspirado

Hah sadly no that sounds like a bit far for a day trip and the Evo leva won’t count as a carry-on sadly but thank you for the offer! If I did make the trip I would probably seriously consider coming back with that Weber key btw…

I was amazed at how much bigger the rotary pump is, most of which is the transformer!

Assuming you made the retrofit, other than a reduction in noise did you notice any other impacts? I am fine with the gear pump I just like having a spare pump (getting parts from E.U. to TX can be annoying) and figured I might as well get the rotary and keep the original gear as my spare.

Adrianmsmith

Inspirado

I didn’t change the pump on mine and tbh I had no issue with the pump “noise”.

Had the situation never arison with the V2 being available locally to me I’d still be happily be using the v1. But it was a situation I couldn’t unsee!! I’d be tempted to keep the rotary pump for a rainy day as there’s no real Advantage to upgrading it urgently. The biggest reason to upgrade from the v1 and the one that can’t practically be a retro fit is the auto dump system. That’s the game changer feature. If you do the pump upgrade then the silence will be golden I’m sure 😎

Inspirado

Yeah it’s funny - the gear pump noise will forever be the noise I associate with first getting the machine and realizing how great it is. So it’s kind of an positive association in my mind if anything.

I’ve convinced myself that the auto dump feature isn’t much of an upgrade for me - I’m content with my Jerry-rigged funnel cup which I slide under the portafilter and divert the flow from the cup. Added bonus that I get no coffee water going back into the machine and never have to contemplate back flush or cleaning. Also keeps me from having to consider plumbing in the drip tray.

All that being said I’m sure I could have convinced myself that a lesser machine is perfectly adequate and I didn’t need to spend as much as I did on an Evo leva. Psychology is funny.

DavecUK

Inspirado Added bonus that I get no coffee water going back into the machine and never have to contemplate back flush or cleaning. Also keeps me from having to consider plumbing in the drip tray.

Adrianmsmith

Inspirado

As per the video above from @DavecUK giving the “proof” , don’t forget the dump valve is venting the system slightly further back than you imagine and doesn’t promote back flow from the portafilter, just pressure release to the system. So the water going “backwards” hasn’t been that close to the portafilter.

You can further see this if for some reason you turn the pump on whilst the system still has the valve open, clean water flows in to the tray.

My tray for obvious reasons isn’t clean due to washing the portafilter directly in the the (plumbed In ) tray. I give it a good clean “weekly” (honest guv) though.

Back flushing isn’t necessary from what I have observed. Obviously you do it after a quick “ open flush” anyway to clear the screen but I’ve only observed clean water in the tray and in the blind basket after a back flush.

Also!! If you remove the piston unit whole with the v1 or V2 the cylinder liner and piston and shower screen are always pristine.

It’s just a marvel of modern Italian engineering design.

(I used to bang on about German engineering🫣)

Inspirado

DavecUK

Hah I must have missed that video of yours - I was wondering what all the excitement about the puck filter was about.

Well I was trying to look at the silver lining of my v1 but alas.

ManicAsif

Not a great coffee day today (Sunday) - went through 250g of coffee with perhaps 2 decent drinkable shots

struggled to get the (new) medium roast beans dialled in for the Evo2 :( - had to fire up my faithful E61 to dial in the beans for 18g in - 36g out in 27-30secs - then used that grind setting as my starting point for the Evo. Things did get better, but still alot of fluctuations!

I was expecting a learning curve switching from a E61 machine to the Evo, but quite frustrating today

as well as having to dial in a new bean, my puck prep has changed considerably, as i was spoilt by using a leveling/springed tamper as I was never great at using a tradional tamper (due to arthiritus in wrist, so struggled to tamp level) and then having to change my dose from 18g to 20-21g for the Evo stock basker - guess that has alot to do with the fluctuations.

.so, game plan:

a) have ordered the 14g basket recommended by DaveC (the Edisia one from ebay), along with the puck screens

b) also ordered the IMS 14/18g competition basket

c) find a levelling (ideally spring loaded) tamper (for the IMS basket) - sourcing the right size is proving to be a challange, as most seem to be 53.3-53.5mm . Are there any recommendations (I really don’t want to be paying Bravo kind of money on a tamper)

I have come across this one: https://www.bluestarcoffee.eu/en/Joe-Frex---Adjustable-Level-Palm-Tamper-54mm/m-5016.aspx. Has anyone had any experience of this tamper?

Unfortunately they don’t give an exact size, but I do recall having read somewhere that these are a good fit for the IMS LSM basket

I am hoping switching to the smaller basket and the right sized tamper, will take out at least one variable (puck prep), then can focus on understanding the Evo better

for example, I am not sure I understand the concept of ‘pre-charge’ and its benefit - I have tried this, and find that after the PI (8-10secs) the actual brew time plummets to around 10 secs for a 36-40g out! (18-20 secs in total)

however, if i don’t pre-charge and just PI until I detect a first drop, then let the spring take over - I seem to get a much better shot (30-35 sec + 8 sec PI) - but this is counter-intuitive to me. I expected the brew time to be longer when i pre-charge so group pressue is showing 1-1.5bar, as the puck resistance should be higher, now is fully soaked - but I am seeing the oppostite!

Any guidance or comment would be appreciated - going to play around again tomorrow, hopefully with more success.

Adrianmsmith

ManicAsif

Manic, please, stop, breath, don’t panic 😎

Have you heard the phrase “you are way over thinking this”

Are you close enough to Derby to come for a coffee and some advice?

If you really want a new tamper:

Best tamper for stock or competition baskets is this:

https://www.bluestarcoffee.eu/Mobile/en/Precision-Coffee-Tamper-544mm/m-m-5414.aspx

The stock acs basket is great. Better than the competition baskets.

The only reason to get the 26mm or smaller is if you really do not want to dose 21g plus and get circa 46g out.

For me for Milk and americano drinks it is PERFECT And it has a Wonderful ASC logo laser etched in to it.

Don’t fall for the marketing bull for any auto, palm, self leveraging, quadruple spring loaded self calibrating etc etc tamper!

Tamping is not your problem.

When tamping stand so your forearm is vertical (Sideways to the portafilter is best) above the portafilter and tamp. Use good pressure you can comfortably repeat daily . Not the lightest press but not your full bodyweight until your face pops. Eye up the tamper to portafilter and ensure it’s lever … ISH…. Doesn’t need to be plus or minus 1 degrees!! Just no ski Slope

Please try these settings. 21 to 21.5g coffee

Set pre infusion to 2.5 bars

Dump set point 6.8 bars

Now until you get dialled in FORGET pre charge or whatever you want to call it. Will explain that later and post a video showing options for you to understand it . But for now, forget it exists, please 🤫

Pull the lever, let it fill. Around 6 seconds lift the lever.

Please note the initial pressure from the gauge or display. Let us know what it is. Also how many seconds until dump.

Don’t bother with scales, PLEASE. Your in information overload. trust the volume will be good with these settings once the grind is correct. It’s the only variable you should consider for now.

Now look at the shot time.

Aim is 25 to 30 seconds for me and this experiment.

Less than 20, grind finer, one click or notch per 8 seconds required.

More than 35 seconds grind course one click or notch per 8 seconds required. Obviously 8 seconds is approx!!

Don’t change anything else . You should have great coffee within 3 shots and it will be repeatable.

What are your 3 temperatures set to please.

When you are comfortable and not in a panic, make a quick video .

But, trust this machine is far easier than whatever e61 you have

I used to worship the ecm god’s. The synchronika anniversary edition in anthracite was a wonder to behold. But then there was maintenance and all the other crap you will not get once you trust the coffee beast you have before you.

I have no allegiance to Dave, Paolo, acs etc but Jake introduced me to the best machine available. It really is Decent. No, not with a capital D, I mean ACS and it’s perfect!

Please enjoy some great coffee. If you are close enough come and see me for a coffee, I have a little time on my hands for the next couple of weeks!!

Edit some minutes later…..

Just a bit of info after re reading your post , your thinking is wrong about pre charge.

If you simply pre charge with the lever up, or if you hold the pump on whilst pulling the lever you are only changing the amount of air and therefore volume of water in the cylinder once the lever is down. You will see a higher initial pressure bang on 11 bars as opposed to 10 .X otherwise. Probably 10.7 with just pre charge with lever up. This is simply because air and water compress differently.

Please leave that alone until you have consistent shots and you will be a lot happier.

Now, I need coffee. Hey Google turn Evo on ☕🫣😎

DavecUK

ManicAsif As others have said, don’t panic. You will have seen my videos and Evo shots, many of them with 60 day old coffee. it is not only possible, but usual to get a consistent shot. I also assure you that not a single one of those shots was rehearsed/shot multiple times just to show a good one. Each time is was the first and only shot videoed!

I am concerned that what shows on the little display as pressure, is miscalculated and under reads the needle on the manual gauge is a more accurate reflection of peak pressure. I have asked the factory to check this. As far as auto release is concerned and also the pre-infusion and shot timer, it doesn’t matter. I also think it’s possible the miscalculation doesn’t mean a linear error in the digital number shown.

My magic formula is: 26mm deep basket, 14g coffee, 1.7mm thick sintered puck screen. Almost every shot is a joy to behold and consistent within 2-4 seconds, using the T64 with high uniformity espresso burrs.

I no longer pre-charge, and that is a result of using the safety system sleeve. The portafilter takes longer to fill, I of course can to hit almost 12 bar if I want to, but I don’t feel the need. This is because I have the flush lever and the water inlet valve timing is changed to open just as I start moving the lever. The flush lever is retrofittable and performs a number of useful functions, again explained in 1 short and 1 long video.

Cuprajake

Your shots are too long, your over extracting

Don’t wait for the slow gloopy screen drips, infuse for 4s then let the lever up, aim for 25s after this stage

Somewhere along the line in the evo2 something has changed and it’s not hitting the full 10.5-11bar like the MK1

I don’t know if this is to do with the newer rotary pump or just the group but having to use the lever to ‘pre’ charge wasn’t right to me. It’s a added step that takes away from the simplicity of a lever and imo a work around.

The stock basket is terrible, it’s way too big

The ims comp is the perfect basket for the Evo imo

Ideally without a screen,

However as above what ever has changed in the group means the cup removal point has also changed

Evo MK1 I would remove the cup at 8bars for 36g 7bars for 43g

Evo2 this has shifted to 7.5 bars and 6.5 bars respectively. The knock on effect of this is you have to use the vent system as 6.5 bars is on the cusp of when all the pressure rapidly drops off

You will have a lot of water come out after you have moved the cup, you don’t want the shot from 6.5bars down in your cup it’s the skeggy stuff

Cuprajake

ManicAsif

Adrianmsmith

Ok, 3 shots done:

Base seetings: Brew boiler = 98C; Group = 92.5C; PI = 2.0b

shot 1 - in 21g / out 38.5g - PI = 6.4s; Brew = 57.5s, dump at 6.8b (with puck screen)

Shot 2 - in 21g / out 37.1g - PI = 6.0s; brew = 51.9s, dump at 6.8b (without puck screen)

shot 3 - in 21g /out 40.0g - PI = 5.9s; brew = 36.4s, dunp at 6.8b (without puck screen, but ground slighly courser)

shot 4 for this shot i will adjust the grind ever so slightly to get around the 30-32s brew time

definitely getting better :) (incidently, shot 1 tasted alot better than shot 2) but shot 3 has been best so far today

I have just realised, have nearly gone through my 500g bag and will need to start all over again as the next bag is very different! well perhaps not very different but slightly darker

LMSC

Every one is different. Puck screens did not work for me. It over extracts >= medium and a sour bomb light and medium light.

I like IMS 26, it’s perfect for my 17g - 17.5g shot cutting at 7.5 bars that give about 43g.

I don’t do WDT anymore as I prefer transferring into PF, give a shake, level and tamp. We have Evo 1 and it’s been 3 years.

I drink light and medium light and my family > medium if flat whites.

ManicAsif

@Adrianmsmith, @DavecUK @Cuprajake

thank you guys. Your advise and input is very much appreciated

Today is a new day and I am sure will be a more productive one :)

I honestly am not panicking, as I know the machine can deliver - have already had some delicious shots straight off the bat. Its more frustration that I cannot get repeatable shots :)

Thanks to you guys, I now have lots to go on and will systematically work through the recommendations :)

@Adrianmsmith - thanks for your kind offer, but unfortunately Derby is tad too far (I am Sarf London - Wimbledon to be precice)

I will certainly use the stock basket for now, but I’d much rather prefer the 18/36 combo, with the medium-dark coffees I prefer and I usually have black Americano’s or straight espresso’s and very occasionally Flat Whites

The only reason I was focussing on my puck prep, is because I know I have a poor technique and when I switched to the self-leveling tamper on my 58mm baskets, my shot cosistency improved considerably

I will also note down all the parameters when I next make my shots

Thanks guys

DavecUK

ManicAsif I’m just under 16 miles from you straight down the A3, so you are always welcome for a coffee and hands on advice.

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