In light of @"Cuprajake"#144 recent polls I thought it could be useful for people looking to buy an espresso machine to see which ones are most reliable and problem-free. What machine do you **currently** have, how long have you had it and have you had **any** problems? No matter how minor or simple the fix. I think it can be frustrating to anyone not spanner-inclined to have to fix even small niggles early on so I wonder which machines perform best! I thought it would also be interesting to see which problems occur over longer periods. I’m perhaps lucky but not had any issues with any machine ever, even my early entry level ones. Current machine is the Linea Mini, 6 months old, no issues.

Lelit Elizabeth, 10 months, zero problems. Hardest part was getting the settings right for how I wanted the coffee. Once done I get consistently good coffees from it and only find the need to adjust the grind when I change beans. I had an issue with a cheap aftermarket bottomless portafilter which didn’t seal properly. I got it because at the time all sources seemed to be out of stock of the Lelit one. I’ve since got the Lelit bottomless one and it fits perfectly.

La Marzocco Linea Micra Had it for about a month - no issues Its expensive and some would say lacking gizmos . But it makes great forgiving coffee is superbly built and easy to Maintain/clean (well so far).

for those that dont know me, im a walking bad luck magnet lol ive always been the person who has to buy used, never had alot of money, when my gran passed, she left us some money which allowed us to move house, and have a bit spare for me to treat myself, to new: i at the time had a londinium l1 not wanting to spend nearly 4k i ordered the crem one profiler, great spec machine, but https://youtu.be/uWVvGyLxNHk so the machine went right back to bb, the machine turned up dirty as if it had been bench tested, they were great with the return but it also shouldnt have left, so after that i bought my dream machine a lr24, but https://youtube.com/shorts/fH2gTHXMQss?feature=share [URL=https://i.imgur.com/TMMpl0h.jpg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/TMMpl0h.jpg[/IMG][/URL] the water actually went right along the tray, now reiss offered to send out a new group top for me to swap out, bt at £3700 i saw my arse and sent it back, and was subsequently banned from the londinium owners forum, i put the l1 back on the bench and that then blew up, over pressure kitchen looked like a rave, steam everywhere, so i fixed it up, new pressure switch, blowoff valve and anti vac with a new drip tray, then decided to sell for a bianca the bianca was faultless now to my current machine the acs which i bought used for £2150 iirc so far its needed a temp sensor on the steam boiler, a drip sorting on the steam arm and it has marring on the inside of the lever. [URL=https://i.imgur.com/tftxsR0.jpg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/tftxsR0.jpg[/IMG][/URL] so far we have had no answer from acs about the marked groups handles and im nearly out of my 2 yr warranty im the type of person who orders something and it comes broken, from oled tv, speakers, tables, pans, espresso machines lol

Lelit Elizabeth Generally a well-designed machine. Ingenious in many ways. Excellent control over many variables. Very good value for money. A couple of finish elements are of insufficient quality or design such as the steam knob. We had to deal with a few defects: 1. A defective OPV valve, due to poor valve design, 2. A leaky steam valve, also poorly designed. and 3. A badly seated steam valve base. However I have a great retailer who repaired or replaced all under warranty. Would I buy it again? Probably. but I would have a hard look at all options again. And spend another $1,000 Canadian to get a machine with flow control, such as the Lelit Bianca 😁

Sage Dual Boiler….don't laugh! Got it in December 2021, use it virtually every day and it has not missed a beat. No leaks, drips unexpected noises in fact, still looks and works like new. Any shortcomings from shots are definitely down to operator error and inexperience. Tempting fate I know, if ever that was a statement for the gremlins to sit up take note and rub their hands with glee, that was it. I would love to be able to go somwhere that there is a Sage Dual Boiler next to one of the Chrome Behemoths and taste coffees from both. Not because I think the Sage can hit the dizzy heights those much more expensive machines can reach, but just to see just how big those differences are.

I have a Rocket Giotto Evoluzione. I've had it since purchasing it, six months old in February 2015. So it's almost nine years old. It's in daily use and has only had two little aberrations in the whole of that time. The pressurestat stuck open once. I gave it a bang with a screwdriver and it has never done it again. The steam valve stem broke last year and I replaced it. Very easy to do and IIRC about £10. It's surprisingly noisy for a rotary pump machine, but I can live with that. It's been fed Ashbeck for it's whole life with me and has never been de-scaled. It does get a Puly Caff backflush every so often and the cam and followers re-greased with Moly. Other than that, I take the top off to check for leaks maybe once every couple of years. All in all, it owes me nothing.

Decent DE1XL. 2.5 years. Flawless (touch wood). Opted in for their new guaranteed lifetime renewable warranty which says something about the manufacturer’s confidence in their machines. ECM Puristika x2. 3 months. Not in daily use. Perfect performers but they dont exactly have a taxing workload. Nurri Leva SA, 5 months. Two annoying minor glitches which are in the process of being adresssed. (Review written and will post here next week. Just waiting for the manufacturer’s right of reply to come in.)

After a few sub-£200 machines, we now have the ACS Evo. It’s going to be a couple of years. Like Jake, there is some marring inside the lever; the ACS did promise to replace the parts free when it has identified and fixed the issue. We haven’t heard anything yet. It’s a minor issue and doesn’t impact the performance in any way. There was a tiny leak on the steam arm elbow. Fixed the issue. Overall, it is flawless giving super quality espresso every time. Touch wood!

> @"Pompeyexile"#p45025 Got it in December 2021, use it virtually every day and it has not missed a beat. No leaks, drips unexpected noises in fact, still looks and works like new. Any shortcomings from shots are definitely down to operator error and inexperience. Ooh, that's a risky statement! ![Giphy - Peep Show Fate GIF](https://media2.giphy.com/media/NsR7Z3x7asOQ0/giphy.gif?cid=bb77869f963yq31k7fcmdc5z6f70ntajriyxkwudojny7qlp&ep=v1_gifs_search&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g)

Slayer single group - no problems yet (other than a vent valve spraying because i forgot to cover it), but not as impressed with the worksmanship as I expected. Getting great coffee from it and above all consistency. And the bambino plus at the office. Little guy has never missed a step; great purchase in hindsight for £250\~ but consistency is tough.

What’s your machine and have you had any problems?

LMSC

Ernie1 I also wonder how much is caused by how they’re treated in transit…

Transit damages are possible. That’s why a solid packaging is important. The ACS packing was extremely good and the machines came undamaged, although the packaging legs on almost all deliveries disappeared. The couriers don’t handle the deliveries well. IIRC, one machine’s side frame was damaged in transit, despite solid packaging, and was quickly replaced.

capuchin

I think it’s unfair to compare artisan manufacturers in the category of quality consistency and lack of quirks just because they generally cost more. A big producer will always be more skilled in mass production.

I think it is fair and perhaps even encumbent upon us as consumers to compare actual component quality, areas where they have skimped on quality to make a product cheaper/quicker, and even workers wages/conditions at these smaller companies. We are supposedly paying for the experience and the individualism, and if they are trying to sell more and more units, it impacts that. It’s one reason I’m quite intrigued by the Decent; all @tompoland posts seem to suggest its a company that makes mistakes but is genuinely invested in making the best product they can instead of selling as many machines as they can.

Doram

My Lelit Mara X is almost three years old and has been flawless with zero issues (touch wood). It has the Coffee Sensor flow control device, and I didn’t have any problems with it either.

MediumRoastSteam

Lelit Elizabeth and Niche Zero. The former approaching its 3rd birthday and working flawlessly. I never descaled. It still sounds and behaves like when it was brand new. The later two years older, no issues, hasn’t missed a heartbeat and still going strong.

Previously, had two La Pavoni and they were good too. Had a Pro-700 before that and the control box had to be replaced one year in as there was a malfunction with the level sensor.

Prior to that I had a Rocket Cellini Evo. It’s crime was to come out of the factory not lubricated enough. I didn’t have a clue back them, so it only lasted 3 months in my hands and swiftly returned back to BB.

Prior to that had a Gaggia Classic which ran on the finest Thames Valley tap water at 300ppm if not more, for 3 years. Bought in 2011 new. Never had a problem. The machine is still going strong (and so is the Mignon Grinder) in its no longer new home in Sydney and potentially still being fed some amazing tap water from the Southern Hemisphere.

Amongst some of the coffee roasters I owned, I bought a lemon Behmor which had a miss lighted shaft. It was excruciating to see and hear it turning. Swiftly returned as faulty back to where it came from.

Cuprajake

The Bianca comes double boxed which was nice, the ACS is a wood create 🤣 Londo was heavily packed with poly, I forgot if single or double boxed now.

Ernie1

Yeah the Bianca packaging is great. I was able to reuse it without too much issue when I sold it and it arrived problem free.

The LM also came on a crate. One of the reasons it’s my endgame machine… no way I’m trying to package that up again.

Amberale

My V2 Bianca is a bit over two years old and has had a few issues.
The control board failed at 11 months, no idea why not water damage, just died and fixed under warranty.
Around two years in she developed the Bianca drip and I replaced both the OPV and the vacuum breaker at the same time which fixed it.
Then the gicleur snapped in half which became a PITA.
Although my machine was built around the time Lelit had a batch of gilceurs fail, mine was well out of warranty.
Lelit Australia do not sell the gicleur separately but did sell me a Faema gicleur which needed to be drilled out.
This didn’t work out properly, nor did the supposedly original gicleurs I bought from Italy.
Neither option gave the same smooth control when decreasing the flow.
In the end I had to spend a couple of hundred bucks for the full kit sans paddle.
All in all I love the machine but would recommend buying the extended warranty.

Uncletits

Cuprajake and sent it back, and was subsequently banned from the londinium owners forum,

For a nice bloke you’ve been chucked out of loads of forums 😎

Cuprajake

Giphy - Ultimate Warrior Wrestling GIF by WWE

ill take that as a compliment,

only 2 btw, one because i sent a machine back ( whilst still owning a machine from that manufacturer) and the other one because i talk to davec

DavecUK

Cuprajake the other one because i talk to davec

A major crime in some quarters.

JonWoo187

I choose to use a Ran-Chili-Ohhh Silvia Pro as the build quality, functionality, reliability and end results are simply top notch. Thing has been absolutely flawless since day 1 and I put it through the paces daily. Offers exactly what I look for in a machine and even a dedicated steam boiler in case I need to texture milk once a year. Other than typical routine preventive maintenance/cleaning I expect it to last the rest of this lifetime. I will replace the pump with a more heavy duty Ulka so I can push extractions to 90 seconds or so.

jrling

Quick Mill Verona Evo 2B. Had it a year and no issues. First owner bought in 2013 and was very reliable. Just needed occasional servicing.

Build quality excellent and lovely quiet rotary pump.

If you need more detail, search out Dave Corby’s excellent in-depth review for exclusive UK supplier Bella Barista.

dutchy101

ACS Minima - had it for 15 months and no issues yet. I did think there may have bene a faulty temperature probe, but it seems to have sorted itself out.

PortafilterProcrastinator

dutchy101 Ditto.

I’ve got so used to my routine I’m not sure if I simply manage it or if it sorted itself out.

What temp do you have you’re steam boiler set to?

AlfredB

Pompeyexile

Nothing to laugh about - David Schomer of Vivace chose this one over ANY other machine; he could have had any machine he wanted.

AlfredB

ECM Puristika, lovely machine, ECM may not be able to make a decent grinder, but this little jewel has been outstanding. True, I come from Rancilio Silvia, which I detested, but on its own the Puristika shines with excellent built and quiet vibratory pump. Two things I really wish they would change are right angle power cord and right angle intake and exhaust water hoses. I already replaced the cord, but can do nothing about the hoses. The included ones increase the effective footprint of the machine, by nessesitating a greater distance between the machine and the back wall.

tompoland

AlfredB very nice machines. I wish they had longer hose options for under bench storage of the water reservoirs. But wow, what a cracker little machine.

tompoland

capuchin wow that is quite a contrast!

The bambinos have a great rep.

Ninelives

I’m ½ Italian and have been drinking Moka coffee since I was 11 and added the grappa a couple of years later. Well, they poured it and I drank it!

I eventually bought a Sage Barista Express. Went wrong a lot at first. Grinder changed and brewer under warranty. Nice coffee but I wanted more.

The Lelit Bianca was a thing of beauty when I saw it. I was excited by the ability to change flow as well. The issue ultimately was that my hand did not have the level of control necessary to produce clearly different profiles, as much as I tried to follow Dave C’s written suggestions.

This brings me to my current machine, a Decent Pro 1.43. I’ve had it a year and love it. It can make everything, espresso, pour over, filter etc, and love playing with the different style profiles. It’s easy to use, great to see what’s happening in real time, and have the ability to make changes to the profiles if the output is not quite right. Not had any problems apart from the mirror which comes off the edges. They sent a new one to me immediately.

I will leave it there but quickly talk about grinders. I’ve had and still got a Sage Pro, a Sette 270 wi, a Niche Zero and drum roll ……have ordered a duo with both burr sets. I’m due a £20 refund I hear! Any one want to buy a used Zero?

Oh, I forgot, I also have a Moccamaster with thermos jug. I need to sell the lot apart from the decent and the duo…….bad times.

DavecUK

Ninelives Welcome to the forum, an interesting journey.

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