Inspector - I think you are right. I remember the recovery setting are quite aggressive with the factory PID setting, overshooting quite a bit. But not with those suggested by Dave.

    MediumRoastSteam

    Well that’s not good for me, I am now noticing temp drop and then spike to 101 even after I just pull a shot. I made the video but I don’t know how to show it on here

      MediumRoastSteam

      bit of an unrelated question but do you find your steam wand getting hot after steaming some milk? today it was almost untouchable from top to tip and I am not sure if that was always the case or is it meant to be cool to touch all the time?

        erkal - 😊

        They will get hot after steaming - but you can touch them.

        If you ever touched a non-insulated steam wand, I expect you to have scars of 3rd degree burn in your fingers.

        The only reason they would heat up is if steam is getting between the inner tube and the wall of the steam wand.
        Do a test:

        • bring machine up to steam temp;
        • onto a large jug, or bottle or glass, empty (to catch the steam - or don’t bother) open the steam wand for 30 seconds.
        • can you touch the steam arm? You should be able to.

        If you can’t, you most likely has a leak on the top of the steam arm.

        Did you manage to contact Bella Barista?

          erkal do you find your steam wand getting hot after steaming some milk

          • I checked mine today.

          Usual steaming lasting approx. 40 seconds. Then I just open the steam wand and let it run steam. I was able to hold the steam wand comfortably at all times. It was warm, but it was not hot. The closer you get to the tip or the top the warmer it gets due to condition from the non-insulated parts.

          erkal I am now noticing temp drop and then spike to 101

          Checked this to after a 6s flush: as expected, temperature went from 93C (set temp) to 87C, then quickly recovering - about 1 minute - back to 93C.

          Make sure your PID parameters are what’s recommended by @DavecUK .

            MediumRoastSteam

            Thanks for the test!

            So maybe I am being a little dramatic but I am pretty sure there was nearly no heat on the wand after frothing. I just made two drinks back to back and yes the tip is scorching which is normal but the middle elbow bit is also warm and as you get closer to the top nut it gets very very hot again.

            MediumRoastSteam

            Yeah I have now noticed that it’s not even due to the flush anymore, it shoots up to 101C right after pulling a shot. I am going to go through the settings again and compare them with Dave’s.

            KPc = 0.2 (PID Proportional value coffee boiler)

            KIc = 0.07 (PID Integral value coffee boiler)

            These settings on mine are much different to Dave’s. I found another value which was very different (Bs) and set it to Dave’s. It seems to get even hotter now

              erkal -

              Can you please list ALL the values here, of all parameters, please? The derivative and band/range values are also important. (e.g.: KDc and Bc), as well as the offset value (EC). And same again for the Steam values, so KPs, KIs, KDs, Bs, Es)

              Many thanks.

              Sure, here we go:

              KPc 2.0, Klc 0.04, KDc 1.0, Bc 30, KPs 2.0, Kls 0.00, KDs 0.0, Bs 1, Ec 10, Es 0, F01 1, TR 1, ToT., EVS 1, BLS1 3, BLS2 3, BLP1 2, BLP2 5, PRG 3

              What do you think?

                MediumRoastSteam

                Right! This is pretty perfect now, thank you so much for your help!

                I don’t know why I didn’t think I could change the initial values, totally my stupidity, I have adhd and reading instructions doesn’t always lead me to the intended result :)

                I pulled a shot and it dropped to about 88 and slowly creeped back up (about 30-40s) and its lingering around 93-94 now. Never went above the set value of 94. I guess this is what we wanted?

                Now I just need to upgrade my grinder, get a bottomless portafilter and I will be rocking, get out the way James Hoffman!

                  erkal Good stuff. I’ve tried many different settings before, but just kept coming back to these ones. Give it a go, see how it works for you.

                  Enjoy the machine and have fun in choosing all the accessories!

                    8 days later

                    MediumRoastSteam

                    Hello again,

                    So it seems I have a new problem now which I cannot decide whether if its the Elizabeth or my grinder. But it seems that when I pull back to back shots, the second one always seems to run faster.

                    I use my scales to measure the time/weight manually in the hopes that I can repeat it by setting one of the programmable buttons to the same time length, yet this hardly ever works.

                    For example, I have just measured a pretty decent tasting shot which took about 33s to yield 38g of espresso. I record 33s on button 2 and then set up a second shot, press button 2 and I get about 54g of espresso.

                    Where do you think the issue is?

                    Thanks!

                    PS. I have a Baratza Encore with the Virtuoso burrs which are relatively new (replaced them about 1.5 years ago)

                      erkal But it seems that when I pull back to back shots, the second one always seems to run faster.

                      Try flushing the machine for a couple of seconds - until water comes our of the group - before your shots. I found that for the first shot, it takes approx. 2 seconds for water to drip from the shower screen once the button is pressed. - Which could be leading to your slower first shot.

                      Saying that, I had a similar issue with my Profitec 700 back in the day. Annoying as it is for the perfectionist, I wouldn’t loose any sleep over it.

                      So how do you make consistent shots? Do you weigh every single time? About 10g extra water at similar timeframe is quite a big change in taste as well

                        MediumRoastSteam

                        Ahh OK. That’s a shame as I chose this machine part for the timed buttons so the others in the house who don’t know much can easily pull programmed shots. Bit of a let down then :/

                        Anyway thanks again for the tips!