Hi all, I am new here and only recently purchased my first decent espresso machine. Dave's review really helped me choose the Elizabeth. Anyway all is well so far, except it seems that the Elizabeth brew temp which is set to 94C, spikes to 100-102C right after I flush the screen a bit for cleaning. I do this between shots (press 1&2 together) in order to flush the leftover coffee from the shower screen. The spike takes ages to settle back to 94C unless I flush more water from the hot water tap, it then drops to 80s and then stables back to 94C. Not a massive issue but then this machine is meant to be pretty temperature stable yet you cannot do back to back shots in the same temperature, unless I either don't flush left over coffee or I go through this long process of manual temperature adjustment. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong? Thanks!

@"erkal"#p46224 It's normal for a small boiler, even with very clever software. You introduce a lot of water rapidly when you flush compared to an espresso shot. If the service (steam boiler) is on this can be mitigated a little and if the flush is large. This influx of water chills the boiler down rapidly, especially in the region of the temperature sensor….this encourages the system to produce more heat than is really required. The water mixes and by the time it shows that high reading…it's too late and then starts the wait for it to cool down. The temperature effect on the espresso shot is much smaller than the swings seen on the display, as the group has a lot of thermal mass. The above explains the reason for the swings in temp. > Is this normal or am I doing something wrong? Yes, you don't need to be flushing the group between shots…just at the end of a series of shots, also the portafilter only needs brushing out with a dry 1 inch paintbrush after knocking it out…only washing it after the end of a series of shots.

@"DavecUK"#p46238 Hi, Thanks for the great information, this is a relief and makes much more sense. In this case the actual temp view seems to be a little misleading and not as useful while pulling shots. Since I have your attention I have another question. The pressure gauge sits between 10-11 while I pull shots. My timing and yield weight are roughly within the 30-35s and 1:2 ratio. I see people make adjustments to the pressure, I’m just wondering if the 10-11 bar reading is sufficient or do I have to make adjustments?

@"erkal"#p46246 - Mine was the same. After a couple of years I bothered to adjust the pressure to the more acceptable parameter of the proximities of 9bar. Get to know your machine and then worry about adjustments. It's a great little capable coffee machine. I had mine for 3 years and I look every now and then for something to replace it with within a reasonable price (below £2k). For my needs and considering its features. so far I've been struggling. If you haven't read this in-depth review and all the other addendums please do so, watch all the videos, and adjust the PID settings as per the ones recommended here: https://coffeeequipmentreviews.wordpress.com/2020/05/08/lelit-elizabeth/

Have you read Dave's sway document about Lelit Elizabeth?

Hi! That’s good to hear. I really wasn’t looking forward to opening up my week old machine lol. My shots are still a huge improvement from the previous second hand Sage I had anyway.

@"Inspector"#p46251 Yes, his review was what made up my mind when I was stuck between Elizabeth and Rancilio Pro. I copied all his settings as well. Bellabarista links his review at the product page, very clever :) Excellent review as well.

> @"erkal"#p46224 Anyway all is well so far, except it seems that the Elizabeth brew temp which is set to 94C, spikes to 100-102C right after I flush the screen a bit for cleaning > @"erkal"#p46254 I copied all his settings as well. Hm.... I don't remember noticing this with my machine. Are you sure you key'd in all the PID settings correctly? Could you please do a video just to make sure we are talking about the right thing? After a shot, and 20s so the shot time disappears from the display, I see the temperature goes down by 3 or 4 degrees, and quickly recover. How long are you flushing for? I usually flush for 1 or 2 seconds and wipe it clean.

@"MediumRoastSteam"#p46266 Hi, Yes I can make a video. I use the flush feature by pressing buttons 1&2 together, which is set to 6s flush, I believe, copied from Dave’s settings. The temp display setting also copied from him, shows the actual temp and not the set temp. I’m pretty sure I copied all settings from his review correctly but definitely can double check.

@"erkal"#p46268 - OK. I never flushed my machine for 6 seconds before :-) - I never saw the need for it. In any case, I'll do the same tomorrow and will let you know 👍

@"MediumRoastSteam"#p46272 That's a good point actually :) A couple of seconds of flushing should be enough to wash away the coffee I will try it that way as well.

Lelit Elizabeth temperature spike

DavecUK

Inspector Keep an eye on pressure gauge also, readings must be different also between first and second shot. Pretty much we all had some sort of inconsistent pressure between first and second shots with Elizabeth.

This was a jamming expansion valve in earlier models, this is a late model one isn’t it?

Inspector

DavecUK Yes, jamming expansion valve i should have said. @erkal what is the production year of your Elizabeth’s?

erkal

Inspector

The pressure gauge is almost always on 11. But I can definitely check again when I am doing back to back shots.

I am sorry I don’t know what an OPV is and I don’t know the year of the machine but it’s only a couple of weeks old, I bought it brand new from Bella Barista so I am hoping that it’s the latest one or I will be really annoyed LOL.

DavecUK

Is there a way to check the year?

erkal

MediumRoastSteam

Yeah it was an option but coming from a very very old first gen Sage Barista, getting another Sage did not excite me at all. I have just ordered a more accurate scale so that I can do it your way.

Maybe a Sage/Breville Dual boiler would have been a better choice for you, as it has volumetric capabilities. Saying that, I have no idea how accurate that volumetric flow controller is.

erkal

DavecUK

Hi Dave!

I mentioned my grinder being a bit less than ideal for now. It’s a Baratza Encore with Virtuoso burrs. I find the lowest setting almost clogs it so I move between a few ticks up and down just above the lowest setting.

I grind 19g and I get about 18.7, I then dump it into the portafilter. I then use the Normcore tamper with the lightest spring, I think this should be kind of consistent. I don’t have a leveler nor wdt tool.

Beans are from local roasters, I presume they are OK.

I hope this would keep it somehow consistent but sometimes the second shot is clearly visibly way too runny.

DavecUK

erkal Is there a way to check what year it is?

You don’t need to they always have fresh stock, it probably won’t be very old at all, within the last 3 months of build date I would think. We’re talking more than 2 years, perhaps more than 3. @MediumRoastSteam how long have you had your machine now?

MediumRoastSteam

erkal I don’t know the year of the machine

There’s a rating plate at the back of the machine with information in it.

MediumRoastSteam

DavecUK 3. @MediumRoastSteam how long have you had your machine now?

3 years.

erkal

MediumRoastSteam

Thanks!

“Production 04/2022”

MediumRoastSteam

erkal “Production 04/2022”

2022? That’s a year old machine. Not that it matters, but it’s quite surprising.

Inspector

It’s written olab 9-14 bar on the new type expansion valve and hexagonal part where I circled is quite wide compared to old one.

erkal

MediumRoastSteam

Yeah I wondered why it was on sale.

Is this going to change anything?

MediumRoastSteam

erkal - I don’t think so. The machine hasn’t changed. 👍

Pressure spiking discussion: https://coffeetime.freeflarum.com/d/116-lelit-elizabeth-pressure-spikinginconsistent/13

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