HarveyMushman indeed. I believe there was/is a Fracino machine, a dual boiler, which doesn’t have a hot water tap. The only reason I can see it being useful is for recycling the water in the service boiler now and again. A handy drain valve on both boilers, with some sort of spout you could easily attach a hose to, would’ve been ideal.
Lelit Elizabeth discontinued?
I’ve always used the hot water tap on my Minima - I don’t think the water tastes bad at all from it and quite surprised to see comments suggesting not to use it.
Tomorrow I’ll try topping up my Americano from the kettle instead to see if it is an improvement
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@Anthonyuk Well I returned my Lelit Elizabeth a while back (due to the pressure spiking issue) and got the Rancilio Silvia Pro X.
I would highly recommend the Rancilio Silvia Pro X (in black or white) with the Pantechnicon drip tray upgrade. As it’s in the same price range and same type of machine as the Elizabeth.
Solidly built and will last you a very long time. Best of all ease of use and great coffee. 
Really depends what water you use
If the water cannot scale then it won’t make the steam boiler taste funny.
Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -
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Hopefully this means the service boiler is still in good nick. Have only used remineralised zero water and RO water in the machine
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I had owned a Lelit E until I upgraded. It had/has an ingenious design. It did have OPV valve slippage and steam valve base/knob leak issues, which my retailer (and thereby Canadian distributor) fixed under warranty. This cost them quite alot of money and time. Last time I looked they were still for sale in Canada. If I were to be buying again at that price point, I would wait and save and buy a Bianca. I kicked myself a thousand times for not stretching and buying a Bianca. If I could not wait I’d buy a Rancilio Silva (its a workhorse), put up with the temp surfing, use it for a while, resell and then buy a Bianca. Fyi, I currently own a Decent, but that’s a whole other story. I would absolutely not buy a Breville (too much plastic; its a mass produced machine that breaks).
My Elizabeth continues strong at about the 2 year mark. The Silvia would be a good choice too, except it is significantly larger and would not fit under my cabinet. So the Elizabeth has been a great choice for me. It is still available in the USA. Clive carries it and it is in stock from what I can tell.
Sad to hear, but not too surprised. My Elizabeth only had a small problem with steam wand with a slight deform teflon tube clogged one hole. Took me long enough to fix it. Lelit almost hit a home run with Elizabeth but they also seem to have made some bad decisions and used cheap parts where it is more likely to fail, like the steam valve.
For Americano I just use the kettle. Way faster and easier. I do draw the hot water from the steam boiler but only to warm up cups
So what changes would you like to see on the Elizabeth?
MediumRoastSteam out of my head better build quality. easier to adjust OPV. stainless steel on both boilers.
other than that, surprise me!
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- Hot water tap that drains the service/steam boiler rather than mixing water with the brew boiler;
- Better, nicer looking steam knob;
- Better, nicer looking portafilter handle;
- Slightly longer drip tray (maybe 1cm), so that the steam wand can rest over the tray, rather than the edge of the tray;
- Nice to have: Volumetric rather than timed shots (I find timed shots useless);
- Smarter express heat up time: Let the users turn that on/off in advanced settings, and, if steam is on, energise the steam boiler only when the brew boiler has reached the upper temperature. This way the machine does not need to share the current with both boilers, as the brew boiler will be off as it cools down from 130C. I have done this myself and one can then accelerate the heat up time by approx 4 or 5 minutes (i.e.: same as if only the brew boiler is on).
- Would be good to be able to turn both boilers on/off individually, for those days where you just want to steam milk for a hot chocolate, or maybe coffee comes from another machine.
delta76 stainless steel on both boilers.
Don’t forget the group is brass, and that the boiler is mounted directly on top of the group. Could there be a galvanic reaction risk?
MediumRoastSteam I have no idea, I had no problem with the brass boiler, but if I can choose, I’d pick stainless boiler any day.
Maybe not possible to do for the reason you mentioned
delta76 . Took me long enough to fix it. Lelit almost hit a home run with Elizabeth but they also seem to have made some bad decisions and used cheap parts where it is more likely to fail, like the steam valve.
I never liked the valve that much, especially the knob (and told Lelit so), I actually thought a Toggle valve would be much easier, or if they wanted to keep the clean lines simply use a solenoid controlled valve.
There was a reason at the time they were suck using that knob and valve, but honestly…the time has come to change it.
MediumRoastSteam Don’t forget the group is brass, and that the boiler is mounted directly on top of the group. Could there be a galvanic reaction risk?
no, because the join is dry….galvanic reaction with steel and brass is only really an issue where they join in the presence of water between that join e.g. a screw thread
DavecUK Thank you for clarifying.
In wonder if these issues preventing long-standing stockers of this machine continuing to sell it are related to changes that have come into the product manufacturing process since the acquisition a year or so ago.
Seems a little coincidental timing wise