Basket Case

prezes

Few photos comparing VST 15 / 18 and IMS
B702Th24.5M (cylindrical with flat bottom - meant to be 14/16g according to ims although always used it with 18-19g. Other sources describe it as 12-18g)

Doram

HVL87 They’re not the same size/volume.

Two baskets might not be the same volume, but as the volume of any basket is a constant there should be no reason why one basket would have a wider/narower dose range than the other, right?
And one could assume that although they might have slightly different shapes, the volume capacity of baskets designed for X grams of coffee would be similar, no matter what dose range they claim to be made for.

prezes B702Th24.5M (cylindrical with flat bottom - meant to be 14/16g according to ims although always used it with 18-19g. Other sources describe it as 12-18g)

I assume the size of the basket is the middle of thesuggested range, so “14/16g” or “12-18g” both indicate that it’s a 15g basket. So have you tried comparing that to the 15g VST with the same coffee and other parameters? And if so - what did you find?

HVL87

Doram Two baskets might not be the same volume, but as the volume of any basket is a constant there should be no reason why one basket would have a wider/narower dose range than the other, right?

@prezes mentioned he is using 18/19g in a 14/16 IMS basket, which is beyond the suggested range? I’m sure you can use 16g or 20g in an 18g VST for some coffees - maybe VST are giving a narrower range for the “majority” of coffee whereas IMS are including the outliers?

Doram And one could assume that although they might have slightly different shapes, the volume capacity of baskets designed for X grams of coffee would be similar, no matter what dose range they claim to be made for.

IMS don’t state that a basket is designed for X grams, and the capacity is larger, at least for the 16-20g convex basket I bought. That would imply you can more easily updose although doesn’t explain why it makes 16g more feasible, other than IMS allowing for a wider range of coffee.

prezes

Doram

I tried the basket this afternoon. Kept the settings the same and used 15g dose. It seems as too low dosage for the basket as tamper touched the curve towards the end so finished with convex tamper. The extraction itself seemed ok-ish although slightly longer and the coffee was very drinkable. 15g in 31g out in 40 seconds including 10 second pre-infusion

Doram

prezes I tried the basket this afternoon. Kept the settings the same and used 15g dose. It seems as too low dosage for the basket as tamper touched the curve towards the end so finished with convex tamper. The extraction itself seemed ok-ish although slightly longer and the coffee was very drinkable. 15g in 31g out in 40 seconds including 10 second pre-infusion

That does seem very low in the basket. From the photo it looks like 24 or 24.5mm deep, right? My IMS 15g is the E&B lab version, which is only 22mm deep. Your basket does seem like it could take more of this coffee.
But the main question remains: how does the coffee compare to the same shot pulled with a VST?

Cuprajake

We’re all saved

Your baskets won’t rot through anymore…..

CoyoteOldMan

Cuprajake Something tells me that, at the price, we can have a lifetime supply of ordinary baskets… for the forum!

Patrick

Giphy - Happy Praise The Lord GIF by DAZN

prezes

Doram yes it’s 24.5 and I used to fill it with 18g leaving enough headspace. It tasted ok! Whether it was close enough or my tastebuds are not sophisticated enough to pick up a difference… will try again tomorrow

drdre89

What’s people’s take on using VST baskets for darker roasts compared to their stock baskets.

Elcarajillo

I have used the stock baskets that came with the machine also IMS baskets , I tried the VST baskets and the 18 grm lives permanently in the machine now, I prefer the darker roasts and usually have OBJ.

PortafilterProcrastinator

Bit of a thread resurrection, but I’m thinking of getting a new basket and wondered what people are using at the moment?

I’ve been using an 18g VST for about 4 years and starting to think its a bit past it. For one, the holes seem to get clogged much more easily than ever before.

No need to spend lots of money. Looking for a reliable workhorse.

I drink exclusively medium roast SO/ espresso blends.

dfk41

PortafilterProcrastinator I recently bought a Pullman 17 to 19 and am delighted with it

https://shop.squaremilecoffee.com/products/pullman-basket?srsltid=AfmBOorXGK6YxrTfs7_q0yEHWRRu_chbGYKuFaxQx1-AO19dpsAxiDdq

Adrianmsmith

What machine is it for.

Get a new 18g vst or slightly bigger vst. Had a full set for the synchronika.

PortafilterProcrastinator

Adrianmsmith It’s for a Minima.

If I only brew 18g doses, what would the advantages of a bigger basket be?

memzey

dfk41

I have the same basket and use it with my Bianca. I’ve had no problems with it at all, apart from the spring in my portafilter doesn’t seem to grip it so well. If I could find a thicker spring I’d swap it out as the basket produces better results than the IMS one that came standard from Lelit.

PortafilterProcrastinator

dfk41

memzey

Do you think there is a noticeable difference having a higher density of smaller holes? Has it affected grind size much?

Elcarajillo

@ Memzey. You can improve the grip of the spring by tweaking the flats in the spring.

Use 2 pairs of pliers / grips, hold the carved part and straighten the part which grips the PF.

memzey

Elcarajillo Thanks. Can you post a pic of what you mean? Struggling to visualize it.

dfk41

PortafilterProcrastinator I am the wrong person to comment on that! I like the Pullman but cannot tell you why! Perhaps because in baskets terms it is an underdog and I always favour them!

memzey

PortafilterProcrastinator I don’t know what the difference comes down to but I definitely prefer the coffee produced from the Pullman basket to the IMS ones I have.

Adrianmsmith

In which case there is no advantage unless you want to use something like a 1.7 mm puck screen as I do simply to allow me to get the correct dose I want in a basket that is slightly too big otherwise.

E.g. https://amzn.eu/d/cxsTnxN

I used to have many baskets because we drink mainly americano and milk drinks and I like to try different shot sizes and milk to coffee ratios.

At that time my dose was 21 g in the Synchronika.

On the Evo it is 20.5 g or 21 g of decaf in the large ACS basket using the puck screen to create a nice not sloppy puck!!

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