Evo Leva 2 arrived today...

TTal · 12 Feb

You moving on the minima by any chance?….. :)

Ssketchy · 13 Feb

DavecUK Might be a few days until I get photos posted. It looks like it shipped without any feet, but they’re on their way now.

DavecUK · 13 Feb

sketchy Might be a few days until I get photos posted. It looks like it shipped without any feet, but they’re on their way now.

They weren’t in the box, normally separate in box???

Michelle will probably get his ass kicked….cos it’s quite an expense to post them later.

RRaja123 · 13 Feb

sketchy I couldn’t find the feet for my Vostok, either, but eventually realized they are in the plastic bag that has the hoses to plumb the machine in. I only figured that out after I’d contacted ACS about it, heh.

Ssketchy · 13 Feb

DavecUK Nope. I probably spent more time than I’m willing to admit looking for them because I thought surely they were somewhere, and I didn’t want to reach out unless I was 100% certain. Just a tiny bag for the rubber and felt pads, but no feet. No separate box, nor a part of the bag with the hose for plumbing. I even looked up under and in the unit itself.

Ssketchy · 14 Feb

On the upside, the free weekend will give me some time to learn the consensus on what is working for everyone else on the Evo Leva 2. I did order the optional flush lever and safety system, but am seeing mixed feelings on the latter, so perhaps it might be best to change it back? (it will only be me using this). Anyway… morning thoughts prior to heading into the office.

TTal · 14 Feb

I’d be very interested in your thoughts once you’ve had chance to get to grips with it, especially any comparisons you can draw between your ACS machines.

Ssketchy · 14 Feb

Tal Yes, I am too! Having spent a lot of time with the two other machines (especially the Vesuvius), that is what I’m most looking forward to most in terms of comparison. I hold the Vesuvius in pretty high regard. A proper lever will be a new experience for me, so I’m sure I may be fumbling around a bit at first.

By the way, I did share some thoughts about my experience with the Minima here: https://engineering-espresso.com/2024/12/22/using-the-acs-minima-espresso-machine/

Adrianmsmith · 15 Feb

sketchy what is working for everyone else on the Evo Leva 2. I did order the optional flush lever and safety system, but am seeing mixed feelings on the latter, so perhaps it might be best to change it back? (it will only be me using this)

My thoughts and my thoughts only.

Not sure what Paolo thinks about what i have done, but, to me it is perfect… it is not an authorised modification to be clear……

I much prefer the shower screen setup of the blind sleeve as opposed to the clip held shower screen of the open sleeve .

I personally do not see a need for the full damping given by the blind sleeve in its supplied form of safety system.

I therefore have 4 × 1mm holes in my sleeve.

This gives near to full flow to the puck, as you’d get with the open sleeve. NO puck drilling.

It gives 10.8 bars unaided start pressure to the puck

It stays clean as a dog whistle.

I cant find any negatives .

The v2 “flush lever” which you will have is perfect when adjusted to turn the pump on when the main lever reaches vertical, pausing briefly at this point and then continue to lower the main lever slowly. When you are new to this, if the pump turns off during lever travel you were a bit too slow!! Soon becomes second nature. My set point is 2.3 bars.

The main accessory you NEED is a smart plug.

“Hey google, turn evo on” is fantastic and means zero waiting time for heat up, ever!!

And finally, mine is fully plumbed via claris ultra filter system. I can’t imagine anyone using it without. (I may have mentioned this previously 🤔🤭)

LMSC · 15 Feb

Adrianmsmith And finally, mine is fully plumbed …. I can’t imagine anyone using it without. (I may have mentioned this previously 🤔🤭)

Giphy - homer simpson anger GIF

🤣

Ssketchy · 2025-02-18T00:49:37+00:00

A little before and after. While I was intrigued by the trendy color schemes that look amazing, I played it conservative and went with the stainless and walnut combo as it will be the most versatile when I change homes in a few years. The Evo Leva made the Vesuvius feel light in comparison. But anyway, some initial thoughts…

Fit and finish is top notch as I’d expect.
Nice to see the water reservoir sensors adjusted to allow for easier cleaning. The setup on the Vesuvius always bugged me a bit.
I will miss not having the scheduled startup time like the Vesuvius. Doh! Never mind. Found it!
It is elegant, and quiet. It even got a thumbs up from the wife, so I consider that a victory.
I still need to learn what will work for the dosing (setting the time and/or pressure), along with how to cut one off that pulls long, but I’ll figure that out. At least starting points for pre-
infusion, cutoff, etc.
I did use ACS basket that looks to be ~25mm deep, and used 16g in that. Although I did pick up an IMS 28mm deep basket if I find I want to experiment with an 18g dose.

Ssketchy · 2025-02-18T02:14:06+00:00

Doing a bit of math, I’ve estimated my Vesuvius has pulled roughly 5,000 shots. Been a terrific machine, but really looking forward to the Evo Leva.

Adrianmsmith · 2025-02-18T07:04:31+00:00

sketchy I still need to learn what will work for the dosing (setting the time and/or pressure), along with how to cut one off that pulls long, but I’ll figure that out. At least starting points for pre-
infusion, cutoff, etc

Press the middle button any time to dump “early”

Fwiw my settings are pre infusion 2.4

Dump by pressure 7.0 and 4

4?!! ….. Yes. For dialling in.

When dialling in set at 4 and use the middle button to dump, note what you actually dumped at which is recorded on the display.

I find this more convenient than switching to manual and its just one button press!! Remember to swap back after dialling in though 😋☕

I dose 19.5g plus cintered puck screen in acs 32 basket and 54.4 tamper .

https://www.bluestarcoffee.eu/Mobile/en/gb/Precision-Coffee-Tamper-544mm/m-m-5414.aspx?PartnerID=22&gclid=CjwKCAiA2cu9BhBhEiwAft6IxGC-zD6TEELLVXHbhroZOR32AZ4uNd6HASxy9oZ61vvDNnegKlm2hRoCgxIQAvD_BwE&utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=UnitedKingdom

Adrianmsmith · 2025-02-18T07:14:59+00:00

sketchy

Looks great

And

Great positioning to stop it interfering with the cupboard doors 😎

DavecUK · 2025-02-18T08:24:51+00:00

sketchy Looks excellent, and it sems you went for the underlighting option, or is it a trick of the light?

Ssketchy · 2025-02-18T13:14:41+00:00

Adrianmsmith Ah… thank you. That was a nice surprise to see the screen maintains a recording of the last pull and the associated pressure when dumping early. I just tried that and it works out nicely!

Ssketchy · 2025-02-18T13:17:21+00:00

DavecUK Thank you, sir! Yep, I ordered the under lighting option. Actually, for years I had used a thin LED strip from Amazon for underlighting on my Vesuvius, which is what you see in the older photo. So I could see why you might be wondering if it was an optical illusion.

Ssketchy · 2025-02-18T13:23:18+00:00

Adrianmsmith I told my wife “you see, I would have had to take out the cupboards completely if I had purchased the Vostok, so isn’t this great?!”

As someone wise once told me, “turn a liability into an asset.” :-)

JJason1wood · 2025-02-18T18:43:10+00:00

Looks fantastic and bet it plays even better. Jealous much haha 😍

Ssketchy · 2025-02-20T02:13:52+00:00

More observations with the Evo Leva after a few days of use. Probably nothing surprising for those of you who have one, but thought I’d share nonetheless, especially in comparison to the Vesuvius.

Setting the dump pressure to 4.0 for dialing in was a nice tip, as it allowed me to figure out my grind and timing adjustments. Thank you @Adrianmsmith
Speaking of adjustments, I did have to dial my grinder down at least three clicks (1 click = 8 microns) but may need to go more. This got my 16.5g dose to 34 out in 25 seconds after a 13 second pre-infusion (38 seconds total). Dump pressure was 8.2b. I need to do more experimenting.
Some interesting observations when comparing flow rates with my Acaia scale for the Evo Leva against my usual declining pressure profile in the Vesuvius. I’ll share more later.
The dosing system is really quite nice. It reminds me a bit of driving a proper stick shift but with a rev matching function or nice synchro gears. You get the tactile sense of it being manual, but a few aids to make it easier.
I’m hitting 11.1 or 11.2b with the safety system, which seems contrary to what some others have experienced.
I picked up an IMS 18-22g 54mm basket to try out a slightly larger dose but quickly realized the rim on that basket wouldn’t allow the portafilter to lock in place, so that will be returned. I would like to find a basket that works nicely with 18g.
The rotary pump, and the unit as a whole is absurdly quiet. I thought I’d miss the sounds of the gear pump from the Vesuvius, but nope.
The unit seems to manage water better than the Vesuvius. Perhaps it was showing its age, but with the Vesuvius, I was starting to get a lot of water via the expansion valve in the drip tray, and the steaming it took to build pressure seemed to take longer and longer. By comparison, it now makes me wonder if some of the components in the steam boiler of my Vesuvius are aging, because of that behavior, and it can’t match the steam power from the Evo Leva.
The digital display is quite lovely. It makes that chassis feel a bit more contemporary. ACS should consider adapting that to the Vesuvius to refresh it a bit, if they haven’t already.

Overall, I’m absolutely thrilled with the machine. Certainly more experimenting for me to do (suggestions welcome of course) and revisiting other info on the net that I looked at prior to receiving the unit. But overall, bravo to the folks at ACS.