Evo Leva 2 arrived today...

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.

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.

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/

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 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!

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.

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.” :-)

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.

1. 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
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. I’m hitting 11.1 or 11.2b with the safety system, which seems contrary to what some others have experienced.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.