So there's a lot of people buying Minimas on here at the moment and a few experienced users so I thought a thread dedicated to the Minima with questions / information on the machine would be useful to myself and the others who have recently purchased and are about to take the plunge (and to prevent myself from hijacking other people's threads). One question I have to kick us off is about the brew boiler and PID. For some reason my Minima does not seem to like bring set at 93 degrees. Despite me having it set at 93, the display shows it settling at 94. I'm not sure if this is indicative of an issue or standard behaviour. It occasionally will drop to 93 but then goes up to 94 again

Edit…I've just found the PID Values Explained section at the back of the manual where it explains this is normal.

Mine does the same and I confirmed with other Minima users when I bought the machine.

> @"dutchy101"#p6482 Edit…I’ve just found the PID Values Explained section atvthe back of the manual where it explains this is normal. Very good manual that one…, online version available as well. https://sway.office.com/xofz72xFBgYyiWqi?ref=Link

@"dutchy101"#56 @"HVL87"#57 How have you found the stock filter baskets? I'm already thinking of upgrading, but won't do unecessarily quickly - although that is also partly tamper dependent.

@"PortafilterProcrastinator"#p6679 they are fine. Easier to pull a nice looking bottomless shot - in my opinion that doesn’t mean much. I moved on to a 18g VST to optimise my shots as much as possible.

It's been a bit of a transition for me this week as I've changed from Sage 54mm baskets and didn't have a 58mm tamper until a few days after the machine arrived. I got a new distributor yesterday which has also helped so still finding my feet a bit with the stock baskets, but pretty happy with them so far

Thanks both, if they're a similar ID then I can get a tamper (thinking bravo ATM) first and upgrade the basket later when looking for refinement, rather than just trying to make something palatable!

Yeah - I've got a Nomcore 58.5mm tamper on order and coming this week so will get a better handle on things once that has arrived

@"dutchy101"#p6686 I'd be really interested and grateful to hear how you get on. How are you finding the Minima overall?

Absolutely loving it - so glad I went with it I'm really enjoying using it. How about you? Made my wife a tea using water from the service boiler to drain some water this morning and she commented how much better it looked and tasted (using the zero and remineralised water I've been making up).

The General ACS Minima Thread

nrzo

DavecUK
I am not sure that @Raziel has a rotary pump inside.
Haven’t yet set mine up and running – need to sort out and set up an external tank first.
Actually: any advice on this? I would like something made from glass so am examining options. Either a water dispenser or a micro fish tank for instance. The latter I can place under the countertop.
In any case, I will post a video (with sound!) for sure as soon as everything is ready.

Cuprajake

DavecUK

Oh brilliant, that was the only negative, and it wasn’t even so much the thickness, it just needed a support near the solenoid,

I used magnets to create a shelf from memory.

It’s nice to see them using a rotary pump in it also

Raziel

This is a 2022 model. I have put things almost back to where they are but didn’t quite reach 11.

Please ignore the silly cup I grabbed lol

DavecUK

Raziel This is a 2022 model. I have put things almost back to where they are but didn’t quite reach 11.

If it’s not a rotary, I got confusion as to which machine was being talked about, then the vibe pump can be set to 9 or 9.5 bar.

Cuprajake

Rotary pumps behave differently to vibe pumps

Also set up different too

Different machine but same principle with a rotary

Raziel

DavecUK

Cheers for that!

Nice that they do a rotary one now. That’s cool

nrzo

Would anyone perhaps have a tip on how to DIY and set up an external water tank?
I am thinking of some sort of a glass container where I can then add a screw connecter for the water hose which would go directly to the connector underneath my machine.
ECM has a set for the Puristika, but they are very pricey.

DavecUK

nrzo I am thinking of some sort of a glass container where I can then add a screw connecter for the water hose which would go directly to the connector underneath my machine.
ECM has a set for the Puristika, but they are very pricey.

Funny enough I have idly looked around in case I needed one for my Puristika. Mine used a tall pasta jar, in great danger of toppling and breaking. Amazon do a good range and this one would probably be quite good, as I assume you want glass.

Amazon 25ml only £15 or they have other sizes, slightly cheaper. https://tinyurl.com/25hsdxxl

***Note: be very careful to seal the lid properly on the inside surface with a good varnish, or the water vapour will make it warp. Which happens to mine. It’s why ECM went to a metal lid.

There are also similar versions, glass with plastic lids. All that really has to be done is a hole in the lid for the hose…or fabricate something nice with a hose connector on it, going thru the lid.

nrzo

DavecUK
I actually thought of doing something inverted to the Puristika tank – where the hose would be connected below, or at least towards the bottom of the container.
One option would be to modify a glass jar/water dispenser – the thing with a small faucet – by sticking a hose connector in the hole cut for the faucet.
Given that the pump on my Minima seems to be already configured to take water under pressure (at least this is what I understood), I think this could work.

DavecUK

nrzo Given that the pump on my Minima seems to be already configured to take water under pressure (at least this is what I understood), I think this could work.

The pumps will draw water up from 3 to 6 feet. It will be fine with a bottle on the counter and the tubes in the top.

nrzo

Paolo_Cortese

nrzo

You have sent an email today at 7 pm Saturday and I replied at 7,20 asking for a video to understand much better the problem and now I’m reading here that you complain about that……

nrzo

Hi Paolo,

apologies — this was not meant as a complaint at all. I have been sharing information here with Dave and the forum about the machine as everyone seems to be excited about the rotary pump addition. I promised to send a video once the machine is up and running. Many thanks for your prompt reply as well — I am sure we will sort out the problem.

Evgenibgr

Besides less noise, what is the advantage of a rotary pump? The pressure from the rotary pump inkrease very quickly. Isn’t this a problem for the integrity of the coffee puck?

DavecUK

Evgenibgr The pressure from the rotary pump inkrease very quickly. Isn’t this a problem for the integrity of the coffee puck?

No, besides he has a flow control paddle, so it’s essentially no different to a Bianca.

nrzo

After a bit of troubleshooting and Paolo’s kind help during the weekend, I’ve managed to set everything up correctly – (there appears to have been some air in the circuit, thus the initial worry).
Here is as promised a link to a Minima with a rotary pump and flow control, pulling a shot:

P.S. there is a bit of a rattle sound in the background, although this is the vibration from the still improvised glass container, not the pump itself, which is very quiet indeed.

Gtbarringer

Troubleshooting Question: Runaway Steam Boiler. ASC Minima machine is a Jan 2022 model. Over the weekend, I turned the steam boiler on ( I keep it off during the week) and the temperature blew through the 124 C setting. I saw 140C plus on the display. The OP valve started whistling, and I quickly turned the machine off. I let the machine cool for a few minutes, and flushed cool water through by opening the water tap. After the boiler returned to normal temperature and held 124 C for the rest of the morning.

Two questions: Had I not been around, Would the machine shut down or just get hot enough and short one of the wires? 2) Any idea why this happened? The machine did this once before in late 2022, and I had to replace some wiring and the controllers after it shorted.

DavecUK

Gtbarringer Two questions: Had I not been around, Would the machine shut down or just get hot enough and short one of the wires? 2) Any idea why this happened? The machine did this once before in late 2022, and I had to replace some wiring and the controllers after it shorted.

had you not been around, it would have shut down.

the pump would stop pumping after 2 minutes after it emptied the tank refilling the boiler
the boiler would trip the limit stat, possibly before the above happened
large amounts of steam it the case might short something out, if the steam is vented within the case…which I don’t believe it is on later models.

Is it a UK or US model?

Gtbarringer

DavecUK Hi Dave,

This is a US model. The machine seemed to be ok for the last few weeks, However now I have a new problem. The machine will turn on and come up to temperature just fine. However when the pump switch is engaged, the Machine trips the GCFI breaker in the house and loses all power. Do you think the pump has a short or a bad toggle switch ? Any tips on how to trouble shoot would be appreciated. I do have a multi meter to test the circuit.

DavecUK

Gtbarringer However now I have a new problem. The machine will turn on and come up to temperature just fine. However when the pump switch is engaged, the Machine trips the GCFI breaker in the house and loses all power. Do you think the pump has a short or a bad toggle switch ? Any tips on how to trouble shoot would be appreciated. I do have a multi meter to test the circuit.

have you done anything at all to the machine before this problem started?
Check that a wire on the vent solenoid is not touching the case…remove the shield and look
Check a wire on the pump is not touching a metal part

The above is because the only things that happen when you flip the brew switch is..pump starts and solenoid pulls in.

If none of the above questions reaps dividends. Then:

disconnect the pump, does it still happen?
Disconnect the solenoid, does it still happen?

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