The General ACS Minima Thread

Adrianmsmith @DavecUK and @Cuprajake

Thank you for the comments on the flow control/pressure mechanics. What a difference 48 hours makes. I have since been able to use the flow control to my liking and understand the variables better based on your feedback. Don’t want to call myself an expert by any means just yet, but the shot I have been pulling using the flow control has been the best shot I have ever made. I’ve been preinfusing for like 20 seconds at 2 bars of pressure. Then I fully open it before tapering back down until I get my desired 34-36 grams out. The difference in body and taste compared to the normal fully open shot is the most noticeable for me, which I am thinking has to do with the off-gassing of the CO2 during the longer preinfusion phase. The beans are very newly roasted (5/19) so I was reading that it may be good to do that longer preinfusion. Long story short, it has finally started to click. The main issue for me was just getting used to the behavior of my specific flow control unit. Thanks all!

gregE

Thats good news ….. to quote Leonard (Cohen’s, not Nimmoy) …… 🤭🤪

Hallelujah!! ☕☕

My minima has developed a tiny leak from the rear of the pressure gauge.

Any hints or tips before I bundle in?!? Assume it might just need sealing, but could be an issue I’m completely unaware of.

@Adrianmsmith @DavecUK

Thank you both, that’s great. I’ll take some pics once apart.

@Adrianmsmith where did you get the thin spanners from?

Won’t be until next weekend as building a shed this weekend. Not the weather for it!

PortafilterProcrastinator They look like shower door spanners, or perhaps bicycle ones?

Bicycle cone spanners are narrow

For some reason one of your videos @DavecUK is escaping me but I just got back from a two week vacation. I had done a full back flushing clean before I left. Any best practices i should do on the machine before using it after two weeks?

gregE Do you have the later model with drain valves?

PortafilterProcrastinator those threads need properly cleaning befor you even buy the ptfe never ming use it!

I can’t lie so im not going to comment about your spanner comment. 🤢

Adrianmsmith Haha, oh yes, these were taken when I first took it apart. All thoroughly cleaned before I did anything else.

I think it must have been a liquid sealant as the gauge doesn’t tighten, it just hits the inside of the group that you can see.

It now doesn’t leak - but this is equally unacceptable! All too late getting into this now, so I’ll have to be offended by the gauge until I can spend some time on it at the weekend.

PortafilterProcrastinator It now doesn’t leak - but this is equally unacceptable! All too late getting into this now, so I’ll have to be offended by the gauge until I can spend some time on it at the weekend.

Put enough PTFE so it’s tightish all the way in and don’t do it up fully, it doesn’t create a better seal, quite the contrary. Just stop when it’s most of the way in and the gauge is level.

DavecUK

@PortafilterProcrastinator

Just to continue Dave’s point here if you are not over familiar with thread sealing especially with something like this pressure gauge, it is the actual contact of the PTFE tape against the faces of the threads on the internal and external part that stop it from leaking.

With the correct amount of PTFE, it will be easy to get the gauge in the correct orientation.

On my synchronika I once set mine so the number nine was at the top but my wife soon made me change it 🤪🤔😶

There is a misconception that it has to go all the way to the bottom but in this case there is nothing to seal / bottom out by going all the way to the bottom.

Adrianmsmith Thank you, I do appreciate the advice.

Hard to believe I’ve successfully moved and/ or replaced all the rads in my house without ever having a leak.

No matter what I’ve done before doing something ‘new’ for the first time always brings an anxiety spike with it and I lose objectivity.

Hi Minimistas - I’m looking for some guidance. I received my Minima in March and have generally been delighted with it. The coffee’s great and I opted for the gold which looks fantastic.
Unfortunately, after a couple of weeks, I noticed a thin film coming away from the drip tray cover - under the valve drain and the hot water tap - basically where it’s exposed to hot water (not ideal in an espresso machine).
I’ve been back and forth with Maria from ACS and they have sent me a replacement cover (I haven’t risked putting this on the machine yet). But they (ACS and the supplier who does the coating) don’t have an explanation and say no-one has ever complained before about this issue.
It looks to me like an acryllic lacquer that’s not suitable for heat/water or hasn’t been applied/cured properly. My best guess is that it’s an anti-fingerprint coating, sprayed on after the PVD process, but ACS deny this - they say there is no coating applied after the PVD process.
It’s now started peeling off on the top round the vents and they’ve offered to replace this too. I do appreciate the offer but I’m very wary of it happening again. I paid extra for this finish and specifically asked about durability before ordering.
I’ll share some pictures and I’d be grateful for any advice, particularly if you have the gold finish.

Here’s a video which shows the film/coating peeling away better:

clamage

From what you say, it obviously isn’t, but it looks like a protective coating that was meant to be removed on delivery, similar to the white plastic on stainless panels.

Adrianmsmith
Yeah, it’s much thinner and more brittle than that. It’s really like a sprayed on lacquer that’s flaking off. The gold coating isn’t coming off, but where the clear coating comes away it changes the reflectivity of the surface - it’s really noticeable