The General ACS Minima Thread

DavecUK I guess it will be the vent bolt, it’s a bolt that attaches to the bottom of the tube which points vertically downwards found behind the cover you said to remove.

they will be laser etched

Quick question about storage.

We’re having some building work done which means the Minima will be going into storage for potentially 4 months.

I am thinking I should drain the boilers before boxing it back up.

Is this absolutely necessary, or am I being over-cautious?

Thanks

PortafilterProcrastinator I am thinking I should drain the boilers before boxing it back up.

Is this absolutely necessary, or am I being over-cautious?

Probably not necessary, unless you have one of the newer models with drain taps, where it is very easy to do.

DavecUK Thanks, no drain taps on mine.

I’ll see how we go, how long it’s looking like once it all kicks off and whether I get nervous!

Or simply heat both boilers up fully every month…

Thanks Dave, I’ll take that into consideration when working out storage arrangements.

Afternoon all,

I recently bought the Minima that was for sale here as a repair project, and while i wait for it to arrive I thought I would start info gathering as I’m completely new to this level of machine. If anyone is able to provide and guidance or point me to guides etc I would be most grateful Below are the all important details:

The post said:

"Minima has now started producing watery steam which I guess is from the boiler overfilling.

Just to compound the fault the steam boiler has also started overheating which I have no clue about.

It was bought new from Bella Barista in April 2019 and used solely for me and my partner a couple of times per day

As its become faulty I have recognised that I do not havethe technic al knowledge to fix it and also I lack the inclination to get involved with it. I should add that the brew side of the machine is working perfectly so for an espresso fan it might just be perfect"

And Dave’s kind advice on said post was:

"The boiler over filling was an issue due to I think electrical interference . in the early models e.g. 2019, the Gicar box autofill probe has a wire to the probe and a wire (black) that needs to be grounded. They did this on the boiler and not the frame. The electrical interreference meant it sometimes overheated. That wire was later moved to a grounding on the frame and the problem went away.

The overheating will almost certainly be a temperature sensor requiring replacement

So it probably needs just a temperature sensor and the earthing wire moved to the frame. At absolute worst, it could be a faulty Gicar Box where one of the triacs has failed closed…it all depends on how it overheats."

So if anyone is able to assist with any videos, guides, etc on how to approach these jobs as a first stop that would be great. I am told the earthing query has been addressed. Also to find out the different ways in which these can overheat as mentioned above, will help me.

Thanks in advance. Mark

breeza May I ask were you got the white unit with the white drip tray? I looked out on 1st-line.com, (what appears to be the only U.S. reseller), and they specifically say the white one comes with the chrome drip tray.

Looks great by the way.

Cuprajake
I pulled out the mushroom and it’s peeling chrome pretty decently. Is there an issue here that the brass underneath leeches lead now? Maybe replace it with a stainless steel version?

could always swap it out for a flow control part - coffee sensor sell them,

@DavecUK brass leeching?

Cuprajake @DavecUK brass leeching?

Not enough in the brass they use to hurt anyone and a very contact area/vs amount of water

They use something called Low Lead brass…

mjswooper I pulled out the mushroom and it’s peeling chrome pretty decently

Have you ever descaled the machine?

Most mushrooms eventually flake chrome in Hard water, and even in soft….nothing to worry about.

I cannot believe I found this thread by accident! I bought my machine from Bella Barista back in 2020 (Oct 2019 build). It’s been serviced once and had a few bits replaced/upgraded by them in 2022. It’s been a fantastic machine. The only issue I’ve been noticing is my steaming. There have been a few times where I clear the steam wand before steaming only to have the temp drop dramatically and then have to wait for it to heat up again. Any thoughts what would be causing that?

One thing I’ve been wanting to upgrade is the steam wand assemble to a lever-style one like on the Vesuvius. Has anyone tried doing this yet? I did read through this thread, but didn’t see it. Another upgrade I’d love to try is installing a programmable shot controller, but I wouldn’t even know where to begin.

Nino

ninobrn99 Yours is an early one…just to check:

• it doesn’t have a steam gauge does it?
• what is the steam temp set to and what does it drop to
• is this just after the steam boiler reaches temp, or does it always do it even if the steam boiler is left on
• is it set to simultaneous mode, or brew boiler priority
• have you checked the PID settings for steaming.

DavecUK

Dave, PID is set to 132 for steam. It’ll drop to about 120 and then start to heat back up. It happens whether I;ve brewed a cup or i’ve just left the machine on for a while and then decide to use it,

I’m honestly not sure if it’s set to simultaneous mode, or brew boiler priority so i’d have to be directed on how to determine. There isn’t a gauge for the steam, only the PID.

Thank you for the response!