gobucks I suspect it has something to do with the PID system trying to juggle 2200 total watts of boiler power using a 110v/15A outlet, but I’m not sure

The machine does not use both boilers at the same time, ever, not even in Europe. The maximum it will draw is approx. 1250W max. I cannot explain why you have the dips with the machine idling, but it’s nothing to do with trying to draw 2200W, for sure. In fact, if you have a power metre, or a smart plug which can monitor power consumption (I had a TP link Kasa and it did) you could verify that.

have you considered making a Timelapse video and uploading so we could see for ourselves what’s going on? It’s very strange.

    gobucks just put it into the auto standby mode, and haven’t experienced any temp fluctuations in the 30 minute timeout period.

    Do you mean “auto standby” - this will effectively turn the machine heating elements off - or reduce considerably, I never tried, after 30 minutes. Do you mean ECO mode, which is operating the machine with only the brew boiler on, in other words, with the steam boiler switched off?

        MediumRoastSteam Yeah when I said auto standby I meant the 30 minute timeout mode, but I’ve also tried using eco mode with the steam boiler off (but I make a lot of cortados and also like the steam preinfusion so I usually leave it on). I have not observed the temperature dip in either of these modes so far. I recently bumped my steam boiler down to 130C, and so far have not seen a temperature dip even with eco/standby off, but I haven’t been running it that way all that long so we’ll see how it holds up. If I still notice the problem with my current settings, I might attempt to do a timelapse, although I have no idea if my camera supports that.

        WRT my description of the power issue, I get that the boilers do not run simultaneously, I’m just wondering if the reduced power availability might affect how the PID software attempts to balance between the boilers, particularly since I was running the steam very hot previously.

        Also I forgot to ask you earlier wrt the IMS shower screen, did the CI 200 IM fit correctly, and you just didn’t like the results? Just curious so that if/when I need to replace the shower screen, I know which version fits the machine.

            gobucks I recently bumped my steam boiler down to 130C, and so far have not seen a temperature dip even with eco/standby off

            This is really interesting! Thanks for the update.

            gobucks did the CI 200 IM fit correctly,

            It fitted, but I think it doesn’t fit as nice as it it where a dedicated shower screen. It felt to me it would’ve been better if it was 1mm wider.

            I just saw no benefit to that screen what so ever, so eventually I just sold to someone who wanted it.

            You know, you become wiser as you get older… When I first got the machine, I went and modded it all: Cafelat gasket, shower screen, thinking everything would make a lot of difference. Finds out I was wrong.

            Don’t get me wrong - I’m not averse of experimentation - to the contrary. But it’s important that you get to know and understand your machine, stock, and then make any modifications you may want to make. At least you can compare. I, personally, found that I rushed based on internet hype right at the start.

                  MediumRoastSteam As an update, I’ve run the machine all day today in normal (non auto-standby, non-eco) mode, 93C brew boiler, 130C steam boiler, and it seems stable between 92C-94C. I haven’t stared at it all day, but I’ve walked by it maybe a dozen times and it’s always been within range. Maybe it really was just pushing the steam boiler too hard that was causing the weird brew boiler behavior. Fingers crossed that’s the issue, 1.7 bars of pressure seems like more than enough for my needs.

                  Also I can totally relate to going overboard with tweaks right from the get go. The first thing I did was drop the pressure to 9 bars, which seemed pretty important, but I should really work on getting consistent dialed in results before I start messing with more things (obviously going to be impossible until my Niche arrives, hopefully soon).

                      Glad to hear it. This is a great machine.

                      Is there a way to mod the Elizabeth hot water knob to be used for flow control, similar to the Slayer Mod for the Breville/Sage Dual Boiler? The Elizabeth is otherwise a more attractive machine.

                        Ah, good point. I see it only has a steam knob. What happens if you open it during espresso extraction?

                          Boren - nothing. It’s a dual boiler. You’ll get steam, and you can steam and brew at the same time.

                          If you go to “About” in this forum, there’s a link to many coffee machine reviews, including the Elizabeth, in great depth. You might want to take a look. 😊👍

                            Interesting. So I finally have some justification for owning two single-boiler espresso machines over a dual-boiler one :-)

                            gobucks . I haven’t stared at it all day, but I’ve walked by it maybe a dozen times and it’s always been within range.

                            Giphy - Arnold Schwarzenegger Reaction GIF

                                -Mac LOL. Pretty accurate. Anyway a few days in, so far, so good. While I can’t explain the exact mechanics of it, it def seems to be related to running the steam boiler hot. At 130C I have no issues, and it’s plenty of steam.