ACS Vesuvius - Annual service / maintenance

paiyan

Hi all, and thanks for having me! Glad to part of the community, hello from sunny Perth, Western Australia! :)

I’ve just acquired a 2.5 year old ACS Vesuvius which I’m absolutely delighted about. My first proper dive into the rabbit hole, coming from a Nespresso machine and a Rocket Giotto!

Could I trouble the gurus here for some advice on general maintenance and servicing on the Vesuvius? The manual mentions an “annual service” but doesn’t go into much detail on what’s actually needed? I’m quite confident in doing the basics myself; i.e. gasket change and general clean-up / once-over.

Being a bit of an obscure unit particularly here in Western Australia, servicing could be a potential headache down the track but by all records, the machine is built like a tank. Thanks in advance for your help!

LMSC

paiyan Welcome to the forum! We have a lot of members from down under. Am sure, they will connect with you. We also have a community of very happy Vesuvius users, who will happily help you with your queries, besides our own Dave.

@John_Yossarian is one very happy user.

DavecUK

paiyan Could I trouble the gurus here for some advice on general maintenance and servicing on the Vesuvius? The manual mentions an “annual service” but doesn’t go into much detail on what’s actually needed? I’m quite confident in doing the basics myself; i.e. gasket change and general clean-up / once-over.

The main thing to do with that, or any machine….

Occasionally (every month) when cold feel under the machine, the metal above and visually look at the counter, is there any water or are your fingers wet
Repeat above when warmed up
every 6 months remove just the top panel, when cold, look inside (visual inspect..take a good quality photo and compare it with photo from 6 months ago etc..). Warm machine up, look and listen.
Annually, remove case, use torch, look everywhere, inspect everything, take 3 photos at various angles, inspect bottom plate for signs of leaking and all fittings.
After inspection clean interior gently, but thoroughly, it’s easier to see faults on a clean machines

That’s all you have to do, any faults, post the photos, a description, get advice, replace components if required. If you catch a fault early, it’s much cheaper and easier to fix. Always use good water.

If at any time you notice odd behaviour…don’t ignore it

John_Yossarian

LMSC Welcome to the forum! There is no better place where to get help and advice than this forum.

I have nothing to add after you have got the best information/advice from @DavecUK but I will second @LMSC that this is a great machine as you have already realised.

Australia is a coffee heaven if I can use this and I do not think I exaggerate.
Enjoy your coffee and share the joy 🙂

paiyan

Thanks DaveC for the sound advice. Duly noted and very practical! Will be following this to a tee for sure.

Are there any parts / consumables that would be generally be replaced annually; i.e. seals / o-rings? I’ll be swapping the gasket out for an 8mm silicone one shortly once it arrives in the post.

Thanks again for the reply!

DavecUK

paiyan Really just the group gasket, everything else is on an as needed basis…

Oh and don’t forget to lubricate the E61 group and lever steam seals, every time you backflush with cleaner. There are links and videos of how to do that…in this way your group internals will last a very long time.

paiyan

DavecUK

Gotcha :) have already read your info and seen the video on how to do that as well. Time to go buy some Molykote 111!

Cheers again!

paiyan

John_Yossarian

Thanks mate - looking forward to sharing updates on my journey with the machine!

If it’s not too much trouble, would you have any recommended profiles that you could share by any chance?

Also, I’m struggling to wrap my head around Eco mode and what the differences are between the two steam boiler symbols in the Eco menu and what they do? I’m not planning on using Eco mode or the built in timer - have the machine running off a wifi plug. I’m hoping that powering the unit off directly from the plug won’t cause any dramas; no shutdown procedure needed? Your advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks :)

Gagaryn

paiyan I got a Vesuvius in November, done some playing with profiles but not scientifically enough to have arrived at any meaningful conclusions. I’m keeping it simple at the moment - long pre infusion of 12 secs at 2 bar then ramp straight to 9 bar. I’m currently using a large IMS basket - 20g in and pull about 50g in 37 seconds including the pre infusion time. I’m not saying this is the best way - been doing this for the last couple of weeks with Rwanda - Gitega 576 from Coffee & Canvas. It’s been very enjoyable.

The Eco modes can be difficult to get your head around and difficult to explain so I’m not going to try, but if you are like me you’ll quickly figure it out when it’s in front of you. I don’t use the timers to turn the machine on but I do use the Eco steam function to reduce the steam boiler right down to 67 degrees 5 minutes after it’s been used - it heats back up really quickly. And I have the whole machine turn off if not used for an hour - I find that if I want another coffee within an hour of it having turned itself off it is back up to temp in a few minutes.

I had been going to use smart plugs but have decided against it for a few reasons - my erratic schedule, how quickly it heats up anyway and powering off at the wall will cause the back battery to run down more quickly. This is no big deal really - if you prefer having the machine being completely powered off between uses it will work just fine on the smart plug.

John_Yossarian

paiyan Initially I used one of the profiles the machine came with, 2nd or 3rd. Several seconds PI and then pretty much standard 9 bars till the end.
After a while I started using the 1st profile that is mimicking the pressure variation and timings of a lever machine, 10 secs PI at 2 bars, then in a few second it gets to 11 bars, stays there for 6-7 seconds, then drops to 9 bars for another 5-6 second, and in a similar fashion goes to 2 bars in the end. For 18 g in the original basket I get around 40 mls in 40-ish seconds inclusive of PI.

I do remember using this for the 1st time, my wife came back (we both have doubles in the morning) and asked me what I had done as the coffee had been very sweet. Then I knew something was good and I have never changed it since.

With regard to powering the machine in the morning, I use a bit peculiar system. I have got the V set to start at 05:35 with the smartplug starting at 5:30 am, i.e. it stays on standby for 5 minutes. The same happens when I switch it off, the machine will go in standby mode at 6:25 am and the smart plug will switch it off at 6:30 am. For some reason I believe that this way the system is better protected against spikes upon switching the heating element on but this might be a fiction of mine.

Anyhow, I hope you find your sweet spot in the process.

Cheers!

paiyan

Gagaryn Hey mate, thanks for the response! I’ll probably have to give it a proper play around with to understand what’s going on in Eco mode. The bit that’s messing with my head is the “Steam boiler on/off” bit and the “Eco Steam mode” buttons. Does the “Steam boiler on/off” button only highlight itself when the boiler is on? Turning this option on/off doesn’t do anything? Or does this in combination with “Eco Steam mode” enables Eco mode for just the steam boiler and leaves the brew boiler to its usual devices?

I did have reservations powering it off at the wall (coming from a PC background) that lack of a power-down procedure is generally bad for electronics however maybe I’m overcomplicating things! I was also wondering if the back battery would be an issue over time. Unfortunately with my work schedule (6AM starts), I only tend to use the machine on weekends and at somewhat irregular times as well. The smart plug does let me change my intended start times on the fly off my phone which is convenient, hence the preference! Thanks again for the feedback mate, appreciated. I’ll be giving your profile suggestion a shot as well (pardon the pun).

paiyan

John_Yossarian Thanks for the insight into how you use the machine, much appreciated! Looking forward to messing around with PI and mimicking a lever machine - to be honest I was just about to pull the trigger on a Profitec Pro 800 when this popped up; couldn’t resist picking the Vesuvius up for the price!

I’m with you on the potential spiking when switching on / off the heating element - call it fiction as you’ve suggested but somehow it doesn’t quite sit right with me relying fully on the smart plug. I might try to use a variant of your process - it’s a great idea though using a combo of the smart plug and the in-built timer.

Thanks so much for your response!

paiyan

@DavecUK - curious question; would it be possible to swap out the steam arm on the Vesuvius for the one that seems to ship out with the Evo Leva (GS3 style)?

Thanks mate!

DavecUK

paiyan I guess, but you would have to turn the valve upside down…I would write to ACS just to make sure the fitting is the same.

paiyan

DavecUK thanks mate - might fire them an email :)

Eiffel

paiyan

If you do so, please share the response as others might also be considering a similar move

John_Yossarian

For two years now I have been enjoying the V.

I, however, have a niggling question to which I could not figure the answer yet.

After pulling a shot I switch off the machine via a smart plug (I am certain this has nothing to do with what I am going to describe, just for fulness) and after 5-6 hours I will switch it on again via the App and the smart plug for another dopio.

Anytime, depending on the period between both shots, I notice that the temperature in the brew boiler upon the start reads between 11 and 16 deg C. Given the room temperature is 20-21 deg C and that the V is not directly connected to the mains, mine is plumbed but it fills the plastic tank via solenoid so again, there is no connection between the brew boiler and the mains where the temperature at the moment can be between 5-8 deg C.

I cannot find an explanation for this massive discrepancy. One very far fetched one can be that the thermal probe is way off whenever below 80 deg C and is not reliable, something I do not believe, but I cannot find any other logical explanation.

What is the temperature you see when you switch your V for the first time or after a long pause?
Do you have an answer to this “mystery”?

DavecUK

John_Yossarian What is the temperature you see when you switch your V for the first time or after a long pause?
Do you have an answer to this “mystery”?

Yes, the brew boiler has an offset…so that the brew temperature displayed is what the temperature at the coffee is likely to be e.g. 100C inside the brew boiler, might show on the display as 90 (if a 10C offset is used)…

So if the room temperature is 20C, the boiler temp would show as 10C ish…..

MediumRoastSteam

DavecUK - Not with the V… But I can confirm this with the Elizabeth. When I get up in the morning, the Elizabeth often reads 8C when turned on. That’s because the room temp is 18C.

John_Yossarian

DavecUK Thanks @DavecUK !

This makes perfect sense. I have totally forgotten the offset situation.

Mystery solved