Vesuvius Pressure Profiling Machine - General Discussion
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DavecUK I have not checked it, sticking to the principle if ain’t broken don’t fix it. It is strange for PTFE to turn brittle.
I suspect it would also matter whether the machine has been on 24/7 routine, or like me used via smart plug for an hour a day.
Current setup: ACS Vesuvius, Nuova Simonelli Mythos One. Past experience, Nuova Simonelli Apia 1 gr., San Remo Capri 1 gr., Bezzera BZ 35e, Fracino Heavenly. Anfim Super Lusso.
Contact me at: john_yossarian11@yahoo.com
Hi all. I’m a 6 year owner of a Vesuvius and I read here that the pump is almost silent. Mine is not. By silent I imagine a rotary vane pump in a La Marzocco. The Vesuvius has a Magnetic rotary pump which I believe can provide different pressure and will not deadhead. So, it’s a different kind of pump. So, what’s quiet? Mine whines at a volume that is quieter than a vibe pump but WAY louder than a rotory vane. Thoughts or videos with sound?
No they are noisy there a full on gear pump
Rotary vane can be near silent,
Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -
Very cool how they work
Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -
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A year after Caffeineus_Impervious had this issue, my Vesuvius is behaving similarly. Quoting CafImp:
The problem is as follows:
No water is coming out of the shower screen.
The pump works and is building pressure.
When the machine is cold (and powered on) no water is coming out of the shower screen.
The only way to get water out of the head is to open the top nut and relieve some of the pressure in the group head (risky, but I’m a gangster). This will allow me to pull one shot, then the problem returns.
A few things are different in terms of machine condition: built in 01/2015 ser # C00019, the top cam pin looks rather worn, AND WHEN it does dispense properly the cam lever will move outward toward water spigot about 2mm mid-shot pull. This cam lever movement usually means the flow will stop for the next shot so I have to loosen the top nut/bolt to get the flow to release.
Since CaffImp posted then ghosted this thread, it seems there was not a solution that worked other than the temporary adjusting of the cam extension on the top valve pin. When the machine cools down I will try this. It’s a bummer to not see the fix after DavecUK and many others tried to help… but CaffImp’s machine was new and mine is old, so I will fix it hopefully with guidance from y’all and Paolo.
My group guts were scaley so I disassembled, cleaned and reassembled thinking a clog of scale at a jet or somewhere was the culprit. No joy. Still have to release pressure at top nut/bolt to get flow at dispersion screen.
Will try Kanen Espresso in Berkeley for this top valve pin available pronto. I emailed Paolo and await response.
Want pics?
The square edge that touches the cam is not square but chamfered, is this worn out?
Sorry my iphone camera is dodgy and doesn’t want to focus.
Also, isn’t there supposed to be a small spring at bottom of group vent? Where’d that go?
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ignazthecat top group valve is completely worn out should not be chamfered. It is the reason why you can’t get water out of the group properly and needs either the cam follower replaced, or preferably the entire valve., as it’s seal will probably be in need of replacement as well.
using the last photo, the middle valve is the preinfusion valve and should not have a spring on it…This I have highlighted in yellow in the photo
Lower valve is the vent valve and should have a spring..as in the photo..the spring you have on the preinfusion valve should be on the top valve and the spring on the top valve should be on the vent valve. It might be why the top valve wore so much
P.S. Preinfusion valve may have a worn cam follower as well. Contact AC S for a spares pack, see if they can send it as a small packet of some kind.
P.P.S. You need to lubricate the group after backflushing with cleaner and periodically.
DavecUK using the last photo, the middle valve is the preinfusion valve and should not have a spring on it…This I have highlighted in yellow in the photo
Lower valve is the vent valve and should have a spring..as in the photo..the spring you have on the preinfusion valve should be on the top valve and the spring on the top valve should be on the vent valve. It might be why the top valve wore so much
I surely reassembled it incorrectly because my parts assembly pic was taken before putting it back together. I dunked the parts in descaler when disassembling then laid them out in the order I believed they went in before reassembly. I’m confused as to why your assembly parts pic has a spring (highlighted) that you are saying doesn’t belong in the Vesuvius while understanding you observe my springs are in the incorrect order.
The two springs I have measure 3.4mm and 4.5mm. You say the 4.5mm spring goes on the top valve and the 3.4mm spring goes on the vent valve. (I think I assembled it this way first then second thoughts muddied my pathways).
You say DO NOT put a spring where I highlighted yellow?? Otherwise this is the proper order for assembly?
ignazthecat That’s correct…I specified the preinfusion chamber was disabled on that machine design almost 9 years ago now…hence hence no spring on the preinfusion chamber. I could have chosen a high pressure spring on the preinfusion chamber and removed the vent valve entirely, but I wanted the group mass to be preserved and that extra water in the (disabled) preinfusion chamber adds to the temperature stability of the machine and for other technical reasons as well. it also helps with drier pucks as it assists the water out of the group when venting the system.
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Thank you Dave. Installing the springs correctly makes a difference. Taking the pins to Kanen Espresso in Berkeley. With luck they may have top pin in stock (and maybe better ’shroom), otherwise they can order from Chris Coffee or ACS. Very grateful for you quick assistance.
Hey people!
Just an update:
life has kept me very busy but I got in contact with Maria at ACS and she has been great.
Navigating various holidays and DHL cock-ups, eventually managed to get the machine back to ACS. They probably had it for around a month then got it back to me in perfect working order, including the defective screen.
I’ve just emailed Maria today by way of appreciation and have asked her what was causing the problem, if it’s of any interest to folk.
Ciao!
Greetings from California! As you know I am a newbie with the espresso hobby. Question: In your opinion what is better flow profile or pressure profile? There is a lot of debate between these 2 profiles or controls.
Does it make sense to add a flow control on my Vesuvius?
Thank you for your expertise and you guys have help me a lot with other issues.
Kape17 Welcome to the forum…It’s doesn’t make sense really to add flow control to the V, you already have a very sophisticated profiling system.
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DavecUK I read that you can pre infuse at 1.5 bar on the V. Because I could not set mine to less than 2 I got the flow valve to have some fun. An additional learning since adding that hardware is that the group pressure can be lower than pump pressure at high flow rates such as with turbo shots. Anyway, if anyone knows how to get the V down below 2 bar in a profile I figure it’s you. Any suggestions?
jonathanUSA I believe it was limited to 2 bar….and I don’t believe it can be set to less than 2 bar…unless they did a firmware change I was unaware of some years ago, but I can double check that today. The rationale was that below 2 bar the brew boiler itself can give positive pressure, admittedly not much, but there was the thought that this might prevent the brew boiler filling…I personally think 0.5 bar as floor would be fine to prevent that. In fact I don’t think there ever would be any real risk of heating element exposure, even if the pump stopped and I have mentioned over the years about lowering the minimum pressure and introducing 0 pressure phases!
Also there was the belief at conception that people wouldn’t want to preinfuse at 2 bar.
….anyway I’ll find out for sure if there was a firmware change.
DavecUK So I have pre infused by just lifting the handle past the closing the exhaust that depressurized the group into the tray and just before the cam engages the switch and turns on the pump. This point opened the brew valve a little and you get a nice flow from brew boiler pressure alone. It works well in fact. Problem was when I lifted the handle all the way and the pump kicked in. This was about 30 seconds of infusion with pump off and when it turned on it behaved as if it was not primed by winding up to max RPM and when pressure began once again to build it overshot to the tune of 14 bar which was 5 over the 9 in the program. A lot of words to say that I think the system must maintain some minimal back pressure on the pump. So, a 0 bar stage option would be great. Pressure at the group would remain and decrease as puck was soaked but the pump would still be primed.
jonathanUSA - are you sure the brew boiler is ever under pressure without the pump being on?
It wasn’t the case on E61 machines I owned in the past. Maybe the Vesuvius has some sort of feature which allows that?
MediumRoastSteam are you sure the brew boiler is ever under pressure without the pump being on?
I am 100% certain. As is pretty much every brew boiler of dual boiler machines.
DavecUK ok, I’m confused. 😊
Is the pressure we talking about here due to the fact the water in the brew boiler is usually slightly above boiling point, e.g.: 107C if we want 94C at the group sort of thing. But is his pressure sufficient to pre-infuse anything?
Maybe I should have being more specific in my previous post, sorry. Now, If the brew boiler is at pressure around 0.5 bar or more sort of thing, then I would like to understand how, for my own benefit, please. 👍😊