Coffee machine - repair or replace?

Forums › Off topic › Coffee machine - repair or replace?

1 | 2 | 3

nzmatt

42 posts

Geek

#2782181 22-Sep-2021 15:31

One consideration for boiler vs Thermoblock for home users is power use, which may or may not be a big enough concern for people.

Boilers take a while to heat up, so people often run them on a timer so they are good to go in the morning and turn off sometime during the day.

I found a thread that said there machine used 3kWh 7Am - 10PM. Using this as most entry level prosumer boiler machines will be similar (no insulation on the boiler) This equates to 200W/h. If you run your boiler for just 5 hours a day (7AM to Midday) you are using 1kWh/day - about 25cents - $100 a year, before making any coffee. A thermoblock heats up much quicker so is usually left off till needed.

Not forgetting the environmental impact - the timer solution usually turns a home machine on in the peak time, heating up a boiler full of water, when New Zealand power generators are burning dinosaurs.

Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek

#2782283 22-Sep-2021 18:48

nzmatt:

One consideration for boiler vs Thermoblock for home users is power use, which may or may not be a big enough concern for people.

Boilers take a while to heat up, so people often run them on a timer so they are good to go in the morning and turn off sometime during the day.

I found a thread that said there machine used 3kWh 7Am - 10PM. Using this as most entry level prosumer boiler machines will be similar (no insulation on the boiler) This equates to 200W/h. If you run your boiler for just 5 hours a day (7AM to Midday) you are using 1kWh/day - about 25cents - $100 a year, before making any coffee. A thermoblock heats up much quicker so is usually left off till needed.

Not forgetting the environmental impact - the timer solution usually turns a home machine on in the peak time, heating up a boiler full of water, when New Zealand power generators are burning dinosaurs.

Quick and very mental arithmetic leads me to conclude that the fuel burned driving to the nearest cafe for good coffee outweighs the cost of running a proper espresso machine at home. That's my story - and I'm sticking to it.

Was it me who posted about the electricity use for my machine as monitored by the smart plug I have it connected to? If so then sometimes I make serious errors of judgement, and that was one of those times.

Seriously though - I should change the timer schedule, the machine has a rotary pump that'll pump hot water out of the Hx circuit as soon as the boiler is up to temp - only a couple of minutes. The timer in the black box shuts it off after a one minute burst, and the waste tray as well as the boiler is plumbed in, the pump is the same as what's used in commercial machines designed to do hundreds of dose a day, and in 10 minutes from cold it's up to temp after a couple of one minute bursts and ready to go. I never read about the trick to pump Hx water through the group to heat it up quickly on any coffee zealot forums, probably because rotary pump and plumbed in machines are less common.

Handle9

11386 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2782302 22-Sep-2021 19:44

mdf:

Hoping to get some similar guidance about what to look for in an espresso machine upgrade.

We've got a Sunbeam Mini Barista thanks to a previous Geekzone recommendation - also got the single wall filter baskets and a decent grinder, again thanks to GZ recommendations. Been super impressed with this little machine but it has had a pretty hard life - 3 or 4 cups daily for the last two years, I don't think I've cleaned it once, and (probably unsurprisingly) has started to develop issues. The steam wand leaks when pulling a shot, and now I'm also starting to get leaks around the portafilter basket. Time for a new machine.

It does seem that upgrades comes with a pretty steep price curve. From what I can tell, each jump seems to just about double in price. I guess I'm happy to spend the money if I am genuinely getting something better, but will need some pretty compelling arguments to convince the the financial comptroller that a big jump is worthwhile. And she almost certainly won't believe me if I claim "this will be a machine for life".

circa $250: replacement Sunbeam Mini Barista. I know it works well and already have the filter baskets etc.
circa $500-$1000: all the "Briscoes Brand" options (Sunbeam, Breville, DeLonghi) seem to basically be the Mini Barista (thermoblock + portafilter + steam wand) + an inbuilt grinder (which I don't need). Or am I missing something important?
circa $500: Acaso Basic. Basic European (Spanish) equivalent of the Mini Barista. Though again, I may be missing something important, and am a bit wary of assuming European = Always Better.
circa $1000: Acaso Dream Machine. Certainly a fancier looking European machine, but fundamentally still seems to be the basic thermoblock + portafilter + steam wand?
also circa $1000: Gaggia Classic. Cheapest boiler cf thermoblock (I think) option I could find.
circa $1500: Rancilio Silvia or Lelit Victoria. Lowest price point for a name brand that I think I have heard of.
circa $3000: Rocket Apartamento. While I am sure I would be stoked with this one, not sure I can justify a $300 --> $3,000 leap.
Flat white is my drink of choice. I'm pretty happy with the taste and quality I get out of the Mini Barista with freshly ground beans. I sometimes still stuff things up (too heavy a tamp, don't get the milk right etc.) but generally put that down to user error. The only real limitation I've found with the Mini is that it is slow and when we have guests it does take a while to make everyone a coffee. But that is not that often in these Uncertain Times and so won't be enough of a justification.

Keen for feedback on pros and cons at each price point. Part of me is tempted just to get another Mini as a replacement, while another really wants something better (though that is pretty much my default setting on any purchase).

If you could address your compelling justifications for an expensive upgrade to "Mrs MDF, Financial Comptroller MDF Enterprises, c/- Geekzone..."

In the thermoblocks the sweet spot for price/performance/features is the Breville Infuser. It gives you a nice range of features for $399 and performs well. It will perform better than your Mini Barista as it has a metal group head, which will give better temperature stability.

If you don't want automation for milk steaming that is about as far as you need to go with a thermoblock. Many of the Breville thermoblock machines have the same guts. I've had an Infuser for around 5 years and it's been great. Descale if required and backlash/replace the seals and you should be set for 5+ years. Newbolds have a red one for $399 if that spins your wheels.

I'm going to upgrade later in the year to either an HX machine or maybe a dual boiler. I don't see the value in going to a single boiler machine. It may give me better espresso but the Silvia and Gaggia Classic are ugly IMO and don't give me enough of a performance uplift.

I guess it depends what you want. I tend to agree with James Hoffman that if you are buying a high end espresso machine you are buying a hobby not just an appliance.

1 | 2 | 3