Evo 2....After the espresso shot

Find me at coffeetime.freeflarum.com/
This is my routine...
I use a 26mm deep basket, meant to hold 14g, but I find 16g is actually a good weight. This gives enough headspace and the puck doesn't touch the screen when loading unloading dry. If course the puck swells as it absorbs water so you can see the central screen screw indentation after the shot.
The Evo 2 without the safety system doesn't have this screw, so you won't see anything on those versions.
I do find though for my tastes and machine performance/usage this depth basket gives ideal results, especially when using the auto pressure/time release system. I have suggested ACS supply these as well as one of the existing baskets they use which are 31mm deep...a little too deep for a 16g double. An 18g double is just OK in the deeper baskets in my opinion, but you will get a slightly wetter puck and have to let it dry a little longer.
For me the espresso sweet spot is 16g for my tastes.
In the single basket I will tend to use 9 to 10g, all of this does depend on coffee bean density of course. I do intend to show some single shots soon, but for me a single simply isn't enough espresso.
P.S. Although the machine warms up faster if it's been left 30 to 90 minutes in between uses, for much longer periods, you will need the full 15 minute warmup.

[@davidwallace9266]

Hello Dave , what smart plug are you using and what amps is it ?

[@DaveCorbey]

I use only Meross smart plugs 13A

[@michaelblackmore883]

Hi Dave, how often do you backflush etc. Is the cleaning cycle as easy as on the Elizabeth or do you need to strip the head and grease etc?

[@DaveCorbey]

I intend to backflush with cleaner probably every 6 months. This is because it's not really necessary as pretty much only clean water goes through the vent, as unlike an E61, it doesn't suck dirty coffee laden water up to vent it. In fact, in truth backflushing with cleaner won't do a huge amount because of this. I am thinking of other cleaning methods, will update more when I have worked them out. I have a pretty good idea of what do do though.

[@michaelblackmore883]

@@DaveCorbey That's interesting Dave. It's certainly a lovely looking machine and the engineering is impressive and interesting. If I hadn't just bought two Elizabeth's I might be tempted but I think I will stick with them for a while as they are really very easy to use and look after and make nice coffee. Curiously at the moment I am having problems with large variations of extracted coffee even though the grind is the same. I assume it must be the coffee (a 1Kg bag we bought in France which I brought over in December. I have only opened it about 4 weeks ago. I realise that you would be using small bags of fresh coffee which is ideal but we have used bulk buys from Wogan in Bristol for years and had very consistent results which remained the same after I switched to branded coffee in France last year. I suppose it's just this bag but it's only started happening on the last half of the bag. Odd. PS I downloaded your instructions for the Eve but noted that there was nothing about Backflushing in them. Lots of useful advice nevertheless and I sent a copy to the couple who bought my old Ascaso grinder PPS I use Sainsburys mineral water which has very low calcium and magnesium content so I plan to Descaler the Es about once every 2 years ( as I use each only once, or occasionally twice, a day for about half the year that is equivalent to a normal use for a year). Does that seem about right?

[@DaveCorbey]

@@michaelblackmore883 The original instructions don't cover this model, quite a few changes. As for your water it really, does depend on the exact composition and amounts of calcium and Magnesium. The variations with the coffee is probably due to aging, if it's in a bag 4 weeks after opening...it will have aged considerably. For the water have a read of this article I did...might help coffeeequipmentreviews.wordpress.com/2019/07/22/hard-water-kills-your-coffee-machine/

[@michaelblackmore883]

@@DaveCorbey Thanks. The label on the water states calcium 4mg%, magnesium

[@andrebuz]

Hi Dave, trying to sing up for your forum, and it's not allowing me, says I'm recognized as a spammer. What should I do?

[@DaveCorbey]

I have no idea, that side of it is all automatic, try a different username and if that doesn't work, a different e-mail address.

[@andrebuz]

@@DaveCorbeyI tried different usernames and email, still not allowing.