How to Install a Flow Control Device on any E61 Group Espresso Machine | Lelit Mara X

[@stanzistriker]

You have motivated me to do it myself. Thank you. I’m wondering why all manufacturers don’t install these “Flow Control Valves”plus “The Group Head Manometer” (or gauge). In my mind it’s a slam dunk that I want that knowledge & control that these two items give me when making an espresso. I guess while watching your video my thoughts came together & made me realize that I do want to fine tune my espresso! I mean, why am I going to the expense of a quality built espresso machine and not have all the gauges & valves to enable me to tune the shot in? Certainly I don’t want to settle for “just okay”…. I want the “Best coffee drink ever!”

[@josemarivictorsilayan9167]

TIP on changing the lower spring: Lift the lever FIRST. It'll make removing and reinstalling the bottom part MUCH MUCH easier.

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

That's a great tip, wish I knew it before

[@stanzistriker]

Jose: Do you mean the E-61 group head lever?

[@josemarivictorsilayan9167]

@@stanzistriker correct.

[@akquicksilver]

Put the protective tape on the jaws of your adjustable wrench. Much easier.

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

Excellent idea 😁

[@stanzistriker]

Wow, you gave me a thought: instead of putting tape on the adjustable wrench, what about carefully dipping it in that liquid handle coating I’ve seen at the hardware store? I’m seeing difficulties with the “adjustable “ parts of the wrench & the liquid coating, but if that can be surpassed, our espresso toolkit could have a new tool in it!

[@akquicksilver]

Cool idea, go for it!@@stanzistriker

[@ncd3165]

I have a 2012 Izzo Alex Duetto 2 I am adding this to it. I ordered a Quick Mill variety from Chris Coffee whom I bought the machine from in 2012. Looking forward to increased coffee pleasure.

[@karlkrasnowsky3895]

Great video, thanks! Love that you didn't edit out your tool "challenge" issue since this is more like something I would do 😄

[@sdv1001]

This is a great video. I have just obtained a machine with a flow control valve pre-installed. I am really looking forward to seeing more of your content including demonstration videos and tips about using a flow control valve. Your presentation style is excellent. Thank you.

[@maxwellkennedy9524]

Hi. We chatted previously re PID install on gagging classic pro. Last weekend I installed flow control on my profitec pro 700 and am experimenting with some fox and some st Ali coffees. So much more control, pre infusion, flow rate profiles, ramp up, ramp down etc. all the way to drip style long blacks. lots to learn here but definitely more flavours and less “brightness” on first taste as highlighted by WLL guys. Following along. Many thanks again for your sharing. Max

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

That's great Max, you're well equipped to enjoy some delicious coffees. Are you also located in Melbourne 😊

[@maxwellkennedy9524]

@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 yes I am. Purchased profitec from Paul at Kbean 3 years ago and it’s been wonderful. The GC pro I use for travel as it’s light and fast to heat up. With the mods it gives a good extraction.

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

@@maxwellkennedy9524 same here, I also got it from Paul

[@psychedalek]

Wow, it's quite startling seeing the pressure spike up so quickly on the Lelit gauge once you changed out the pre-infusion spring. Looking forward to seeing the mod in action.

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

It's an interesting mod for sure, a lot of exploring to do now 😊

[@nicehugoboss]

nice video even i didn’t start. but felt the detailed explanation and video and great video for someone who like to install/modify our loved cff machine 😹😹😹👋👍

[@jasonboltz8255]

Love the countdown!!!!!! Very professional!!!!

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

Very kind as always 🙏

[@Dingdongding-h2q]

Congrats on the Mara X! I've followed you since the making full use of GCP. Great choice on modding the flow profile straight away :)

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

Thank you sir 🙏

[@izri1]

Great tutorial. I am about to buy my first espresso machine ever. Is it also possible to install a temperature control on a machine that doesn't have one?

[@jasonboltz8255]

Image quality is excellent!!!!

[@lockedout8643]

Man I just ordered a Mara X because it was plug and play and I didn't have to do any mods to get great coffee and now you are showing me mods so I'm always going to wonder if it'll make my coffee better.

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

Congrats mate, enjoy it stock for a while and then see if you still want to mod it

[@TheMartinChnnl]

Very Helpful!!! Thank you!!

[@wakeawaken430]

This mod makes me want to buy an e61 machine, even if I am too happy with my commercial HX machine

[@laszlobarabas2939]

Hi again! I found here on YT a video from Lelit, where they said if somebody installed a flow profile kit on Mara x, it is strongly advised to remove the small spring and valve from the bottom. What is your opinion about this?

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

I haven't seen that video, but I also had a gentleman tell me the exact same thing. I removed the flow profiler not that long ago, just because it seemed to be complicating the whole espresso making proccess. I'm enjoying the machine in its stock setting, and the only thing I changed was lowering the pressure to 9bars.

[@brownsugarcoffee1]

Where did you get the flow power kit from?❤

[@gmessara]

After you change the pre-infusion spring, you still need to remove the 3rd spring in the very bottom! Something you missed doing....

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

that's interesting, I'd like to know where that spring is

[@roynessk07]

Great video, thanks! After several months of usage, have encountered any problems or unexpected consequences of installing the flow profiler?

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

Thanks Roy, recently the flow profiler has been playing up.. I was getting some inconsistent flow results, luckily the guys from Coffee Sensor are great and they sent me a service kit to resolve the issue

[@poojawason4968]

Hi there, I found your video very helpful. Just want to know for preinfusion stage how much flow of water is needed and how to do that? I have a machine where it's already installed but I am finding it challenging.

[@muratozt]

Hello Mate, thanks for the great and useful video. Honestly I was wondering about how you would film this installation live in one shot. I have the experience that one or two things will definitely go wrong while filming, especially if it is your first installation. In my Gaggia PID installation I have one jump cut fix, two fast forwards and one later on addition (when I found a better way to remove boiler). Good luck for your future videos:)

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

Hey Murat, thank you for the kind words 🙏 It's always like that when I install something, there is either something missing, or I do something wrong and then I have to go back and re-do it again. I like the idea of showing that in the video, because that's real life, people do mistakes and that's normal. It makes the process relatable 😄

[@sbug1417]

Does your Mara X still discharge water to the drip tray or did you mod it ? If you didn't can you advise if using the flow control kit results in even more water going to the drip tray? Thanks!

[@ozpain1]

What if your FC pressure gauge climbs to max bars regardless of how much you open the valve? The machine was set back to factory 11 bars of pressure as recommended by the WLL (from where I purchased my Quickmill).

[@dirkl216]

I can’t wait until you begin to make espresso also…!

[@dirkl216]

😂😂😂😂

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

Workflow video coming up 😊

[@alanelassad]

Thank you for the very nice and detailed video! Which e61 flow profiler model have you acquired?

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

It's "Coffee sensor" 😊

[@alanelassad]

​@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 Great, thanks for answering! This brand is clearly advertised on many webshops as not compatible with Lelit, which seems odd. I'm glad to know it works, I did not see a reason why it wouldn't. Do you have any clue?

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

@@alanelassad not really, but everything is good as long as it works. They also have great customer service, 12/10

[@abbasmuhanna]

If my machine heat exchanger that is single boiler if installation this flow control, is it give me good results ?

[@kevinmarinus4752]

What do you think about the combination of a vibration pump with a flow profiler, compared to de combination of a rotary pump and a flow profiler? Does a vibration pump allow for consistent enough pressure (especially at the start of a shot) for proper flow profiling?

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

I've never had experience with machines that have a rotary pump and flow profiling, so I can't really answer your question. I can say that so far the experience with the Mara X + FCD has been great, in my opinion it's worth adding it as an option to explore the coffee world

[@whitefordblueclark77]

Will this work on a Rocket Nera Appartamento? If so, does the bottom spring need to be replaced? Thanks in advance!

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

I think it should work for any e61 grouphead espresso machine

[@antoniou5]

Thinking of buying the mara myself, but not having a pid kinda holds me back. I know it has the 3 mode switch for the brew temp but idk

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

Thought the same as well, but from my experience so far it's not a drawback at all

[@josemarivictorsilayan9167]

Owner since Feb - I was once like you. But having a PID won't matter really once you have 3 modes. You'll disregard the precise temp by the PID. The 3 modes are MORE than enough.

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

@@josemarivictorsilayan9167 well said

[@laszlobarabas2939]

Hi, I own a new Mara X. Installing the flow controll device does it affect the warrant?

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

excellent question, I'm not sure if it would. I got the flow device from the same place as the machine and the seller didn't mention anything about voiding the warranty

[@laszlobarabas2939]

@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 Thank you.

[@emirhanozkefal7474]

Hi there, thank you for the video but I have a question. I'm using GCP 2019 and looking for an upgrade but I'm so stuck between Bianca and Mara X. My main issue on GCP is the steam power problem due to its small boiler. My question is for you; How satisfied are you with Mara x steam power and quality after GCP? Does it make good work for back-to-back 2-3 cappuccinos? Is it perfect or is it just okay? I so tend to Bianca but your experience as a user will have an impact on my decision, if you enlight me I'd be appreciated thanks in advance!

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

Here is my experience. I always use the Mara in brew priority mode, which gives me less steaming power but more brew water temperature stability. The steam is not as powerfull like on a commercial machine, but it's good enough to make 10/10 microfoam milk for latte art. I've used the Mara X to make 5 back to back coffees, didn't have any issues at all. Also consider the fact that the Bianca is 80% more expensive than the Mara X, and I don't think you would be getting 80% more machine for the money. Hope this helps mate and good luck :)

[@emirhanozkefal7474]

​@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 Thank you for the quick and descriptive comment, you are the best!

[@p4lxrich]

Where did you get the flow control itself?

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

I got it from the KBean here in Melbourne, same place where I got the espresso machine. You can find it on the Coffee Sensor website

[@elainemanfredi7115]

You can also get it at 1st Line online as well.

[@criancrna1487]

Awesome video, you forgot to mention to remove the lower spring as mentioned here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zqbdc5yuap1lmdU

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

It's mentioned at 7:57 😊

[@criancrna1487]

@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 No, you mentioned to replace the lower spring, but forgot to mention to REMOVE the lower VALVE and SPRING, while replacing the upper, lower Spring as mentioned in Dave C’s video. The link above is time stamped to the exact photo.

[@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746]

@@criancrna1487 I did not do that. It seems the Coffee Sensor flow profiler and the one from Lelit are not quite the same