Fracino m/c's

conikal

One of the other threads (Londinium 1) has raised mention of this UK based coffe equipment manufacturer, and i wondered if anyone local had any experience with Fracino m/c's.
They mainly produce commercial equipment and have a respected name in Europe, but they also produce a range of domestic espresso machines.. 2 E61 HX "SS box " m/c's and more interestingly a dual boiler m/c (Piccolo) which sells in the UK for $800 ( equivalent inc 20% tax !)
This is a compact m/c with a commercial 58mm brass group & PF etc.

So, any local experience ??

Lacehim

Hi conikal, I had a look into these 1grp domestic machines when I found out that Fracino are making the Londinium I. They get pretty good reviews online in the UK when you can find them. I basically wanted to see what people thought about build quality and if any issues arose. Customer service seems to be up there with the best of them which is good to know. I doubt you'll see many take them up in Australia because of the price (there are distributors). They are very well priced in the UK. 780 pounds for a HEAVENLY or CHERUB (by the way that includes 20% VAT). Both HX, HW tap, 3 way valve. Build quality seems to be good according to reviews. In AU they retail for $1999.00 of there abouts ??? I could import one myself from the UK for around $1350.00 (That's assuming $200 shipping with Fedex that Reiss is quoting for the Londinium I and paying GST. It might even slide under the $1000 limit!). Yes I know we've covered this ground before, but I think you'll all agree that more can be done with this machine to get it out there. It needs to be priced much more competitively. The distributors are here if your interested http://www.fracino.com.au/distributors/international-dealers.html CMS - Kelvin Grove QLD, Octane Coffee - Zillmere QLD & Dopali coffee - Coopers Plains QLD according to the website. I wonder if they have any? It would be nice to see one, and those distributors are in our backyard here in Qld. From the contact details at fracino.com.au the importers are Coffee Machine Solutions (CMS). EDIT: Also I noticed CMS spec is 2400 Watts, 10 amp. 🙂

conikal

Yes I noticed CMS in Geebung, are the agent here..and they do claim to have in house demo m/c's... but that is a days drive from me ! ( Sydney). There must be a few in use as i have seen one on Ebay recently (Heavenly) The Fracino site is very impressive with every component part listed and costed as spares. It does also suggest good back up for the Londinium.

Lacehim

conikal wrote:

The Fracino site is very impressive with every component part listed and costed as spares. It does also suggest good back up for the Londinium.

It's good to see a decent helpful website, with prices! ??? I've seen outstanding customer service mentioned online by users, and I actually haven't seen a bad comment is this regard. A few complained about the small drip tray, stuff like that, but problems got sorted quick which is what I like to hear. If CMS could do a better price on these I bet they would replace the likes of the Oscar. They look nicer too! I might pop my head in if I get time in Brisbane to look over these machines. It would give me a good heads up regarding finish that I am to expect on the Londinium I.

Beanz

Lacehim wrote:

It would give me a good heads up regarding finish that I am to expect on the Londinium I.

Judging by the interest in Londinium I your feedback will be of interest to quite a few people

Paolo5

I had a look at the Australian distributor's site for Fracino and found this Fracino roaster...the roastilino:- http://www.fracino.com.au/machines/roastilino.html It is a pity that it can handle only a small batch-size

Ryadan

Lacehim wrote:

It's good to see a decent helpful website, with prices! ??? I've seen outstanding customer service mentioned online by users, and I actually haven't seen a bad comment is this regard. A few complained about the small drip tray, stuff like that, but problems got sorted quick which is what I like to hear. If CMS could do a better price on these I bet they would replace the likes of the Oscar. They look nicer too! I might pop my head in if I get time in Brisbane to look over these machines. It would give me a good heads up regarding finish that I am to expect on the Londinium I.

Not sure if I should have started a new thread because of the age of this one, but I thought I'd reply first and see what happens. So I went and had a look at CMS up in Geebung. Nice guys and really helpful. I was there to check out the Nota by Orchestrale and while I was there I looked at the Fracino single group (don't know the name but it wasn't the piccolo). It seemed pretty good compared to the Nota and for $1000 less it made me think twice about buying the Nota. I just wanted to know if you found anymore information out about these machines and what your verdict was. I had never heard of them before and neither has my mate who does a lot of machine repairs. This is prob due to the fact that they are UK based and so prob not as popular as the Italtian brands.

Brett_H

Fracino are the makers of the Londium which has had mixed reviews on different websites. I'd be getting the one you want to wake up with every day. Kinda like a spouse but a much more important decision understandably :pan

Ryadan

Brett H wrote:

Fracino are the makers of the Londium which has had mixed reviews on different websites. I'd be getting the one you want to wake up with every day. Kinda like a spouse but a much more important decision understandably :pan

Haha. good point. Only problem is my spouse is having her say and she likes it. I'm kinda stuck now, because I had my heart set on the Nota but after playing with it I left feeling a little less than excited about it. I found out the model name is Cherub and it gets decent reviews. Its a nice design and with wooden omnidirectional steam and h/w handles instead of the normal plastic round ones, it could be quite a nice machine. The upside to spending $1000 less is that i can justify going crazy on accessories like naked pfs, VSTs, precision showerscreens etc and still be well under the budget. however, I could also prob just buy up all those extras in the coming months too. 😉

Koffee_Kosmo

Ryadan wrote:

Haha. good point. Only problem is my spouse is having her say and she likes it. I'm kinda stuck now, because I had my heart set on the Nota but after playing with it I left feeling a little less than excited about it. I found out the model name is Cherub and it gets decent reviews. Its a nice design and with wooden omnidirectional steam and h/w handles instead of the normal plastic round ones, it could be quite a nice machine. The upside to spending $1000 less is that i can justify going crazy on accessories like naked pfs, VSTs, precision showerscreens etc and still be well under the budget. however, I could also prob just buy up all those extras in the coming months too. 😉

For the members a Francino Cherub model as noted http://youtu.be/tugKZ22gQyQ KK

Lacehim

I've played with Kelsey's L1 and the build quality is very good. Yeah they might have had a few issues early on, but most new things have a few wrinkles to iron out in the beginning. Francino seem to make pretty good quality machines (check out the VW van dual lever thread) but they aren't that big here yet so you'll probably find more info on UK coffee forums. Just make sure you report back here with any info. I remember when I set out looking for Francino. the specs seemed good, so I doubt you'll be disappointed. It really comes down to if YOU are happy with the machine, and if YOU are happy with the way it looks. I like the look of my Oscar, it's red it's different from a big shiny box and that's what I like. 🙂 It also cost me $500, and it makes coffee. 😉