Suped-up Sunbeam (Slayer style) haha

C-man · December 2012

[img][/img]

here you can see the pressure gauge added.

top right side you can see a little white knob (pump speed controller)

Bottom right side if you look closely you can see a little black lever (line pressure control)

C-man · December 2012

here you can see the plumbing involved [img][/img] All the brass bits on the right were added as well as an OPV and line to the gauge. the copper on the left leads down to the line pressure control valve at the bottom left also the wiring for the pump speed control is visable

C-man · December 2012

gauge in action[img][/img]

C-man · December 2012

I can pre-infuse and ramp up or down any pressure I choose I can also ramp the pressure down to lengthen the shot without blonding and spend more time in the chock-let caramel phase of the shot at the end, some shots I let trickle at about 2-3 bar for a while at the end. It is just a cheap machine I picked up for $15 in mint cond. never used. the back gives easy access for mods. I am having a bit of fun pressure profiling different beams. I am finding that 9 bar for 30 seconds is no longer relevant What I do now is find the best grind for each bean, then adjust the machine to that grind rather then grinding for the machine.[img][/img]

Lacehim · December 2012

That has to be the most tweaked Sunbeam I've ever seen C-man. Wow. You've put a lot of work into those mods.

askthecoffeeguy · December 2012

Great looking mods - so how are you pressure profiling? By flicking a switch? And then what happens? P

Jonty · December 2012

The hand grinder worth more than the kit :rofl:

Brett H · December 2012

Just brilliant C-Man!

derrilex · December 2012

Too much time on ya hands C Man :D Nice work :thumb: How about a video in action ?

C-man · December 2012

on 1354707223:

Great looking mods - so how are you pressure profiling? By flicking a switch? And then what happens? P

I can control the pump speed with the dimmer and the line pressure with the valve after starting to extract. I can also control the milk warming speed. I have the OPV set at close to 9 bar now, I have a hole in the side where I can insert a screwdriver to adjust it. I just adjusted it while pulling a tight shot and left it there. but now I am thinking to re-adjust the OPV way up to full 15 bar pump pressure just to play around even more and see how a shot would go with a ramp to full 15 bar just for a short time to maybe extract some deeper oils then ramp it down to lower pressure before blonding. I seem to remember 15 bar was good for a start but needed to be backed way down as before I installed the OPV I could get some good shots but only for the first 10-15 seconds so I always did restretto's Anyway, bottom line--- I am getting good coffee on a cheap machine seems a big soft bean like the Cuban likes a slow ramp-up pre-infusion with a quick peak at 9 bar then a very low pressure run about 3-4 Bar with fantastic results. Other harder beans like to ones I just got From Micheal don't seem to respond to pressure profiling as well, but i wonder how they would with a 15 bar peak?

Brett H · December 2012

This is really brilliant stuff mate! How is the responsiveness of the vibe pump?

C-man · December 2012

on 1354744025:

This is really brilliant stuff mate! How is the responsiveness of the vibe pump?

the dimmer is a little rough, it has smooth spots and not so smooth spots, sometimes the pump ramps up and down perfectly and other times it sorta acts strangely or even chatters a bit. so I use it to get close to where I want to be, but the bleed off valve is steady once I get it to the right place The bleed off valve is a ball valve and should really be a needle valve to have more sensitivity It is all very crude but lots of cheap fun and I am learning all the time.

C-man · December 2012

Just added a triple basket mod.[/img]

Brett H · December 2012

Look out.... :thumb:

askthecoffeeguy · December 2012

Wow that's amazing functionality on an affordable machine - I wonder how long it is until a large scale manufacturer brings something similar to market? Acg

Ronin · December 2012

on 1354743783:

now I am thinking to re-adjust the OPV way up to full 15 bar pump pressure just to play around even more and see how a shot would go with a ramp to full 15 bar just for a short time to maybe extract some deeper oils then ramp it down to lower pressure before blonding.

For what its worth, I was at LTD brew bar in fortitude valley on Friday and Luke explained to me that his sweet spot for the beans he is using anyway, pressure starting between 2 & 3 bar then as it starts to drip ramp to 7.5 to 8 bar, then back down to about 2 to finish. He also suggests to forget the 30sec guide and proceeded to pull me the tastiest 50 sec shot I've ever had. Bloody beautiful dbl ristretto. If ever in that way drop in and pick his brain about it, he's more than willing to share knowledge and has lots off it. The LM Strada will max out at 12.2 bar. It's above my head by a long way but if fun to play with :thumb:

C-man · December 2012

on 1355612900:

For what its worth, I was at LTD brew bar in fortitude valley on Friday and Luke explained to me that his sweet spot for the beans he is using anyway, pressure starting between 2 & 3 bar then as it starts to drip ramp to 7.5 to 8 bar, then back down to about 2 to finish. He also suggests to forget the 30sec guide and proceeded to pull me the tastiest 50 sec shot I've ever had. Bloody beautiful dbl ristretto. If ever in that way drop in and pick his brain about it, he's more than willing to share knowledge and has lots off it. The LM Strada will max out at 12.2 bar. It's above my head by a long way but if fun to play with :thumb:

Interesting, thanks for the input Ronin, I feel I am out here all alone with this sometimes! I have used his exact same pressure profile with my soft beans, yes about 50 seconds with the pre-infusion is about same as me, I even switch cups at the end of an extraction and let it run into the new cup for 10 seconds before removing it and then shutting off just to taste the later extractions to know how long I can go at a low pressure. sometime 60 seconds is OK. It does not work on harder beans though, So I tried the higher pressure with the harder beans, my max pressure is 13 bar out of a 15 bar pump. I got mixed results then ran out of those beans. I can do amazing things with soft beans, but I am still undecided about the hard or even normal beans, I sort of stopped on the hard beans for a while just pulling normal 9 bar shots until I get more beans. when I get enough of the one bean roasted up I will start playing around again.

Ronin · December 2012

You're not alone Cman, but keep in mind this forum is mainly for home baristas and most will not have the capacity or knowledge for pressure profiling. Even some of the better roasters have trouble and on sell machines like the Strada. Limited things can be done on the E61 group machines during the shot but only small pure infusion and post infusion. I have been shutting off the pump but letting the shot run about 5sec more and getting sweeter shots lately with the blends I have tried.. Forgot to mention that Luke at LTD rarely needs to change grind now, most adjustments made using the pressure profile

Brett H · December 2012

on 1355612900:

He also suggests to forget the 30sec guide and proceeded to pull me the tastiest 50 sec shot I've ever had.

Hey, that's what I've been doing with my e61 machine. I figure that as long as the temperature doesn't change too wildly I can run the shot longer for the Wahana that seems to like a powdery fine grind.

on 1355614566:

Interesting, thanks for the input Ronin, I feel I am out here all alone with this sometimes! I have used his exact same pressure profile with my soft beans, yes about 50 seconds with the pre-infusion is about same as me, I even switch cups at the end of an extraction and let it run into the new cup for 10 seconds before removing it and then shutting off just to taste the later extractions to know how long I can go at a low pressure. sometime 60 seconds.

You're not alone mate save for your excellent ingenuity. I try pressure variations on my Pav lever but I have no gauge and prefer to use the look of the shot as my guide.

on 1355617458:

Limited things can be done on the E61 group machines during the shot but only small pure infusion and post infusion. I have been shutting off the pump but letting the shot run about 5sec more and getting sweeter shots lately with the blends I have tried..

I've been doing exactly this with the Diadema Dual Boiler although I've not noticed any extra sweetness.. Just some lovely striping in the shot and slightly more complexity.

C-man · December 2012

good stuff guys! I seem to get the biggest changes at end of the shot using low pressure longer trickle according, to grind, I think this is where that added sweetness lives. Brett- maybe you should do all the soft beans on your manual Lever? By eye and taste is really good enough anyway.

Brett H · December 2012

This is a video of what I've been doing... Sumatran Wahana natural 6 days post: [embed=425,349]

Kelsey · December 2012

Fascinating stuff, great work C-Man! I wonder how long it'll be before we get prosumer machines with this kind of feature set.

C-man · December 2012

great shot Brett! how did it taste? and what is different? kelsey- it will never happen, it just throws too many variable into the mix.

Kelsey · December 2012

Oh I don't know - you could say the same of levers. God knows Breville has created a machine for inveterate fiddlers. We just need a prosumer paddle machine!

Brett H · December 2012

on 1355641613:

great shot Brett! how did it taste? and what is different? kelsey- it will never happen, it just throws too many variable into the mix.

Hey C-man... The Wahana was quite flat tasting this morning so I elongated the shot with a slower ramp up and ramp down. The difference is that I now taste cane sugar sweetness!! Given I grew up in Brandon NQ I almost had to pinch myself. In short (too late) the shot tasted amazing... Hanks for asking.

askthecoffeeguy · December 2012

great work Brett - and a nice extraction - I particularly like the slide flute sound effects at the end of the extraction - for a second there I thought "Wow - that's some crazy in-built functionality in that machine!" :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

C-man · December 2012

on 1355656898:

Hey C-man... The Wahana was quite flat tasting this morning so I elongated the shot with a slower ramp up and ramp down. The difference is that I now taste cane sugar sweetness!! Given I grew up in Brandon NQ I almost had to pinch myself. In short (too late) the shot tasted amazing... Hanks for asking.

Are the Wahana beans soft or hard? I guess I always know because I use my hand Grinder and I can feel them. I tried the Wahana at 4 days post and it was undrinkable and very grassy, my guess is it needs at least 7 days

Brett H · December 2012

on 1355678771:

great work Brett - and a nice extraction - I particularly like the slide flute sound effects at the end of the extraction - for a second there I thought "Wow - that's some crazy in-built functionality in that machine!" :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

:rofl: yes, that iPad baby-sitter has a great sense of timing. I was going to say that when I pulled a bad shot the machine was programmed to make the Family Feud cross sound: dung-dow C-man, I don't know how hard or soft the Wahana is but I think id err on the side of softer. I am waiting for day 10 with this one. My wife was so un enamoured with her flat white this morning she demanded a remake and NO spit from the barista.... It was clearly his fault!!

C-man · December 2012

Brett- when you shut off the pump, then what makes it still flow? and then why does it slam shut with that weird sound?

Brett H · December 2012

on 1355719202:

Brett- when you shut off the pump, then what makes it still flow? and then why does it slam shut with that weird sound?

Hi C-man. This machine is a really well set up dual boiler and the water runs without the pump albeit at low pressure buy using magic. It's really cool. When I push the lever all the way down after running a shot the reming water in the group is exhausted out into the drip tray. I believe that this is also done by one of the dark-arts. Clearly I'm not technically minded when it come to these things. I do understand how it works but my explanation would be long-winded and most likely inaccurate. I just really love this machine and I'm sure that they must walk off the shelves yet I know of only one other in the wild.

C-man · December 2012

Bahhahaha you still got it Brett!

frame

Howdy, Stranger!

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Suped-up Sunbeam (Slayer style) haha

Comments

foot

Policies

Social

frame

Howdy, Stranger!

Howdy, Stranger!

Quick Links

Categories

In this Discussion

Suped-up Sunbeam (Slayer style) haha

Comments

foot

Policies

Social