[Stevebee]

Evo had it's first run out at the Market this weekend, over 300 coffees just on Sunday (between 2 machines). Worked a treat and very temp stable. Shots have great body and by using the gauge to pull the shot very consistent output. Means no scales ruined by always being wet.

One thing I did change. Lifting the Evo from the floor to the counter at felt ok. Moving it 30m to the car and manoeuvring it was almost impossible. The weight in the back of the machine is 8kg which makes it very back heavy when carrying. It can be simply unscrewed so for Sunday ran it without the weight. No semblance of trying to tip so whilst it is belt and braces to include it I'm not sure it is needed so will continue without it. One small thing I noticed that I hadn't before was the clock on the display. There is one - but only when the machine is off! Once turned on it not there which is when I would look at it!

Overall a great performance and incredibly consistent. Uses a coarser grind which helps with the flavours. No buyers regret on this one 😀

 

[Stevebee]

Did a few preliminary tests between the Evo and Vesuvius, trying to match the profiles / shot time and output. Put 20g in an IMS 32 basket, target 44g out. Dialled to take 40 seconds. I suspected that the deeper bed depth would play a significant part and it turned out that way.

Initially, replicated the timing and pressure shown on the gauge on the V program. This ran way too fast. Had to reduce the pressure at each of the steps to get close to 44g in 40 secs. Will try this on the Decent as I believe it will be the same i.e lower pressure profile to get the same ratio / timings as its also 58mm on the Decent. When I have put the same pressure profile on the V as the Decent, they ran almost the same.

Flavour profile is excellent on the Evo with great body. This is with a medium, q10 days post roast.

As an aside, was seeing the overshoot on the brew boiler that some have experienced previously. Changed the B value to 50 and it has solved this issue. I think the B number is not a straight temp translation but all I know is the changed made the machine act as I expected so happy now 😀

 

[Stevebee]

I'll be looking forward to your comparisons! I'm currently running an ek43 with GP SSP burrs so I assume I'll also have to dial back the pressure.

Is it hard to remove the second spring to get 8 bar?

Personally, I would wait until you get the machine before deciding to remove a spring and try it with your beans. They might be a different roast level etc.. and you may find it works as is for you. Of the 10 or so owners so far, none has felt the need to remove a spring yet and appear more than happy with the quality of shots it produces.

 

[Stevebee]

Norvin's nuts 😁

 

[Stevebee]

The Evo has landed.

Now got to inspect if any damage, but outside looks perfect, then get it set up. Have a Vesuvius so familiar with some aspects of it.

 

[Stevebee]

wow that IS low! Worth increasing the dose? (Same grind) ??

The Evo Leva may share the Vesuvius case but the LSM group and E61 are not the same.

The LSM group extends into the basket, c10mm, so the key measurement will be space to shower screen, so the baskets for the LSM will appear at first glance lower but the dist. To screen may be the same

 

[Stevebee]

The Bravo does feel good in the hand due to it's size and is well made. The Force gives a totally different experience as after the trigger it hammers the puck with the same force every time. Had an Eazytamp but didnt like it as it felt like a metal on metal grating during the tamp. Sold mine. The Decent and Levtamp are similar. Not calibrated but thats not that important tbh. For the LSM group I got a Bravo direct from Gilberto

 

[Stevebee]

@Stevebee

My wife and I are expecting a delivery in March so finances will be tight.

The delivery is an Ultra grinder so I can't push it too far ????

 

[Stevebee]

The stop at 6 bar works really well. The cup clearance with a scale is quite low but it doesn't matter as like everyone else I'll be using the gauge to pull the shot. Is also giving me 43-45g

 

[Stevebee]

is this any good ?

50 mm split ring 316 SS

What for? Even if it fit, how would you get it out. Maybe Shrek could use it for a wedding ring 😂

 

[Stevebee]

Based on the advice quoted (above) I no longer have a desktop PC. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Glad you didn't watch the clip until the end 🔫

 

[Stevebee]

You had me intrigued by this - off on your travels - nomad? Looks pretty cool to me!

Got it at £180 delivered - was just intrigued - like the temp management side of thing and it looks fun to use. Had a Flair (now sold) and also have a Robot so like the manual side of things as I camp as well

 

[Stevebee]

It's not a lot of time to get them made, balance paid, and shipped but like everyone else I live in hope

 

[Stevebee]

I put 20g of espresso grind, medium roast, into the 2 IMS baskets. Had 9mm headroom on the 26 and 14mm on the 32. It came just below the ridge on the 26.

Looking at this, based on the fact the group extends into the basket 10mm, I'd say the 26 is good for doses up to 18g, with the 32 for larger doses than that.

 

[Stevebee]

Maybe our Paolo can make that happen too 😈

Let him get the Evos shipped first! 🤞

 

[Stevebee]

And it doesn't leak

and the boiler doesn't fill either 🤣

 

[Stevebee]

I'm not sure the gear pump is 'hitting' the puck. On the initial pull the puck is saturated (hit) with water from the group. The pump I believe then quickly increases the pressure to the one you set, say 3 bar. How much disturbance to the puck there is I'm not sure as when pressure increases the puck is compressed from then on

 

[Stevebee]

To be fair to Decent it is a different machine than the std E61 or Lever with huge amount of brass acting as a heat sink and their aim was different. They are also transparent with the type and number of failures, which in reality is not high. My biggest issue , which @Denis Smentioned, is software. It is moving so fast with improvements all the time, they even have an update called nightly, it can be a worry knowing when to update. I have stayed on the stable version, but even then there are sometimes bugs in that. Gets sorted very quickly once found but can be overwhelming.

I think any machine can have problems, i.e. a new Izzo Alex Leva was mentioned a few posts earlier, it's how they're dealt with is the acid test and in this regard, Decent are excellent. I do own a Decent, but also have an ACS Vesuvius and an Evo Leva on order for July so am not just a Decent fanboy 😁

 

[Stevebee]

There are number of options explored on the Decent forum for light roasts / 98mm burrs. Either increase water contact time, generally called Blooming, which have a long contact time increasing EY% or the Turbo shots which pass an increased flow through the puck in a short shot time. These can look like gushers so important the pressure reaches espresso pressures. These generally have high EY% but lower body and mouthfeel. Will be interesting to see what approach suits light roasts on the Vostok, especially if the temp doesn't drop during long preinfusions.

 

[Stevebee]

@Like Medium Strong Coffee I think the reason that people attack it from the bottom is that the white spacer ring is compressed to centre the piston. So if it's removed from the top makes it tricky to slide back in as you need to relieve tension of the piston first, hence the need for this tool. If you have a tool, there is no need to touch the 4 bolts at the top of the group. This was from the same HB thread mentioned earlier.