Tuesday, April 28, 2009

FIRST SHOT!!!!


I pulled this shot while trying to take the picture. Not the best shot I ever pulled, but not too bad
tamping the grinds
Warming the cup
Alright, here goes the first shot

Pstat set

The Pstat is now set to .9bars and ready to make espresso. I will let the machine cool, then refill and pull a shot.

Pressure test



Olys use a pressurestat to regulate temperature. The range that an Oly should work within is 0.7 to 0.9 bars. I prefer my machines to hit at .9bars and this one is about at .7. I will adjust the P-stat to .9bars before I pull the first shot.

Warming machine up for first shot

Another reason to use a later machine is that they started putting these 'cuts' in the treads ontop of the boiler. This cut is a saftey feature that give you a loud warning if you try to open the boiler cap while the machine is too hot. Older machines will not give you this warning, and spew hot water everywhere when the cap is removed.
filling up the boiler using a silicon funnel
sight glass in action
warming up.

flushing the boiler

At this point I am give the whole system a complete flush by heating it up and running water through it to make sure that any impurities from the rebuild process are completely removed. At the same time I am cleaning the portafilter and basket in the discarded water. I will pull a shot later today.
Group in action
Yes, this is a pic of the steam valve open. You are not seeing steam becasue the steam is very dry. Perfect for making a nice cappuccino.

Monday, April 27, 2009

more pics of assembled Oly





condition of case

Back
Left side
right side
Interior

Top
marks on corner
Other corner is clean.

So here are pics of the case. As you can see the paint is in amazing condition and has great depth and shine. There are a few nicks to the paint, but nothing major. Overall very acceptable.