I work the same way. My timer is an Intermatic Heavy Duty Model TN311 or maybe it is Model TN3II. It is a mechanical timer and works well. I also rarely use the red on-off switch on the front of the machine. As Ray said, I turn it off when I go on vacation, but I also use it when I partially drain my steam boiler, which I do once a week on Sunday morning. In addition to the Cafiza blind portafilter treatment, I turn off the red switch, run about 200-300 cc of boiling water out of the hot water valve of the machine, then turn the red switch on and allow the pump to pump new water into the steam boiler.
I do this of course to try to keep the TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) in the steam boiler low, to minimize scaling. I put distilled water into my water reservoir, and add just a little tap water to make the TDS reading about 10-20 PPM. I find that is enough to allow the sensor in the steam boiler to work. This morning the TDS reading of the water I removed from the steam boiler was 110 PPM (I allow it to cool before I measure the TDS). My tap water is 250-275 PPM TDS. Allen From: Ray Sachs Sent: Sunday, October 05, 2008 9:01 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Toggle Power Switch If that timer is on backorder, the are plenty of other good ones out there. I'm not sure what make my timer is, but its been working flawlessly for a couple of years now. Those things aren't exactly rocket science these days. Most wristwatches are more complicated. Every day the machine is on and warmed up when I come downstairs to make the first shots. It either turns off by itself at 1 pm or I turn it off manually sooner. The only time I touch the on-off switch on the espresso machine is when we're leaving town for a day or few or longer. Then I flip it off so the timer won't turn it on everyday while we're gone. Otherwise, I never hit that switch. -Ray On Sun, Oct 5, 2008 at 1:18 AM, mpsadeghi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Thanks for the informative reply and for the advice, Brewtus Maximus! This is great! Seems like the right way to go so I took you up on your recommendation and ordered the intermatic. They're on back order but I'll let you know how it goes when i get it set up. I hadn't read the reviews about the melting red rocker switches and am now thankful that i have my simple switch...which heck, isn't so bad to look at after all. And i do agree, especially after today's maiden voyage, simpler interface is better. By the way, the maiden voyage was so fun and rewarding once I got things dialed in. Coming from a little, putt- putt Francis Francis, when I pulled the lever up on my Brew2, it was like turning the lights on to a vast, new world! Ha! Again, I appreciate the guidance and insight! buzzing from all the test pulls, Marc --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Brewtus" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
