I am in South Africa and am already running on 220v, so I have the benefit already of the larger heating elements. The slow steaming is not an issue most of the time and it is dead easy to get microfoam, just when I am in a rush to make a number of coffee's.
Also, I like to help out making coffee on a commercial machine from time to time at a local shop. When steaming I feel like I am used to flying a Cessna and am now suddenly at the stick of a Boeing 747, lol. Everything just happens so much faster, getting used to it and then going back to the Brewtus just emphasizes the slowness. JohnB On Sat, Mar 5, 2011 at 10:46 PM, Benjamin McCafferty <bmacpi...@me.com> wrote: > Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. The Brewtus was designed to allow it to run > on a 15A circuit, but I wouldn't mind upgrading to a 20A and having a bigger > element. For that matter, I'd consider 220V if I could get it. My friends > with commercial 220 machines have enough steam for a small train... > > However, I've learned to work with the Brewtus as is, by using different tips > for different purposes--big one hole for hot chocolate, small two-hole for > latte art, etc. > > > b > On Mar 5, 2011, at 7:51 AM, John Brinkman wrote: > >> So bigger element then? >> >> On Sat, Mar 5, 2011 at 5:43 PM, Benjamin McCafferty <bmacpi...@me.com> wrote: >>> Hey John, >>> >>> Have a look at my posts on steam tips about two years ago--I did a similar >>> experiment on how fast tips would bring water to a certain temp, and also >>> measured holes sizes and all that to get total hole area. I also watched >>> the steam pressure gauge to see how the boiler handled the bigger tips. I >>> think you will change your conclusion, since the boiler pressure drops >>> dramatically and runs out of gas with bigger tips. Even with smaller tips >>> the boiler doesn't have enough juice to hold pressure. If the steam wand >>> was the choke point, you would expect the boiler to hold pressure or build >>> higher pressure, but it does just the opposite, even with the stock steam >>> arm. >>> >>> Still, I'll be interested to see what your experiment yields. >>> >>> bmc >>> >>> On Mar 5, 2011, at 6:35 AM, John Brinkman wrote: >>> >>>> Hi Kitt >>>> >>>> I think that it is a pretty well know fact that the Brewtus is down on >>>> steaming power when compared to other similar machines on the standard >>>> water heating test. According to the reviews on Home Barista of the >>>> Brewtus, it is around 33% slower than other machines in the same sort >>>> of price range, namely La Spaziale VII 1.2mm Tip, Vibiemme Domobar >>>> Super, Quickmill Andreja Premium or Giotto Premium who all seem to >>>> take around 28 seconds to raise a 8oz of water from 40 to 160 degrees >>>> Fahrenheit vs the Brewtus which takes 38 seconds with the two hole tip >>>> and 60 seconds with the single hole tip. Home Barista even mention in >>>> the conclusion of their review of the Brewtus "However, both the >>>> single and two-hole tips fell short of the steaming power one would >>>> expect from a machine with a dedicated steam boiler." >>>> >>>> Now whilst steam speed is not everything and sometimes a bit slower >>>> makes it easier, there are times when I would appreciate a machine >>>> that can heat a jug in 28 seconds rather than 60 seconds (like when I >>>> have to make coffee for the whole family). I have owned both a Brewtus >>>> III and now Brewtus Rotary for the last 5 years love the machines. I >>>> did noticed a slight increase in steam performance between the two >>>> when I upgraded. It is however no where close to what I get from a GS3 >>>> (haven't taken that step yet, still considering). I know that the >>>> machines are not in the same price range but I would hope that the >>>> Brewtus's steam would be slightly better than it is. >>>> >>>> I have played around with steam tips using an 8mm to 10mm converter >>>> and various steam tip. I have found that the machine simply cannot >>>> deliver enough steam to power a tip with 4 holes properly. I >>>> believe/hope that it is not because it doesn't have enough steam but I >>>> suspect rather because the steam arm is restricting the flow of steam >>>> from the boiler. >>>> >>>> My aim is to try changing the arm to a standard arm to see if it can >>>> drive a 4 hole tip with enough steam to be able to produce microfoam >>>> (just not possible with current arm). I will also measure the time it >>>> takes to heat water as a comparison. >>>> >>>> JohnB >>>> >>>> On Sat, Mar 5, 2011 at 3:27 PM, Kitt Johnson <kittjohn...@verizon.net> >>>> wrote: >>>>> John, >>>>> >>>>> What are you trying to "overcome" ... i. e., what aspect of steaming with >>>>> the Brewtus do you see as "limited", and there-by unsatisfactory? (I am >>>>> guessing that it is the elapsed time required to raise the temperature of >>>>> 5 >>>>> oz of whole milk from 44 F to 155 F, but you could be trying to raise 16 >>>>> oz >>>>> of milk in a large pitcher or unhappy with the nature of the foam or >>>>> something else.) >>>>> >>>>> Would you mind telling me what (and perhaps how) you plan to measure as a >>>>> marker of the performance before and after switching wands? Do you plan >>>>> to >>>>> use the same wand tip and same boiler pressure (=temperature) in the >>>>> boiler? >>>>> >>>>> Just curious >>>>> >>>>> Kitt >>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Brinkman" , 2011 7:38 AM >>>>> Subject: Re: Steam Pressure >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> I am still convinced that the main limiting factor on the Brewtus >>>>>> regarding steam delivery is the inside diameter of the "Cool Wand" >>>>>> steam wand. >>>>>> >>>>>> I am planning to replace my cool wand with a standard steam wand, do >>>>>> some tests and see what the difference is in steam performance. I will >>>>>> let you guys know what the results are. >>>>>> >>>>>> JohnB >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>> "Brewtus" group. >>>> To post to this group, send email to brewtus@googlegroups.com. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>> brewtus+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>> http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en. >>>> >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "Brewtus" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to brewtus@googlegroups.com. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> brewtus+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en. >>> >>> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Brewtus" group. >> To post to this group, send email to brewtus@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> brewtus+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en. >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Brewtus" group. > To post to this group, send email to brewtus@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > brewtus+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Brewtus" group. 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