Hi Tony, Being a fairly new owner, about 2 months, of the Brewtus IV-R, I am confident in telling you that is the way to go. I went thru the same issues and comparisons you are now. As someone said earlier, your already spending a ton of money - don't spoil it with a cheap ratchety sounding experience. You will own this machine for many years. If the issue over the pumps is on your mind now, it may only get worse later. You'll forget about the $200 in the first week. The Rotary is a smooth, commercial sounding and feeling. After all isn't that the experience you want to replicate at home? I'd add that having a plumbed in machine is awesome. I never have to worry about filling the tank. I bought the water softener and carbon filters from Chris Coffee for about about $100 and the machine from WLL. WLL made me a great deal - don't be afraid to ask them! BTW, soft water is hugely important as you don't want to lime up the machine, not the same as Brita (carbon filtered) Water or even Spring water for that matter. What is the hardness of most spring waters? I imagine its quite high, but I don't know for sure.
Someone made a comment regarding cleaning the drain tub and not having to clean it . . . I don't have that experience as I use the water spigot to help flush my porta-filter after I've dumped the grinds. On that topic, I have not setup the drain on mine yet but I am thinking about it daily - its a great feature to have despite having a very large drain tub. Do the others have that? I don't recall. I'm pretty sure their drain tub in not as large and that is very useful as well. To me there was no credible reason to spend the extra dough on the Vibiemme or the Alex and WLL made it every easier once I called them. Once you get it, you won't think twice about the others, I've been pulling killer shots and steaming up latte's like crazy since I got it. I live in Norther California and we have lots of great coffee shops. My shots easily compare to the best guys in town, trust me I've been comparing ; ) One bit of advice, if you want to make latte art, the single hole steamer tip won't cut it. Don't get me wrong, it makes great micro foam but it is harder to blend the foam with the milk after you've stretched it, which is hugely important for the art pour. I'm trying now with the 2 hole and it is way better and faster . . but I may end up getter a 4 hole tip. Still playing with it. Feel free to shoot any other questions you may have, I understand your struggles : ) -erik On Mar 22, 7:00 pm, Tegespresso <[email protected]> wrote: > All GREAT INFO and thx everyone for taking time to answer my > concerns. It is a big help getting input from others that own these > exact machines. > > With that said, I flipped a coin and it landed on its side.....lol. I > am still torn on getting the entry level Brewtus IV or jump up $250 > and get the IV-R. > > I do have RO water (for my saltwater fish tank hobby) so I can easily > plumb unit simply by tee-ing off a short 15' away in the basement and > run the line to my kitchen. And I can simply tie the drain line into > a large jug so I do not have to empty tray all the time (and easily > hide the jug behind cabinet. So it does look like I am leaning a bit > to the IV-R. > > I really wish Todd from WLL would chime in and give his valued input > on the noise level of the two units. Frankly, that is the main factor > for me upgrading and the plumbed unit as a close second. Noise REALLY > bothers me....I know I am a pain in the butt:-). > > Finally, I guess I am asking a really loaded question when I ask this > group if they like the Expobar machines overall. The Duetto II and > the Vibiemme are both more costly and I do not think you get more for > your money from either of those two machine. The Vibiemme Domobar > Double (double boiler unit that they carry) does look like a sweet > machine, but not at $2,650. It does have dual PID and looks very > nice, but spending another $400-ish to get there is out of the > question. And quite frankly I have heard equal amounts of chatter > from the forums about Duetto II and Brewtus, so all machines have > their issues and will need some sort of repair down the line. Let's > face it, these espresso machines have a ton of different parts, > pressure issues, water quality, care of use, etc, etc. > > I really like WLL and they swear by the Expobar line of machines as > one of their best at pulling shots out of all units they carry. And > this is the 4th iteration of the machine, which is pretty nice that > they keep upgrading any deficiencies as they go. > > Anyhow, a bit winded I know, and many thanks again. Keep they > comments, opinions and suggestions coming!!!!!!!!! > > MANY THX...Tony -- 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.
