Australia and South Africa are both at 220V so not really an issue :-) JohnB
On Fri, Sep 26, 2014 at 1:03 PM, Adam Goldberg <[email protected]> wrote: > 2000W at 120V is 16.6A. Careful you don’t put an upgraded machine on a > 15A circuit. > > > > > > *From:* [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] *On > Behalf Of *eleventysix > *Sent:* Friday, September 26, 2014 6:55 AM > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* Re: Advice on Brewtus Mods > > > > Thanks for the reply John. I agree about the element power, it seems > strange that other 230/240V countries ship with the low 1300W element of > the American model. However, I've noted even on some Australian forums > people have mentioned the worse steaming performance of the Brewtus/Minore > compared to other dual boilers (R58/Alex Duetto/GS3). However at the time I > purchased my Brewtus all other dual boiler machines were an extra AUD$1000, > which I can't justify to myself. I can put up with a vibratory pump and > more functional aesthetic for those savings. > > > > The joystick upgrade would be really nice, how easy was it to to change > over the valves? > > > > At the moment I've got my steam boiler sitting around 1.3 bar and get > maybe 1 degree overshoot when pulling a lot of water through the group. > This is most noticeable if the temperature has just drifted under the set > point and so the PID pulses the heater at the same time as running the > pump. I noted the new Ambient&spresso Vesuvius has the option to bypass the > steam boiler heat exchanger allowing much higher steam boiler pressure > (1.5-1.6 bar). This seemed like a mechanically simple modification > providing I could get everything to fit. Probably would be worth doing at > the same time I did a rotary pump conversion. > > > > Group head lighting would be nice, but I think it would be quite difficult > to fit in very nicely with the e61 group. The best place would probably be > just under the top attach point of the group. > > > > Cheers > > > > > > > On Friday, September 26, 2014 3:53:44 PM UTC+10, sc00bs wrote: > > I upgraded my 220V steam boiler from 1200W to 2000W after seeing that > the Australian versions come with the 2000W element as standard. Beats me > why they even come with a 1200w element unless they are trying to make some > maximum power restriction with the smaller element. Is a different machine > and a lot more temperature stable when you need to pull several shots in a > row as the steam boiler recovery is much faster giving it more time on the > brew group boiler. > > > > Other upgrades I have done are to change the steam control from a tap to > joystick, much prefer the joystick control and always found the tap a pain > as it was always leaking, Joystick is a definite improvement imo. > > > > Changed the steam tip to a .8mm 5-hole tip, could only do this after the > element upgrade but can now be driven without any problems. > > > > Regarding the heat exchange, not sure that a bypass is required, I run my > boiler at 1.4 bar without any overheating issues. I am however in > Johannesburg, South Africa so at reasonably high altitude (1750mtr/s above > sea level) so steam boiler will be at lower temp than when at sea level. > Have you tried running it at higher pressure to see what happends? > > > > Enjoy the upgrades, I wouldn't mind putting some lighting around the group > head at some stage, still looking for a neat way to do it. > > > > JohnB > > > > > > On Fri, Sep 26, 2014 at 3:12 AM, eleventysix <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi all, > > > > Just found this group after having my Australian spec Brewtus IV (Vibe > pump) for about a year now. I've had some ideas for mods that haven't been > discussed before, which might be for a good reason! I'm a bit perplexed > that the general consensus is the steam production is quite poor compared > to other dual boiler machines. Especially since the Australian spec > Brewtus/Minore has 2000W heating elements compared to around 1300/1400 on > competing machines. Admittedly the steam boiler is on the smaller side at > 1.5L but this should only impact initial steam pressure. I haven't had the > opportunity to test this out in person however. > > > > Anyway that aside: > > 1. I've been thinking of installing a normally open relay on the steam > boiler auto fill probe, such that when the brew lever is engaged (micro > switch powers pump), the relay will energise and short the water level > sensor wires. This would ensure the steam boiler does not refill mid shot. > This seems like it would be quite a simple mod, but I can't seem to find > anyone who has done it before. > 2. Another idea is to install additional plumbing and a solenoid valve > such that the steam boiler heat exchanger could be mechanically bypassed. > This would allow higher steam boiler pressures without overheating the brew > boiler. Or alternatively leave out the relay, and install a restrictor such > that water splits roughly equally between the heat exchanger and non-heat > exchanger paths to the brew boiler. > > > > I'm sure there are a number of things I am not considering, so any input > would be much appreciated. > > > > Cheers > > > > > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Brewtus" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Brewtus" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Brewtus" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Brewtus" group. 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