Just my opinion: 1. is this a good deal? Yeah. I think so. A machine that makes coffee like this with similar reliability goes for at least twice as much. It seems like a fair price. 2. Will this be a headache with stuff breaking down? thats the only concern I have with this thing - what are the key things to check/test? Its old and stuff breaks. And people usually don't take great care of stuff after they get tires of it, so its probably calcified. Its not a huge deal. The plasic turns to dust from the heat. Don't worry. I think main thing is that it is temp stable right now. You'll eventually need a new pid, new heater elements, new pstat, on and on. Its ok. The alternative is a much more expensive machine and/or one that needs even more maintenance. 3. Wishful thinking that this is going to go for atleast a year before breaking down/needing repair? I'm quite handy but would be nice to have it run for a while before breaking down... Yeah I think that'd be wishful. When my b2 was new it went 4-5 years without an issue, then a bunch of random stuff started dissolving. Its ok. Now its maybe once a year that something goes wrong but it is all very simple. The vacuum breaker... you'll become adept at cracking it open to replace the o-ring. Once a year or so. No need to replace the valve just a $0.05 oring. 4. is it a significant jump over the Gaggia? My wife will murder me if I start pining for another upgrade any time soon... Oh yes. No question the machine is a huge jump. You can make *great* espresso with it. But as for upgrade-itis: that the problem with 'good espresso' is that you need the 'good beans'. Come home with rancid grocery store stuff and there's no point even buying it. And... don't kid yourself about the upgrade-itis. The b2 is adequate but you'll likely be held back by your grinder... The grinder is the thing that really matters.
On Monday, June 15, 2020 at 10:38:33 AM UTC-7, Herman Dickens wrote: > > Not sure why but my inbox was bombarded with posts. I think the Brewtus is > a great machine. I bought one of the very first BII. Literally the week > they came out. I've had very little trouble other than the well know issues > that pop up. In December of 16 I decided to buy myself a Christmas gift and > bought a new conical valve Gs3. I love it. I took my BII to a family home > on the coast and I use it there about 2 months out of the year. I like the > Gs3 better but some of that is because the water and drain are plumbed in > and I don't have to add water or dump water. The BII is quite a bit louder > as well. The espresso on the other hand is very good. Good enough that I'm > still using the BII and haven't upgraded it. For me that pretty much says > it all. I'd jump on that machine and enjoy it. > > Herman > > > On Mon, Jun 15, 2020 at 1:22 PM Rizwan Naveed <[email protected] > <javascript:>> wrote: > >> Friends - I am looking for even a quick thought/guidance - I need some >> advice having searched both reddit/coffee forums etc and I'm a bit lost. >> >> My current setup: Gaggia classic pro bought a few months ago, I love it >> and pull great shots but temp surfing is a pain and so is waiting around. I >> could honestly live with it and love it for a few years. >> >> I have a used offer for an Expobar Leva 1 - I think its branded thew >> brewtus III or something in the US. Its manufactured 2009, single owner, >> seller says its been refurbished by a service company and has a rebuilt E61 >> group, new electronics/control board and a new vacuum breaker. Asking >> $700-800 >> Here are some photos of the machine in question (the boiler condition >> worries me but not sure if this is normal....) >> *Photos: *https://imgur.com/a/NY44vlX >> >> Questions: >> >> 1. >> >> is this a good deal? >> 2. >> >> Will this be a headache with stuff breaking down? thats the only >> concern I have with this thing - what are the key things to check/test? >> 3. >> >> Wishful thinking that this is going to go for atleast a year before >> breaking down/needing repair? I'm quite handy but would be nice to have >> it >> run for a while before breaking down... >> 4. >> >> is it a significant jump over the Gaggia? My wife will murder me if I >> start pining for another upgrade any time soon... >> >> -- >> 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] <javascript:>. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/brewtus/69db69e1-7971-455f-9f74-5e9a27f631ebo%40googlegroups.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/brewtus/69db69e1-7971-455f-9f74-5e9a27f631ebo%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- 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 view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/brewtus/8f2bca9f-5d1b-4bfa-b474-c65b7aabf605o%40googlegroups.com.
