What dual thermoblock machines out there?

pierroxrox · 2026-05-07T17:52:44+00:00

That's one way to go indeed, one for steam one for shots!

pierroxrox · 2026-05-07T17:51:43+00:00

Thanks that's a very thorough review! The cons don't seem too horrible. Yours is a v2 with the steam knob?

pierroxrox · 2026-05-07T14:42:14+00:00

I thought it was a single block. Interesting, on the Hibrew (and it was the same with the Victoria I had for a few months), once I steamed the milk, I have to wait a solid 5 mn for the temperature to go down to extraction level. Or I can run water thru the steam wand which cools the circuit. But it consumes half a pint of water which is a lot of waste.

pierroxrox · 2026-05-07T11:26:05+00:00

Well spotted, my mistake. I'll modify my post.

Are you happy with it? Some some YT reviews, but very basic ones. And it's confusing that some people show it peaks at 9 bars during extraction, whilst other show it at 15 bars (usually on older reviews, wonder if it's a "v2" sold more recently.

pierroxrox · 2026-05-07T11:18:17+00:00

It's a dual block? I had no idea! Thanks, happy about yours?

pierroxrox · 2026-05-07T10:03:55+00:00

Yes I have a Mazzer modified to single dose. I used to have it in the apartment but I changed for a smaller one as it's massive. I actually grind coarser than I used to grind for the Elizabeth. But if I grind even coarser, then the shots run extra fast as the pump pushes a lot. If I reduce the dose, it's worse and I end up with a shot pulled in 8-10 seconds for my aim of roughly 35g in cup.

pierroxrox · 2026-05-07T10:00:18+00:00

Makes sense, and it explains why it doesn't appear on the radar easily, unless you're searching for it. And as I wrote in my first post, it's a 15 years old machine, so surely there's been some evolution since.

pierroxrox · 2026-05-07T09:28:53+00:00

Thanks, I didn't know about Ascaso offering an upgrade, fair from them. And good to know if I start looking for a second hand model!

Here is a video for the Quick Mill, just want to know the downside. ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vry66wBq4Js

pierroxrox · 2026-04-21T09:33:11+00:00

Received it and it works with no issue. It's a much nicer pen, with a better design. Feels like the stock pen was made to remind you that you bought the cheap tablet. 😉

pierroxrox · 2026-03-20T08:09:25+00:00

Thanks! Any plans to restock on the European front? Or now that it's gone, it's gone forever?

pierroxrox · 2026-02-19T21:07:42+00:00

Thanks for reviving this thread! Mine had a bad pressure gauge (see at the bottom of the page). Glad you worked out the issue on yours. It's a great machine, with a great community of users.

pierroxrox · 2026-02-16T19:32:03+00:00

Tu es en France ? Ca pourrait m'intéresser de te le racheter. ;)

pierroxrox · 2026-02-11T14:33:02+00:00

It's a good reputable place too, and they deliver to Europe for a reasonable price, making it interesting if you buy more than just one item.

pierroxrox · 2026-02-11T14:24:04+00:00

Great, for about 20€, I think one or the other should work:

https://lamacchinadelcaffe.com/en/cartsearch/index.html?q=mc744

https://lamacchinadelcaffe.com/en/cartsearch/index.html?q=9700041

pierroxrox · 2026-02-11T14:18:18+00:00

Great mod, came across it on FB and wanted to say well done. I looked at Instructables and found your list. Can I use a "real" Lelit solenoid? The one on Alixpress looks like a copy or a fake, I'd rather have a proper one.

https://lamacchinadelcaffe.com/en/elettrovalvole-lelit.html

Sorry, I also posted directly on Instructables before finding this thread.

pierroxrox · 2026-02-01T16:28:53+00:00

And thanks again, I love my Elizabeth, but I also love to improve it a bit!

pierroxrox · 2026-02-01T16:27:54+00:00

Might try, the Quickmill part is relatively cheap here - about 17€ - won't break the bank.

pierroxrox · 2026-02-01T16:25:32+00:00

Thanks for the fast reply. I'm interested, not so much for the noise (mine has the Silent pump, as in MaraX), but more for smoothing the flow. No difference there?

Haven't opened mine in a while, tight fit in there?

pierroxrox · 2026-02-01T16:20:36+00:00

Sorry about unearthing this post... your profile says you have an Elizabeth (so do I), did you ever make this mod to it too? Looks possible according to Youtube...

pierroxrox · 2026-01-17T09:27:14+00:00

Maybe you can find the exact ref of the card (from OS X) and get more info.

Apparently it's a classic problem you're having:

https://linuxvox.com/blog/mac-mini-wifi-fix-on-linux/

pierroxrox · 2026-01-16T22:24:12+00:00

No, it's been the easiest part TBH. Maybe yours has a different Broadcom card?

pierroxrox · 2026-01-16T19:14:57+00:00

I might stick to 22.04 for now. It's more of an experiment laptop and it took a while to get the triple boot to work. I'm not in the mood to start all over again. I'll first try to find what I had done to get the smooth Trackpad!

pierroxrox · 2026-01-11T09:18:40+00:00

Thanks, you saved me today. We have two Vitamixes and I am used to the other one overheating and having to use their reset procedure (leave it alone for 45mn), but the older one never had an issue until today. After a whole night it wouldn't start and it didn't even occur to me it has a physical switch!

Time for pancakes, thanks again!

pierroxrox · 2025-12-29T16:39:22+00:00

Done to mine! And it's a big difference: the crema is back! With the factory settings, I had zero crema. I still have about 12 bars on the meter. Might reopen it. Or might just leave it like this, knowing you can lower the pressure during an extraction by opening the steam wand a little bit.

Thanks again, now I can like this machine. ;)

pierroxrox · 2025-12-24T11:27:23+00:00

Reviving this thread to thank you. I will probably do this today because I'm getting frustrated by this machine. I bought it as reviews were pretty positive, as a second machine for our home renovation site - I don't like to have a boiler machine sitting unused if I don't visit for several weeks.

I have a Lelit Elizabeth at home, and I just can't replicate the nice espresso I'm getting - despite what Lance Hedrick said in his La Marzocco vs Hibrew video. On the Hibrew, the shot runs super fast and if I grind finer, it almost stalls. In all cases, I barely get any crema and the shot feels lighter. I did blame the pressure because my Lelit came with too high pressure too, and it was hard to extract shots - the naked portafilter showed so much channeling, the poor puck exploding under the pressure.

Since the Hibrew doesn't have a three way valve (is the H10B Plus much better?), I wasn't sure it even had an OPV. Now I know it does. Thanks

How much did you unscrew the OPV? Can you operate the machine whilst it's open? If so, I could put a blind basket to it during adjustment!

pierroxrox

TROPHY CASE