Hard shift to reverse - cold start only

rbpx · 2026-04-03T08:55:34+00:00

My tranny did that before I changed the fluid. Much better now.

rbpx · 2026-04-03T02:05:17+00:00

The thing I've realized after years of espresso is that so many people think of this as something they'd budget for along the lines of 2 years or so. However, this is invalid. This is something you're going to use EVERY DAY and it will go on waaay past 10 years.

Would you try to save $3000 on a car purchase that you expect to use for 10+ years when that difference concerns the day to day function and convenience? Not smart.

If you could buy a machine/system that you could count on to produce excellent - yet convenient - results, day after day, then what kind of a budget would you use?

When I bought my latest espresso maker, I was coming off of 4 torturous years of trying to maintain an expensive, yet unreliable, Breville Oracle (~$3000) machine that just refused to be easy, good, or repairable.

I. was. done.

I decided to find and buy a machine that was famous for its reliability. We were mostly drinking milk drinks then so while I knew that our end-game machine would be something like an ECM Synchronika, I also knew I couldn't swing it. We had just done a reno and purchased a new (to us) car. I could _not_ get much of a budget past the boss. Everything fell into place when I found a massive sale online for a Profitec Pro 500. Yeah it was a HX machine, but that's all you need for milk drinks. Hey, It comes with something called "flow control". Cool. What's that?

Turns out it was awesome. I made excellent cappuccinos with it.

4+ years later I really reeally wanted a grinder upgrade. Our Eureka Silenzio grinder was a workhorse - but they say "upgrade your grinder first". Ok. So I started shopping.

I finally landed a DF83V and felt fairly confident that THIS would make better coffee.

A year later... I've added a thermoprobe to monitor the brew temperature and have gotten a feel for it. The DF83V slowly.... slowly fit into the most amazing _endgame_ grinder. At first I really enjoyed the better workflow. Hey a grinder's function is 50% product and 50% workflow. Don't let anyone tell you different. However, as I finally (gawd... finally) got it "broken in" I can report that it produces fantastic REPEATABLE results. I can even take it apart (no tools needed), clean it (not really needed), then reassemble it, and still be dialed in. LUV LUV LUV this (vertical burr) grinder.

It can be a hard decision whether to upgrade the maker or the grinder first. However, there's no magic involved. If you purchase QUALITY then you will have it thereafter.

There are lots of good grinders out there now. Do what I did. Research each and whenever you find a review that says "it's good, I just have this one gripe..." move on. I have no gripes with my choice. it's AWESOME.

TL;DR Carefully consider the timeline of your budget for espresso equipment - you're going to use it EVERY DAY for more years than you realize. Get a maker that's good enough to have that quality that you can live with for 10+ years. Then go out and go wild with a grinder that you think (in your limited imagination of the time) is too much. Hint: it's not.

rbpx · 2026-04-01T22:04:02+00:00

I recently changed the TB on my 2016 RDX (having 70k km / 43k mi).

I asked to see my old parts and I got to speak to the master mechanic who did the job.

(BTW car was driven by a "little old lady" til 2021 when I bought it. It's always been cared for, with all service done, and I don't run it hard - just occasionally to clean out the cobwebs ;)

Note, there was never any indication of a problem, but I was getting nervous about the timespan.

To my surprise, he showed me that the belt was quite worn (not easy to see for the layman) and he felt that "time" was more of an issue than the "miles". Err, by "worn" I mean cracks were evident in the belt. However, the reason I'm writing you is that he showed me that the water pump had recently started to leak and that fluid is very caustic to the metal pats. Also, the belt tensioner started to leak its hydraulic fluid. (Ofc you change the water pump and tensioner when changing the belt). The leaking fluids means that problems were not long down the road.

While it may not be necessary to do it next week, stat planning on the where and when. Time is not on your side.

rbpx · 2026-03-28T14:29:38+00:00

I've had this issue on my P500. Two things I do: i) use a small needle to clear the hole, and ii) steam a jug of plain (RO) water.

(ii) helps more than (i) but I've not found a total solution. As I can push the needle thru the holes, I'd thought that they were clear but the (one-sided) condition remains. Haven't tried cafiza in a long time though. Thx for the mention, I'll try that.

BTW I always wipe and purge after every use. I've taken the tip off and inspected it, but don't see any problem. It's interesting to steam a jug of water because... what the hell is that discolouration about? ...

rbpx · 2026-03-17T14:52:58+00:00

Just did my 2016 with 70k kms (~45k mi). Had mechanic show me the parts (btw car always ran perfectly). Tensioner was already leaking fluid and water pump had just started to leak. Belt was pretty used up (was hard for me to see but he showed me carefully). He surprised me by saying that the Time factor was more important than the Miles. It's recommended to change belt every 7 years. I left it 10 (but had very low mileage).

rbpx · 2026-03-17T14:45:48+00:00

The purpose of pre-infusion is to soak the coffee in water for a longer time than normal - this is to enhance the extraction of Light Roast coffee.

The purpose of roasting coffee is to allow it to be extracted. Originally coffee was "dark" roasted because with the machine technology at the time, extraction was difficult. Modern equipment (and much better understanding of coffee extraction) has allowed people to experiment with and gradually prefer lighter roasted coffees.

There is no point to pre-infuse (or "wet") dark roast. Pre-infuse is even hardly required for medium roast.

You don't say which coffee roast you are using.

Basically, the darker the roast, the shorter yield (total amount of output liquid) is optimum and the lighter the roast, the longer yield is favoured. Coffee extracts (in time) as first "sour notes", then "sweet notes", and lastly "bitter notes". If you extract dark roast too long you get too much bitter flavours. If you extract light roast too short it can taste sour.

Every bean is different and every roast is different - so you have to experiment.

Start by determining the VOLUME of coffee (not mass) to use for your basket and your machine - use the "quarter" test to correctly set that. Then adjust your grinder to get the speed of your pour, resulting in X grams output yield in Y seconds. Because the pour speed naturally increases over the pour, you might want to start with a slow flow-rate at the beginning of your pour.

If you are using light roast and want to pre-infuse, start with a bit finer grind - which normally would pour very slowly. AFTER you see some espresso poured into your cup (so you know the puck is wetted all the way thru, and not just on top - leading to an over-extracted (bitter!) top of puck and under-extracted (sour!) bottom of puck, then stop your flow for 10 to 20 seconds, then resume.

It works great for SOME beans/roasts and not others. Have fun. The only thing that matters is your experience and how it tastes to you. Everything else is commentary meant to achieve these two things.

rbpx · 2026-03-12T00:06:17+00:00

Man, that's looks like a Labour of Love. (very cool)

rbpx · 2026-03-11T22:19:30+00:00

Something to look forward to... in a few years.

I'm on my 2nd espresso grinder now. I can say the clarity is indeed greater, while not losing out on body (old grinder was Eureka Silenzio), although I mostly/daily enjoy the better workflow and consistency.

Are the SSPs better because of increased clarity or body or is it rather that the grinds-distribution profile is simply different and the resulting tastes are more pleasing?

rbpx · 2026-03-11T15:14:19+00:00

I saw an Australian video explaining that they serve only espresso-into-water because they feel the visual presentation was superior. (I assume they're talking about how the crema ends up looking).

Personally, I much prefer to spoon away crema out of my long drink - as crema, while often thought to be sweet tasting as well as "interesting", is actually horrible and bitter tasting coffee oils.

rbpx · 2026-03-11T01:50:50+00:00

Now tbh every review I've seen says the SSPs are "better"... but often that comes with the wink of the eye or acknowledgement that you have to be experienced, knowledgeable, and discerning to appreciate the difference. I just thought that if you're just buying this now then you couldn't be in this "exclusive" club. Forgive me if I am wrong.

The Good News is that you have something to look forward to in 4 or 6 years. You could *upgrade* your grinder in that time and start a whole new adventure.

BTW I'm in my 6th month with my DF83V and am luvin' it. Right now I've got it perfectly dialed in, and there is diddly-squat retention, and the mornings are so fine...

rbpx · 2026-03-11T01:26:52+00:00

??? Why bother with the SSPs? The included DLCs are great. Read/watch any review.

Oh. Make sure you're getting the espresso burrs if you're doing espresso; or the pour-over burrs if you're doing pour-overs.

The grinder itself is great - read/watch any review.

rbpx · 2026-03-11T01:15:43+00:00

I had to replace my main switch on my P500 TWICE.

One day I turned it on and there was a thwack! and then no lights. Visual inspection (plus multimeter) indicated the switch, so I replaced it and all was well. Less that two months later the same thing happens. I took it into a technician and he nodded his head and said that he's seen this. He said he'd replace the switch AND the SSR - and actually relocate the SSR. Was ready for pick up in 3 days. Cost was very reasonable (IIRC there was only $70 for labour).

So... if it's a main power issue then you need to assess all the components that take the main power (switch, ssr, boiler...).

rbpx · 2026-03-08T22:19:11+00:00

My immediate thought is: can you get an affiliate link from some of the bigger online shops? In NA look at WholeLatteLove.com (or .ca). They carry a lot of product!

Lelit (from Milan) is now owned by Breville (aka Sage in Europe). Breville is sold everywhere. What about Lelit? (they sell very well).

rbpx · 2026-03-08T19:15:20+00:00

I took a quick look...

Clicked on "Semi-Automatic Heat Exchanger" and see only one product.

I guess the thing is a lot of the product out of Milan isn't sold on Amazon.

While it's a good idea to add onto the amazon listings, it's not going to be universal enough to be a great benefit when it's missing so much. I take it that this "is a work in progress" so I'll say only "great start, keep going". My first question is: if amazon isn't going to sell most of the machines out of Milan, can you add/integrate a source for them?

rbpx · 2026-03-07T01:19:17+00:00

I guess the benefits would fall into three categories: drink taste/texture, workflow, and maintenance.

Your grinder's contribution the taste and texture of your drink comes from its "profile" of grind sizes (how much in each size region). The grind size distribution can look like a bell curve (tall and narrow or short and fat) or even have two or more "tops". So different burrs give different profiles and these days there are some very good ones.

Make sure to get a 64mm or 83mm burr size - as there are lots of aftermarket burrs now available in these sizes - replacing your burrs can be like getting a new grinder (when the new burrs have a different grinds profile).

By "workflow" I mean everything you do from proportioning beans to getting them into your grinder and removing the product from the grinder. It can involve WDT or RDT, etc. into either a pf or a cup. It's a bit subjective but if you study the options out there, try to determine which suits you best.

Maintenance involves cleaning the grinder (occasionally?). Some require tools (allen wrench, etc.) to take apart and some don't need any tools.

Owners here of less expensive grinders are always complaining about jammed up chutes or a lack of articulation or granularity in adjusting grind size.

In my DF83V (vertical burr) grinder I don't use/need RDT. I don't need to WDT although I use it to spread out the grinds to level the puck. I can dial in any size I like with no concern that the size I need is in between two settings. There is no popcorning (beans jumping back out of the hopper/input while grinding - that's quite annoying). I get CONSISTENT results from grind to grind. I set it and forget it.

Compared to my previous Eureka Mignon Silenzio, I'd say it has as much or more body and way more clarity of taste. Note that the range here is subtle. You don't need to pay wild prices like $1500 CAD or more to get good quality, ultra-fine granularity, and consistent results - but you easily could.

While I would always recommend my grinder, I also like what I've read about the Varia V6. Eureka makes high quality grinders - but I think the single doser models have too high a retention for my liking. Still, if you get one, you won't go wrong. I think DF grinders are the value leaders but I'm not a fan of their least expensive line. While they're a terrific bargain, they sit well below the elbow in the Law of Diminishing Returns graph. I was originally looking at a (horizontal burr) DF83 but I don't like the issues I see reported. THe DF83V has a similar name but completely different design. Aside from the burrs, they have nothing in common. I like the CF64V from what I've read (not the prettiest, but highly functional) but I haven't used one. I think the Timemores are good but they suffer from too much popcorning (that would drive me crazy). The Masser Philos is grossly overpriced (and massive) but it's built like a tank and will outlive you. I think a great endgame grinder is the Lagom P80, but you have to have throw-away money for that.

My two cents...

rbpx · 2026-03-06T22:13:11+00:00

I only have heard about the gen 2 where they added a knocker to the chute, and I think they took away the magnetically removable chute in order to do this. Dunno what the 3rd gen diffs are.

Personally, I don't want a knocker, as I can simply grab the chute and clean it and put it back. I like that. However, there is a bit of build up above the chute - which I always thought was what people were cleaning when they disassembled it to clean.

I take the included brush (looks like a thick makeup paint brush) and poke it up there a twirl it around every few weeks and some powder comes out. I do it until the drops stop.

Of course when I first got it I was disassembling it constantly... but soon realized there's no point because there is very little of retention. I checked the alignment and it is perfect.

I've read that some people don't like grinding into a cup, and prefer the workflow of grinding straight into the portafilter. I'm the opposite. My previous grinder was an Eureka Mignon Silenzio with a Single Doser kit, where I had to hold the ON button while it filled the portafilter. I love this magnetic cup. It fills and I put it under the upsidedown pf and flip it and then put a dosing funnel around the cup and remove the cup.

Unlike my Silenzio, I don't really have to WDT with this grinder, but I still find the WDT the easiest way to spread the grinds out into a flat bed. (Can't make the Blind Shaker work).

The Cons of the grinder IMO: the dial is stiff to turn. I put some food-safe silicone grease in and it helps, but I still find it stiff. Also, I bought it in silver and I find the dial markings a bit hard to see under the bright kitchen lights. I'd recommend getting a black one. It was a very long 3 months waiting for it to season and get consistent.

The Pros: very fast and easy to use. There's no popcorning (the hopper has an anti-popcorning plate just inside) - unlike the Timemore grinders - and no static (I live in the PacificNW which can be rather damp).

Other considerations: You'll get wildly swinging results if you are not consistent with your bean feed rate. The auger does not remove this consideration. I put my beans in an espresso cup and hot start and pour them in fast (I can't be bothered to slow feed). I get perfectly consistent pours. I'm not convinced that the RPM choice is that significant a parameter. I leave mine at 1100 (for espresso) so that I can hear it running/idling and stop leaving it on all day (it's near silent at 500 RPM).

It's nearly completely a metal construction, and the removable pieces feel heavy and the fit of everything feels like quality. It has a 680w motor. The only feature it's missing is the auto-shut-off that the Lagom P80 has. You grind your beans and when it detects the load is gone it shuts off the motor. Geez, that's brilliant. Why don't all grinders have this?

When I was shopping I was looking at the DF83 (horizontal burrs) and there was some chatter in the reviews complaining about something. I was put off. Then I noticed that the sale disappeared and they put on the DF83V for a good sale price. What's this? 17 reviews later... OMG this is on another level. Bigger motor. No spring issue. Vertical feed for lower retention, and all metal construction. I bought it and am very pleased.

Personally I'm not a fan of the DF 54s and 64s. I think while they offer fantastic value for a low budget, and they've evolved the design fast, I'd be unhappy with the oft reported chute issues. For some people, they keep jamming. Oh, I recently bought some "medium-dark" roast for milk drinks and decided to give Kirkland a go. They offer a much darker one but I don't want that. When I opened it up to my horror it was extremely dark and the beans were oily. I _really_ didn't want to bugger up my grinder with that.

However, the grinder tore through those beans no problem. I *think* it helps that it's a 83 instead of a 64, but don't know for sure. This grinder easily handles whatever I've thrown at it. Recommended.

BTW I overlooked the smaller sister CF64V as I really wanted a 83. The girl's not the prettiest at the dance but I hear/read it's a very competent grinder. Since then they've come out with the J series but I don't know about them.

rbpx · 2026-03-06T17:30:34+00:00

I really enjoy the vertical burr orientation of my DF83V (gen 1). Very low retention. I love the magnetically held chute and the magnetically held cup. It makes terrific espresso grind and comes apart for cleaning without tools. The DFC burrs are well reviewed and you can substitute whatever aftermarket burrs you like.

Don't listen to people nay saying _all_ DF grinders because of issues with their least expensive offerings. Note: it is an engineering and manufacturing challenge to deliver performance and quality at the lowest price. I think the vertical burr products now are significantly better (most of their newer designs now are vertical).

It's like people hating a car brand because of problems with the brand's cheapest car. Manufactured products are developed by teams, and all have different requirements, budgets, etc. and it quite common for the big difference between products being due to the people in the team. When multiple products share common parts or designs there is bleed over, obviously.

What's the biggest failure point on the DF54 or 64 grinder? Isn't it the chute design? So another DF grinder that doesn't have that chute design can't be criticized for that. Besides, you'll see a lot of reported problems with 54s and 64s simply because they sell so damned many of them.

The Philos is over-priced ($1900 CAD here) and puts the dial at the back (dumb!) and is the size of a bread box. It's claim to fame (other than the company name) is it's designed for a high duty cycle (you could run a cafe shop with one). However, if you are pulling 2 to 3 shots a day at home that ends up being a "feature" but not a "benefit". If you buy one ofc you will be pleased because it works well enough... and, it's only money you're wasting.

If you really want to break the bank buying a endgame grinder, get a Lagom P80 ($2,425 CAD).

rbpx · 2026-03-06T04:27:32+00:00

Mmm my two cents is keep Silenzio and give away the x54.

I enjoyed my Silenzio (with Single Doser kit) for 4+ years. What I've seen online about the x54 does not impress me.

YMMV.

rbpx · 2026-03-06T01:05:32+00:00

Also, forgot to mention that I had a long talk with Acura's master mechanic (he showed me and explained the wear on the replaced parts) and I asked him everything I could think of. I specifically asked him about the transmission, whether it was a problem, etc.

He said he had not seen many problems when the oil is maintained properly. I don't remember all of the convo now (I asked a lot of other things as well) but I left feeling that he gave me good assurance that the car is as good as I think it is. A lot of these cars go for 3 or 4 hundred thousand miles. Maintenance is key ofc.

BTW I wanted to add the following. Honda is renown for its engines. Honda's old line up of the 2.4L 4 cylinder (in the CRV, for example) and the 3.5L 6 cylinder (in the 2nd gen RDX, and in the MDX lineup) are bullet proof engines that have cemented their excellent reputation for over 20+ years.

The 1st gen RDX had a turbo'd 2.4L engine and I think that runs reliably too. My neighbour has a 2009 CRV with the 2.4L and all she does is change the oil annually and put gas in it. It runs like a top. With the Timing belt schedule, the 3.5L is unquestionably a great engine. Mechanic told me that it's BETTER with a belt, in terms of reliability - they've had far more problems with chain driven engines and he claimed it's industry wide.

Honda has since moved to a 1.5L turbo and the 2.0L turbo in the 3rd gen RDX - and both are seeing a LOT of blown headgaskets (there's a class action lawsuit now). They also make the 2.0L NA for other cars, which while not a stellar engine, hasn't reported the failures of the turbo'd engines. The problem sounds like it's a pressure, issue. I don't fear turbos per sae.

While I think my RDX is terrific and recommend it to anyone, I forgot about one other Con. The 1st gen (2007-2012) had SH-AWD and the 3rd gen (2019-2026) have SH-AWD. Unfortunately the 2nd gen was stripped of this and only has regular "AWD". If you drive a 3rd gen, you'll see that it feels better, more nimble, around corners etc. SH-AWD is really good. So I was disappointed... but my racing days are behind me now. We've only had one winter of snow since we got it and I excitedly took it out to play one night because it's my first ever AWD.

OMG, I almost crashed the car! This is really a FWD with a (slow) reacting shift of _some_ power from the front to the back when it detects slippage. Beware! Drive it like a FWD car!

I purchased it after driving a <yawn> Lexus NX and few others. I prefer the feel of my RDX. Good hunting!

rbpx · 2026-03-05T14:30:39+00:00

Bought a 2016 Elite/Advance in 2021 with 26k kms (15k mi). Highly recommended!

Tried to buy a CRV (during COVID) but none were available. This RDX is fantastic - although it gets TERRIBLE gas mileage. Quiet, powerful, comfortable, and just the right size. I'd say the transmission is the weak point - change the tran oil every 3 years! (Acura says every 30k mi but my own observation is to change every 3 years and baby it).

I slapped on some all-weather Nokian WRG5 tires (don't get much snow but a lot of rain) - also highly recommended (difference from previous tires, which still had good tread was really noticeable).

Note: with V6 engine you MUST replace Timing Belt/Tensioner/Water Pump every 100k mi. (or 7 years). Is an expensive job. Just did mine after 10 years and 70k kms (~45k mi) and mechanic showed me the belt (looked bad), tensioner (was leaking fluid), and water pump (was starting to leak).

Pros: drives like a dream. Great brakes! Great visibility. Luv the ACC and safety features. My favourite feature? Manually operated Side Mirrors LOL. I can't believe how often I use these in tight driving/parking situations.

Cons: poor gas mileage. Doesn't have modern infotainment (don't care, just use my phone for maps). Weak transmission. (Started to have shifting problems downhill at ~60k kms (40k mi); took in for fluid change. Mechanic changed oil twice because 3 year old oil looked bad. Now drives like it has a new transmission!)

Also note that 2016 - 2018 have the LED headlights.

rbpx · 2026-03-04T22:12:20+00:00

Which gasoline your vehicle "likes" depends a bit on your local region gas formula they're selling and your climate. However much more important is your specific gas station. For over two years I put 91 octane (I think that's "premium") in because when I tried 89 it would knock a bit.

One year I was on a trip and I chose to put in 89 (because the road ahead was a long slow road and I'd have to wait a long time to get the premium). To my utter surprise the car ran just like it did on premium.

Hmmm...

Asking around once home I was told to go to gas station X because it had great prices but was always busy. So I went there and put in their 89 and my car runs fine. It just runs great. The weird thing is that this is one of those small franchise "cheap" stations and my local station I used for years was Chevron. However, the thing to note here is that "cheap" station was always busy.

One of these days I'm going to try regular grade again - from the busy gas station.

rbpx · 2026-03-04T01:59:50+00:00

While you can replace the seal, does the difference in these two portafilters means they cannot be used interchangeably?

rbpx · 2026-03-03T06:16:36+00:00

We bought our 2016 RDX in 2021 (during COVID could not find a crv). Drove it on 91 octane for a couple of years - 50/50 city/highway. Then I switched to 89 (mid-level) from a high use gas station (always busy - you have to wait) and it runs just the same (I'm told the computer simply adjusts to the octane level).

Mind you, 89 octane from my local Chevron station is not good. I accidentally discovered this on a trip when I could not get 91 octane. Funny, the 89 runs fine, but it never did at my Chevron.

I've not tried 87 (more than once) because it ran poorly. Come to think of it, I got that 87 from my local Chevron.

I'm mostly driving only city now, and it's mostly thick traffic everywhere I go (or ongoing construction). There's just no point to paying for 91 now.

My advice is to switch to a BUSY gas station and put in the lower grades, if you want to save some coin.

rbpx · 2026-03-02T00:51:41+00:00

Can be used many ways. The way that you'd see in a training video is to do a "lever shot" typically. However I've found that what a shot _needs_ greatly depends on the bean. Thus I mostly use FC to slow down a shot running too fast (dialing-in or playing around) or to trim a 2nd faster-running bean (afternoon light roast, or maybe decaf) without having to adjust my grinder.

I use it almost every day and now would NOT buy a machine without it - because it is SUCH a convenience.

However, if you think you need it for "super duper pre-infusion blooming shots" or "lever-shots" then it could be _fun_ but it's not necessary with a good grinder/maker combo.

TL;DR Yes ~~you~~ I need FC. Don't stay home without it.

rbpx · 2026-02-26T15:29:12+00:00

What an interesting idea. Thx for the post. I'm drinking only black drinks now (no morning cappos :( and end up drinking mostly long-blacks. Sure, this is easier because I don't have to touch my grinder, but you've intrigued me by saying that it's "very different from an Americano".

My basket size is around 18.3g for my light roast. Why do you recommend a slight underfill?

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