Weight Weenie

So I channeled my inner Craig Charity as much as I could and went to work on my beloved Oscar yesterday. As you can see from the pics he has been a bit neglected on the cleaning side and needed some TLC to make him look sharp again. The PF and basket were soaked in Pully cleaning solution as well as the shower screen, the bit between the screen and grouphead, burr and screws. Then all was scrubbed, rinsed, and reassembled. Then I did a back-flush and cleaned the rest of the parts like the drip tray and the outside of the machine. I also cleaned the burrs and grounds shoot on the grinder with Pully Grinds crystals and then took the top burr out of my grinder and cleaned that as well as the lower burr inside the Krups as best I could. Outside and all other parts like hopper lid as was also cleaned. She's running very nicely again, but I have a few questions: Is there an easy way to get the gasket from the grouphead out? Was a mission, mine seems very brittle? What is the recommended cleaning intervals on about 5 cups a day? How do I get the steam wand tip off? Paolo wrench? Any idea how the lower burr on the Krups GVX2 comes out? Can it? Some tips and remarks: Clean regularly! The coffee oils cake on and become a mission to get rid off. I would adjust the time I leave the stuff in the cleaning solution depending on that. I could have used more than the 15 minutes recommended on the package. Brass is soft so be careful with hard/sharp tools. Goldilocks and a tooth- and group-brush worked well for me. There's a second bit above the shower screen on the Oscar that also need to come off. Makes access to the seal easier. Best I found was to take a thin bread knife and wedge it in the inside of the seal/gasket and work it around and leverage it to pop the seal out. Then continue hooking it out from the outside. Going outside first doesn't give good access and I damaged my gasket slightly, be careful. The Pully cleaner started to eat my anodising on my tamper so be very careful what it comes into contact with. I now have a 2 tone tamper haha. I use a paint brush to clean the grinder, be careful of bristles falling out. Burnt my finger slightly. Group is hot so be careful! A dry rag doesn't heat up like a wet one, so best to use that to handle hot parts. Take a bit of time to clean the group and pf between shots with a brush and rag, get in there! Flush the group again with the PF re-inserted after the post shot cleaning flush and scrub. You'll see the dirt that flushes out!

EDIT - Double Post.

True but it's cheaper than a new watch! No use recording/measuring half of the activity. Garmin even has this branded PM unit with a mount and solar panel https://buy.garmin.com/en-AU/AU/shop-by-accesories/batteries/external-power-pack/prod86599.html Other option could be to use your phone to record/measure part of an event and the rest with a watch, but not really practical.

Thinking of one that acts as a spacer and then the mount is attached to that and extends under the bars to the front to mount the gps. Not sure if that would ever work?

Ok would that usb connection allow it to be used while charging like mounting it on the bike so it runs off of the external for the bike leg? Would it still function while charging or does it shut off?

How does it charge? You can charge the Garmin Forerunner 910XT during use with a product like a Power Monkey, so the battery life is actually almost endless. Other option is to see if you can set the GPS polling rate to a longer interval like 3, 10 or 60 seconds. This way much less battery is used by the GPS not constantly working. On a tri it's mostly straight so don't forsee it being as "out" as for example a twisty singletrack trail run.

Dankie meneer!

Thanks will do. Possible I have not correctly re-seated the gasket before? The leak is on the left right where the bayonet lock of the PF engages the GH. Bubbles out there and dribbles down when extracting.

Oscar is leaking a bit from the group/pf area when pulling a shot. Would seem the gasket needs replacement? Not dirty IMO but might help doing a thorough cleaning?

Must say I haven't found an SO from them I really like, but may be the age of the beans as well

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AFIK they do. Saw yours after my post.

V12 Partshub was trade only when I asked, still the case?

http://www.yuppiechef.com/brewtool.htm?id=10826&name=Brewtool-Tamper-58mm I like mine and shipping is free

Led Lenser H7 is a good but relatively powerful lower budget model. The H14 is also good or the Black Diamond Icon for a bit more. Petzl NAO is top of the pile for me at the moment, love mine but it will break the bank. Some swear by Ayup as well. I would stay away from the Magic Light type bike lights used as head torches. They are too heavy on the head, the headband is iffy (if running), they get very hot (when running) and the battery is heavy as well and needs to be stored somewhere else which can be a tangly cable mess.

Nice KFC mash container

I see Woolies Cafe's use the Grinta for their Seasonal Blends

Pleasure, we're all still learning so share the love!

Well get a good amount of fresh beans and milk. You're going to use lots while learning. Don't forget the accessories you need - good grinder!, tamper, milk jug, knock box, cloths, counter brush, timer and scale. getting a water filter jug is also a good idea to use filtered water in the tank. Listen to Allessandro and read the instructions, you need to switch the machine on to fill the boiler then off and then on again so it can fill to full capacity. It will take some time to heat up and it's a noisy affair, don\'t worry it's not broken Even then it's not fully warmed up so it will take some time to be at optimal temp. Try keep track of your timing and measurements in the beginning, makes dialing things in easier if you can change just one variable at a time. Most importantly - ENJOY!

#BaristaProblems - when you rather drink coffee at home as it's better than most cafe's. - When someone asks you for a "normal coffee". What is that? Does it even exist? Add yours!

#DePresso - the feeling you get when a good cup of coffee is finished and you want more, but you're too lazy to make another one. Thus I tried making 2 cups this am, 2nd was too cold by the time I had it Larger cups also get cold so seems I'll have to make 'em as I drink 'em.

Link?

Krupps still works OK for me on the Oscar. Will get that K3 at some point.

http://www.talkfeed.co.za/tritalksa/itu-add-cape-town-to-2014-world-series-first-ascent-tri-suits-gaelyn-cokaynes-inspiring-triathlon-journey-tri-talk-sa-episode-20/ Interview about the trisuit from FA I just imported a cheapie CRC house brand one and only having done an Xterra Lite it's fine. I have loads of FA gear and have to agree, I like the products and brand but QC is not consistant, eg. the bibs tend to have stitching that comes loose and I had an issue with a jersey zip pocket. That said I took it back to SWH and it was repaired and sent back no problems. What I do see happening now is that they are becoming a bit expensive for a local brand that does not yet carry the weight IMO of international brands. I've also seen them as a quality product at a lower price point, but now if I have to pay the same for their product versus an international brand it is becoming less appealing.

Metal aeropress filters http://www.yuppiechef.com/able.htm?id=11125&name=Able-Stainless-Steel-AeroPress-Disk-Filter-Standard