Coffee machine

[Matchstix]

I am considering buying the machine below, 

I am told its a SAB, yet I cant find anything that looks like it on the internet. I also cant find a model number or anything of the sort on the machine> its a plumb in machine with a rotary pump as i understand

Its recently been refurbished.

It has a no portafilter.

It is up For R10K

I feel this is too much. .  what are your thoughts.

[kenironside]

I am considering buying the machine below, 

I am told its a SAB, yet I cant find anything that looks like it on the internet. I also cant find a model number or anything of the sort on the machine> its a plumb in machine with a rotary pump as i understand

Its recently been refurbished.

It has a no portafilter.

It is up For R10K

I feel this is too much. .  what are your thoughts.

 

Hi Matchstix,

 

It doesn't look like a SAB - the steam tap design looks something like a Rocket R58 but the hot water tap design is unusual and strange. 

What is stamped on the boiler? - COMEA?

It's a heat exchange machine with a rotary pump, looks like quite an old design. Looks like it has recently been refurbished, the copper hasn't started to discolour. Decent size copper boiler (probably 6-7 litres) so it will steam really well. HX means you'll be doing the 'flush' to get the right brewing temperature, esp in a home environment with occasional cups of coffee.

E61 group head is reliable and easy to manage, you can pre-infuse easily. Kept hot by a thermosyphon.

I can't see clearly whether the chassis is clean, no rust. (Rust is a problem; if there is rust you'll be pulling it apart, sandblasting and repainting, assuming the structure is sound.). Looking again, the chassis could be stainless steel and if so, that would be worth something.

If it is working and in good condition (ideally, you should see it in action, pulling a shot, to spot leaks, make sure the pressurestat works, pressure gauge is reading OK etc) then I would pay max R7-8k bearing in mind you're in for another R1k for a portafilter and a decent filter basket, not to mention a decent grinder. R10k is too much IMHO

 

Regards, Ken

Edited November 27, 2018 by kenironside

[Matchstix]

Hi Matchstix,

 

It doesn't look like a SAB - the steam tap design is very different from anything I have seen anywhere. What is stamped on the boiler? - COMEA?

The hot water tap design is also unusual and strange.

It's a heat exchange machine with a rotary pump, looks like quite an old design. Looks like it has recently been refurbished, the copper hasn't started to discolour. Decent size copper boiler (probably 6-7 litres) so it will steam really well. HX means you'll be doing the 'flush' to get the right brewing temperature, esp in a home environment with occasional cups of coffee.

E61 group head is reliable and easy to manage, you can pre-infuse easily. Kept hot by a thermosyphon.

I can't see clearly whether the chassis is clean, no rust. (Rust is a problem; if there is rust you'll be pulling it apart, sandblasting and repainting, assuming the structure is sound.). Looking again, the chassis could be stainless steel and if so, that would be worth something.

If it is working and in good condition (ideally, you should see it in action, pulling a shot, to spot leaks, make sure the pressurestat works, pressure gauge is reading OK etc) then I would pay max R7-8k bearing in mind you're in for another R1k for a portafilter and a decent filter basket, not to mention a decent grinder. R10k is too much IMHO

 

Regards, Ken

Thanks Ken

Couldn't see any rust, but didn't look for any. The comea on the boiler looks about right. But I also agree I would like to see the machine in action. Also one of the reasons why I am hesitant.

[the nerd]

So it looks like it has all the right stuff, but a bit pricey without the rest of the kit...

 

I am personally not a fan of the E61 lever style, but that's just personal preference..

[Spoke101]

Thanks Ken

Couldn't see any rust, but didn't look for any. The comea on the boiler looks about right. But I also agree I would like to see the machine in action. Also one of the reasons why I am hesitant.

 

I will second the Rocket guess. I have seen the inside of a fair few machines (commercial mostly) and I will say who ever did the referb did a very good job or I was hardly ever used.

As for price I would say Ken is spot on.

Nice find by the way, oh and if you don't already have a 4bar pressure regulator add that to the list.

[the nerd]

I still have my Grimac Mia for sale if anyone is keen, I am open to negotiations..

[Matchstix]

I will second the Rocket guess. I have seen the inside of a fair few machines (commercial mostly) and I will say who ever did the referb did a very good job or I was hardly ever used.

As for price I would say Ken is spot on.

Nice find by the way, oh and if you don't already have a 4bar pressure regulator add that to the list.

Is the regulator for the water inlet or for the machine?

[Spoke101]

Is the regulator for the water inlet or for the machine?

It's to regulate the water pressure coming into the machine same as if you have fancy tap mixers in your bathrooms.

You can have it where your mains come into the house or just before the machine if you want to keep a higher pressure to the rest of the house.

[ABrooks]

Are there any sites apart from gumtree/olx that sells used coffee related items? Or even a Facebook group I could join?

[lloydkayak]

I have a Siemens b2c machine which the soon to be ex is taking away soon - 20 000 0dd cups so far - they can be serviced at Bosch/Siemens in Midrand - I would not worry about swapping it out for a Jura.

 

Usually I recommend setting it as hot as possible and the grind as fine as possible as a start point - the trick is to find a good quality fresh roasted coffee that is NOT oily (makes a mess inside a SA machine) and go from there.

 

Thank you V12!

Sounds like a winner. They aren't big into coffee and I commend them wanting to stay away from capsules and the unnecessary waste they create.

[V12man]

Are there any sites apart from gumtree/olx that sells used coffee related items? Or even a Facebook group I could join?

There are a couple of fb groups - be careful of gumtree and junkmail... many scammers... google visual search is a good tool for looking for ripped off pictures

[the nerd]

Are there any sites apart from gumtree/olx that sells used coffee related items? Or even a Facebook group I could join?

 

South African Coffee Classifieds on FB...

 

What are you looking for?

[Scott-ish]

https://capecoffeebeans.co.za/products/severin-conical-burr-electric-coffee-grinder?variant=846589573

 

Read the last paragraph titled "A word on grinding for espresso"

 

Might come up short if you are going to be using it on a professional machine.

So I bought this and it turns out it’s absolutely useless for “domestic espresso” machines as well. Either I assembled it wrong or it doesn’t grind even close to fine enough for espresso. My shots come out at the speed of light.

[V12man]

So I bought this and it turns out it’s absolutely useless for “domestic espresso” machines as well. Either I assembled it wrong or it doesn’t grind even close to fine enough for espresso. My shots come out at the speed of light.

2 things - 1 - you need fresh coffee - not more than 14 days post roast. Stale coffee contributes to fast draw times.

 

2 - you can probably recalibrate that grinde by stripping the top and resetting the burrs closer together - takes longer to explain than to do - think there are explanations on home-barista.com on how to set the zero point on small grinders - they are all fundametally the same internally.

[Harryn]

If anyone is looking for a good super-auto machine, I'm selling my Jura F50.

A few years old, but in good condition, still used as a daily machine.

Regularly serviced with the agents (last one was 4 months ago), currently sitting on 13,000 cups.

Looking for R5000.00

 

JHB.

Dibs

[Grebel]

2 things - 1 - you need fresh coffee - not more than 14 days post roast. Stale coffee contributes to fast draw times.

 

2 - you can probably recalibrate that grinde by stripping the top and resetting the burrs closer together - takes longer to explain than to do - think there are explanations on home-barista.com on how to set the zero point on small grinders - they are all fundametally the same internally.

I have run a bag through mine and I was planning on having a look at that (only using aeropress for now but want to take the Delonghi out of storage soon and try that). I haven't done the research but I can't imagine it being more than a shim or two to set the zero point.