jwoodyu Senior Member Joined: 31 Dec 2010 Posts: 704 Location: Michigan Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Allex Duetto II Grinder: Mazzer Major Roaster: Poppery
Posted Wed Oct 3, 2012, 6:37am Subject: Duetto Steam Wand Mod - Loving It!
On the advise of Emradguy I pulled the tube out of the steam wand on my Duetto and it is hands down the way to go, at least for me. It purges more quickly, the steam is dryer and the micro-foam is better. I feel like the steaming is now equal with the other features and price of the machine.
If I could just get around to adding a cut off switch for the low water alarm my life would be complete.
Thank Ron
John
You know those people that want to tell you how to raise your kids but have none of their own? That is how i feel when someone with a kitchen appliance tells me how the merits or dis-merits of my machine or how to use it.
emradguy Senior Member Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 1,725 Location: Houston Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Izzo Alex Duetto II Grinder: MacapM4T, Macap M4, OE Lido,... Drip: Espro press; Aeropress Roaster: internet
Posted Wed Oct 3, 2012, 7:45am Subject: Re: Duetto Steam Wand Mod - Loving It!
You're welcome John! As I said in our private email discussion, I got the idea from another member sevral months ago (buried thread), and haven't looked back. Like you, I was very frustrated that this great machine couldn't produce microfoam better than my old Silvia. This wand mod is the key!
DavecUK Senior Member Joined: 21 Sep 2005 Posts: 924 Location: UK Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sat Oct 6, 2012, 6:27am Subject: Re: Duetto Steam Wand Mod - Loving It!
Finally....
Everyone should realise that your average prosumer no-burn steam wand is a BAD thing. My Duetto does not have a no burn steam wand and it steams great. I wouldn't have a no burn steam wand on it if one was given to me....wait, I was given one, and never fitted it. Perhaps if more people said they didn't want no burn steam wands we could all get back to steaming better. They are a retail+manufacturer created based on a perception and the wrong question.
If you had been asked "We are thinking of putting a no burn steam wand on our machine, because a few people have mentioned burning themselves, it will of course reduce steaming effectiveness....what do you think". I suspect the answer would not have been a resounding yes...we would have all used the rubber sleeve on the wand to move it.
There are a LOT of so called "improvements" to prosumer coffee machines that either make them work worse, more expensive and sometimes even more unreliable......incredible when it does nothing for the consumer, but is all done because of what they think the consumer wants via the misguided efforts of Retailers.
Must remember not to burn myself on my old Duettos no burn steam wand....or the nice looking chrome acorn nuts on my even nicer bakelite style steam and water knobs (which sadly have not been standard fitments for years).
wsurfn Senior Member Joined: 18 Apr 2008 Posts: 9 Location: Austin, TX Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Duetto 2 Grinder: K30
Posted Wed Oct 17, 2012, 7:39pm Subject: Re: Duetto Steam Wand Mod - Loving It!
+1
I also came to this conclusion on my own. I decided to buy a La Marzocco FB70 wand with a reduced 4 hole tip. I was afraid to pull out the tube off in case it failed, and I wanted to try the LM tip.
I am so happy with this set up. I also like the 1 cm longer wand too. I am sure it is similar and a lot cheaper to just pull out the tube.
jwoodyu Senior Member Joined: 31 Dec 2010 Posts: 704 Location: Michigan Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Allex Duetto II Grinder: Mazzer Major Roaster: Poppery
Posted Thu Oct 18, 2012, 4:06am Subject: Re: Duetto Steam Wand Mod - Loving It!
DavecUK Said:
There are a LOT of so called "improvements" to prosumer coffee machines that either make them work worse, more expensive and sometimes even more unreliable......incredible when it does nothing for the consumer, but is all done because of what they think the consumer wants via the misguided efforts of Retailers.
So I am going to highjack my own thread. What else do i need to know about my 2 year old Duetto? What else should i consider un-improving?
You know those people that want to tell you how to raise your kids but have none of their own? That is how i feel when someone with a kitchen appliance tells me how the merits or dis-merits of my machine or how to use it.
DavecUK Senior Member Joined: 21 Sep 2005 Posts: 924 Location: UK Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Thu Oct 18, 2012, 7:57am Subject: Re: Duetto Steam Wand Mod - Loving It!
Fit a pressurestat and use that to switch the steam boiler via the SSR will improve your steaming....you can run up to 1.35 bar with no problems, even 1.4. Take no notice of any limits set in the PID controller (for temperature when calculated back to bar pressure) as I am the one who suggested those values for Izzo to use in the steam boiler.
The Wiki also contains details of many of the other mods I did on my Prototype Duetto, a lot of which have gradually been implemented one way or another. Electronic low water detection would be a nice one, if the have the old standard tank on the spring platform. Get an old Expobar 2.8 litre tank and remove the spring platform....bingo nice large internal tank.
Another mod if you have an early Duetto with a failed Gicar single channel PID and onboard hahn transformers is the repair of said PID by outboarding the transformers from the failed board (plus using a small resistor to lower the voltage slightly to put less load on the Gicar and voltage controller.......then it won't fail again. I need to do the article though, in over a year now I have not got around to it, but have repaired more than one early model Duetto this way. Those very early Gicars simple had a few components that were not rated for the temperatures they were being subjected to. Mine never failed yet, because I added extra ventilation and specific insulation at the TOP of the steam boiler as well as the sides.
A lot of it is in the Wiki though.....check your model and mod away.
P.S. Another article I need to write is the use of a specific central heating water pump washer on the brew boiler element for any early duettos with persistent leaks in this area....works much better than the teflon ones (and also my first fix using hawk special fibre and Teflon tape, which can leak again after a few years)...another of those articles I never got around to writing.
I am now convinced now that no burns are "THE SPAWN OF SATAN" and have no plans of owning another period regardless of make and model of the machine i am using.
You know those people that want to tell you how to raise your kids but have none of their own? That is how i feel when someone with a kitchen appliance tells me how the merits or dis-merits of my machine or how to use it.
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,685 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Thu Oct 18, 2012, 12:35pm Subject: Re: Duetto Steam Wand Mod - Loving It!
jwoodyu Said:
I am now convinced now that no burns are "THE SPAWN OF SATAN" and have no plans of owning another period regardless of make and model of the machine i am using.
I would tend to think that it would be machine/wand specific when it comes to issues. I have a no burn wand on my machine and there are no issues with turning out wet paint milk, time after time and quickly, so I guess like just about everything in this hobby YMMV!
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
jwoodyu Senior Member Joined: 31 Dec 2010 Posts: 704 Location: Michigan Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Allex Duetto II Grinder: Mazzer Major Roaster: Poppery
Posted Thu Oct 18, 2012, 2:07pm Subject: Re: Duetto Steam Wand Mod - Loving It!
calblacksmith Said:
I would tend to think that it would be machine/wand specific when it comes to issues. I have a no burn wand on my machine and there are no issues with turning out wet paint milk, time after time and quickly, so I guess like just about everything in this hobby YMMV!
Don't get me wrong I am talking about degrees of very solid and great. I could turn out wet paint when it was no burn just not as easily when steaming in the big jug. I can pick up a student horn start "KILLING IT!" but why would I when I don't have to? Seriously I will concede the SPAWN OF SATAN on ALL machines.
None the less do allow me to say "I don't find the "burn me" wand to be a big issue and if I ever have even the slightest doubt about a machines steaming in the future the no burn hits the crapper first."
You know those people that want to tell you how to raise your kids but have none of their own? That is how i feel when someone with a kitchen appliance tells me how the merits or dis-merits of my machine or how to use it.
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