ChrisCullum Senior Member Joined: 19 Jan 2005 Posts: 70 Location: Vancouver Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Expobar Office Lever Grinder: Macap M4 stepless doser,...
Posted Wed Jan 19, 2005, 7:10pm Subject: Upgrade to Prosumer or 1 group Commercial grade?
Hi everyone this my first post and am a looking for feedback from those of you who have already travelled down this road.
I am thinking about upgrading from my current set-up, a Gaggia Classic w/ Maestro grinder to either a prosumer model like a Livia or N.Simonelli Oscar or a full commercial one group machine. I am willing to do some kitchen work to plumb in a commercial machine. My budget is <$1000, so if I do go the commercial route I would need to find a used machine. Any opinions on this one?
Posted Wed Jan 19, 2005, 8:00pm Subject: Re: Upgrade to Prosumer or 1 group Commercial grade?
ChrisCullum Said:
Hi everyone this my first post and am a looking for feedback from those of you who have already travelled down this road.
I am thinking about upgrading from my current set-up, a Gaggia Classic w/ Maestro grinder to either a prosumer model like a Livia or N.Simonelli Oscar or a full commercial one group machine. I am willing to do some kitchen work to plumb in a commercial machine. My budget is <$1000, so if I do go the commercial route I would need to find a used machine. Any opinions on this one?
If you're a good D-I-Yer, and you are prepared to spend a lot of time (and potentially money) fixing a used machine, you may find it fun. I tried a used Cimbali, but had too many problems with it. All in all, I'm happier with my new Wega Mininova.
x Senior Member Joined: 29 Sep 2002 Posts: 322 Location: x Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Wed Jan 19, 2005, 8:24pm Subject: Re: Upgrade to Prosumer or 1 group Commercial grade?
Hello,
If you're a good D-I-Yer, and you are prepared to spend a lot of time (and potentially money) fixing a used machine, you may find it fun. I tried a used Cimbali, but had too many problems with it. All in all, I'm happier with my new Wega Mininova
Just to confuse the issue, I agree with wholeheartedly everything quoted, except, I love the Rio Junior I bought used and rebuilt.
There are some considerations with a commercial machine. They are BIG and they really like to eat electricity. A LOT of machine for a home enviroment. No joke, mine is installed in a room of my house that was previously a bit chilly in the winter, not any more.
fad Senior Member Joined: 19 Apr 2003 Posts: 633 Location: Sydney, Australia Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Grimac La Uno, Isomac... Grinder: Mazzer SJ. Cunill... Vac Pot: Bodum Santos Drip: SwissGold Roaster: Ron Kyle BBQ Drum,...
Posted Wed Jan 19, 2005, 9:42pm Subject: Re: Upgrade to Prosumer or 1 group Commercial grade?
ChrisCullum Said:
Hi everyone this my first post and am a looking for feedback from those of you who have already travelled down this road.
I am thinking about upgrading from my current set-up, a Gaggia Classic w/ Maestro grinder to either a prosumer model like a Livia or N.Simonelli Oscar or a full commercial one group machine. I am willing to do some kitchen work to plumb in a commercial machine. My budget is <$1000, so if I do go the commercial route I would need to find a used machine. Any opinions on this one?
As Rick & Signalman say, if you're up for it a 2nd hand commercial can be good. But before you get there, you need to factor in the cost of a new grinder, because the Maestro (probably) won't cut it when paired with a commercial machine.
There are quite a few posts here from people who have snagged ex-Starbucks gear, especially Mazzer grinders such as the Super Jolly. That, or used cooking equipment companies, are good sources for used commercial grinders. Clean them, replace the burrs, and you'll have a grinder you can leave to your kids.
An alternative is to look at companies that'll do prosumer espresso machines bundled with prosumer grinders such as the Mazzer Mini or Rancilio Rocky.
ChrisCullum Senior Member Joined: 19 Jan 2005 Posts: 70 Location: Vancouver Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Expobar Office Lever Grinder: Macap M4 stepless doser,...
Posted Wed Jan 19, 2005, 9:51pm Subject: Re: Upgrade to Prosumer or 1 group Commercial grade?
I consider myself a pretty good DIYer and I do enjoy tinkering, but like anyone I would hate to create an endless money pit. I guess a big concern with the used commercial ones is that people may be trying to get rid of them for a reason (ie they need major work). On the other hand a lot of restaurants simply fail and they liquidate their assets and a good commercial machine should last many years with proper maintenance. The size is more of an issue for my girlfriend than me, go figure : ) I hadn't really considered the power consumption and heat from a commercial machine but I guess that is a factor. I have already had a series of "upgrade fever" so one thought was to get a true commercial machine and consider it my last machine for quite a while a least.
ChrisCullum Senior Member Joined: 19 Jan 2005 Posts: 70 Location: Vancouver Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Expobar Office Lever Grinder: Macap M4 stepless doser,...
Posted Wed Jan 19, 2005, 9:56pm Subject: Re: Upgrade to Prosumer or 1 group Commercial grade?
Yeah, I figured I will have to upgrade the grinder as well and move the Maestro over to regular coffee duty. Sometimes you can get a reasonable deal on a package deal with a used commercial machine + grinder?
Posted Wed Jan 19, 2005, 10:19pm Subject: Re: Upgrade to Prosumer or 1 group Commercial grade?
A commercial unit would use more power getting up to temp, since the boiler is bigger, but once there it should use about the same amount of power as a prosumer machine - both will act as a room heater. I mention this because some people like to leave their machines on 24/7 so there wouldn't be any real difference in power consumption in this scenario. Closed restaurants would probably have a grinder to sell with their espresso machine.
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