sdreefers Senior Member Joined: 8 Mar 2008 Posts: 30 Location: SD Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sun Mar 9, 2008, 5:58pm Subject: ISOMAC TEA found used and wondering if it would be a good buy?
Hello, I am in the market for a new espresso machine. I found this one on ebay and I talked with the guy and he said $700 would take it. Do you think this is a good deal, it's the ISOMAC TEA not the TEA 2 and it's a 2003. It looks to be in good shape but I just don't know what to think because I am not familiar with the original ISOMAC TEA and I am having problems finding information about them. The link is below:
Posted Sun Mar 9, 2008, 10:07pm Subject: Re: ISOMAC TEA found used and wondering if it would be a good buy?
I have a Tea, and it is probably just a bit older than what you are looking at. If you don't mind tinkering under the hood now and again, it is a fine machine. I use mine daily, and have not gotten upgrade fever. The machine is made from heavy stainless, uses stock parts, has both a boiler and brew pressure gauge, E-61 group head, and has decent sized drip tray and water reservoir. Many machines with features similar to the Tea use the same components.
My opinion about the improvements on the Tea 2:
A) great ideas, but not deal breakers: Boiler bracket - Bolt down relay - improved microswitch - reset safety thermostat
B) highly recommended mods (easy to do): Vacuum breaker upgrade - ($15.00) , metal "Y" fitting ($ cheap)
c) ? (sooner or later) Stainless boiler - The copper boiler is prone to cracks - mine has several budding ones and sooner or later one will spring a leak. At that point, I'll remove the boiler and have all the cracks brazed solid again.
Other issues:
The pressurestat is a weak point, they don't have a long life. The water and steam valves can be drippy.
sdreefers Senior Member Joined: 8 Mar 2008 Posts: 30 Location: SD Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Mon Mar 10, 2008, 5:04am Subject: Re: ISOMAC TEA found used and wondering if it would be a good buy?
marrone Said:
I have a Tea, and it is probably just a bit older than what you are looking at. If you don't mind tinkering under the hood now and again, it is a fine machine. I use mine daily, and have not gotten upgrade fever. The machine is made from heavy stainless, uses stock parts, has both a boiler and brew pressure gauge, E-61 group head, and has decent sized drip tray and water reservoir. Many machines with features similar to the Tea use the same components.
My opinion about the improvements on the Tea 2:
A) great ideas, but not deal breakers: Boiler bracket - Bolt down relay - improved microswitch - reset safety thermostat
B) highly recommended mods (easy to do): Vacuum breaker upgrade - ($15.00) , metal "Y" fitting ($ cheap)
c) ? (sooner or later) Stainless boiler - The copper boiler is prone to cracks - mine has several budding ones and sooner or later one will spring a leak. At that point, I'll remove the boiler and have all the cracks brazed solid again.
Other issues:
The pressurestat is a weak point, they don't have a long life. The water and steam valves can be drippy.
Posted Mon Mar 10, 2008, 8:28am Subject: Re: ISOMAC TEA found used and wondering if it would be a good buy?
It's really not a good idea to post ebay auctions. Mark has asked us not to do it, unless it's our auction for a personal machine and we do not make any money off coffee, and have been around a bit. Even then, it beongs in buy and sell. The OP's chances of getting a bargain are certainly greatly lessened. Sometimes posting a "sleeper" auction has caused some of us to lose an opportunity. It might be better just to capture the photo to your computer and post it without ebay identification, post general questions, check reviews, send a private email to one of the "coffee elders" or all of those things.
A Tea is a fine machine, though not the ultimate. You can bet money that the current price will not be relevant when the dust clears.
(A digessive example) I saw a machine on ebay with no information at on on the internet about the name (private labled as Bianchi). I looked at hundreds of photo's and diagrams (mostly at parts companies), figured out what it actually was, and scooped it at a remarkeable price. I would have been disapointed if at the last minute someone had posted the auction and I had lost an opportunity for my patient waiting (many of us routinely monitor sleeper auctions) and painstaking research to pay off. Yes, the seller might not have gotten all the value they could have, but if they cared a whit about coffee or espresso (or even, dare I say it, money) they could have done their own research.
sdreefers Senior Member Joined: 8 Mar 2008 Posts: 30 Location: SD Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Mon Mar 10, 2008, 10:46am Subject: Re: ISOMAC TEA found used and wondering if it would be a good buy?
It's really not a good idea to post ebay auctions. Mark has asked us not to do it, unless it's our auction for a personal machine and we do not make any money off coffee, and have been around a bit. Even then, it beongs in buy and sell. The OP's chances of getting a bargain are certainly greatly lessened. Sometimes posting a "sleeper" auction has caused some of us to lose an opportunity. It might be better just to capture the photo to your computer and post it without ebay identification, post general questions, check reviews, send a private email to one of the "coffee elders" or all of those things.
A Tea is a fine machine, though not the ultimate. You can bet money that the current price will not be relevant when the dust clears.
(A digessive example) I saw a machine on ebay with no information at on on the internet about the name (private labled as Bianchi). I looked at hundreds of photo's and diagrams (mostly at parts companies), figured out what it actually was, and scooped it at a remarkeable price. I would have been disapointed if at the last minute someone had posted the auction and I had lost an opportunity for my patient waiting (many of us routinely monitor sleeper auctions) and painstaking research to pay off. Yes, the seller might not have gotten all the value they could have, but if they cared a whit about coffee or espresso (or even, dare I say it, money) they could have done their own research.[x
Oops, I didn't realize that this would be a problem. I will just make up my own mind on this. Hope I didn't wreck anybodys chances here, I just am at wit's end on a machine.
Posted Tue Mar 11, 2008, 11:45am Subject: Re: ISOMAC TEA found used and wondering if it would be a good buy?
The problem with any machine at the 4 year point is that it probably needs or will need work. I got one at that stage and wound up having to pull the boiler and solder a bunch of leaks around the fittings. The SSR also went. The valves, I believe, had been replaced as they looked to be II version. I also effectively rebuilt the E61 - at least the upper and lower rods and gaskets.
I do like the machine, but for $700, it's a bit much unless you can see it and take the covers off and test use it.
Everyone selling machines very conveniently "knows nothing" about "these things"!!! so caveat emptor.
EDIT I beat google and "craigslist" to death looking for the link but couldn't find it or it's been pulled. Or you could email the link to me if you want my comments - don't forget to remove REMOVETHIS.
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