cprice88 Senior Member Joined: 16 Jun 2007 Posts: 20 Location: TX Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sun Jul 20, 2008, 6:58pm Subject: need help understanding my Astra Gourmet
Hooray, I am the proud owner of a used Astra Gourmet I got an AMAZING deal on (someone else here called it the deal of the century) from my husband's office where it was just sitting there mainly being used as a glorified hot water dispenser! It's about 3 years old (we think) definitely no more than that. We got it plumbed in the other day and have started experimenting. There are a few things we are wondering about and I don't know where to begin with figuring them out. The manual is crap. Their website hardly has any information. I'm hoping someone here may have some useful input to get us started on the right road...
1) When we lock either of the portafilters into place, they handle only goes to about 6 o'clock or maybe 5 at the furthest no matter how hard we push. Then when we brew there is sometimes liquid spilling out the top of the portafilter. So, not getting a tight seal obviously, and from my previous experience working in coffee shops (granted this was 10+ years ago so I'm very rusty) it seems to me the machines all allowed you to push the handle closer to 3 o'clock or so when locked in completely. So...what's the deal with this? Is something in the way? Does it need to be cleaned? What is the "screen" called that the water drips through into the portafilter, and do we need to replace that, could it be bent or damaged? (I am a total technical ignoramous here obviously.)
2) Can I use any brand of espresso machine cleaner to backflush this machine? Astra recommends a particular type in their user manual, but there are better prices on other brands, and I could save on shipping by ordering it with some other things I need from the same place. They recommend Puly Caff. Can I just get Urnex brand, which I saw elsewhere? Do I need a particular type of detergent?
3) Along the same lines, do I have to get the blank filter from Astra to be sure it fits? Or are these standard so I can buy it from anywhere? Also, should I get rubber or metal, or does it matter?
4) Do I need to clean the inside of the steaming wand? I saw there are brushes for this purpose? If so, how do I figure out what size I need?
5) Where can I get instructions/photos to figure out how to do my own maintenance on this thing? I imagine it needs some help because it's pretty much only been used by people who had no idea what they were doing.
6) Do I need to do some internal adjustment to change the pressure? I think I read that about HX machines. The steam blasts too much even when I barely open the valve.
7) Oh, also what is the deal with this self tamping thing? Any advice on this? The manual just mentions that it's self tamping and says to smooth the grounds. So, how do I know how much to smooth them? Do I need to avoid pressing down at all? Does it mean the shots will not turn out if I do tamp, or is this just a "tamping optional" sort of thing?
I'm sure I need to know much more, but at least this should all help me get started. I must say though that even the relatively crappy shots I've produced are pretty tasty so I'm sure we're going to love this machine once we get past the learning curve!!!
It's normal for this type of group to lock in at 6 o'clock-ish (the E-61 brew group is the exposed brewing head you have). The problem is most likely that the gasket (or seal) is old and dried out. It may be a challenge to remove if it's really bad...you may have to chisel it out with a pick, or drive some screws into it to help get the major chunks out. Here's some info on cleaning and group and screen replacement:
2) Can I use any brand of espresso machine cleaner to backflush this machine? Astra recommends a particular type in their user manual, but there are better prices on other brands, and I could save on shipping by ordering it with some other things I need from the same place. They recommend Puly Caff. Can I just get Urnex brand, which I saw elsewhere? Do I need a particular type of detergent?
Puly Caff is probably the best, but I've used Cafiza or JoGlo with good results
cprice88 Said:
3) Along the same lines, do I have to get the blank filter from Astra to be sure it fits? Or are these standard so I can buy it from anywhere? Also, should I get rubber or metal, or does it matter?
If it has been used with hard water then there may be some scale in there to remove. There are 2 sizes of steam tube, it's probably the larger.
cprice88 Said:
5) Where can I get instructions/photos to figure out how to do my own maintenance on this thing? I imagine it needs some help because it's pretty much only been used by people who had no idea what they were doing.
Check the links I posted above, and here's a fabulous RESOURCES page with everything you could want and more: CLICK THIS
cprice88 Said:
6) Do I need to do some internal adjustment to change the pressure? I think I read that about HX machines. The steam blasts too much even when I barely open the valve.
You can adjust the steam pressure somewhat, but your machine is a steaming beast due to it's huge boiler. I would set the boiler at 1 to 1.2 bar (or thereabouts) and look at getting a more restrictive steam tip: LIKE THIS or maybe THIS ONE
cprice88 Said:
7) Oh, also what is the deal with this self tamping thing? Any advice on this?
Get a decent 58mm tamper and tamp firmly (about 30 pounds force), once, straight down. It's best not to tap or twist. You can letthe machine "self tamp" by dosing lower and grinding finer but I have found for best results that consistent tamping helps alot.
6) Do I need to do some internal adjustment to change the pressure? I think I read that about HX machines. The steam blasts too much even when I barely open the valve.
Like jon said, double check that the boiler pressure is set correctly. I have a different machine, but the steam wands are the same. There's only a small amoun of turning of the knob from just opened to full throttle. And yes, the steam does blast out! I spent a solid week practicing to get the milk right; you have to be on top of it because everything happens so quickly. I can steam 6oz of milk in less than 15sec.
cprice88 Said:
7) Oh, also what is the deal with this self tamping thing? Any advice on this? The manual just mentions that it's self tamping and says to smooth the grounds. So, how do I know how much to smooth them? Do I need to avoid pressing down at all? Does it mean the shots will not turn out if I do tamp, or is this just a "tamping optional" sort of thing?
The self tamping is a thicker screen/dispersion block. They don't advertise it, but they sell a "normal" thinner block. You can call up astra and they sell you one; last I heard, is that it was about $25. It doesn't matter what blank disc you use, but you can always order one of their stainless blank discs while you're at it.
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