But can't decide which one to buy... I read about how long the Miss Silvia takes long to heat. About how inconvenient the Lelit is to add water in the water tank...and the steam wand being to short. As for the Gaggia...bofbof...read it was finicky about the grind and the plastic steam wand.
Here is some more info : I drink lattes, my husband espressos. We rarely have to make more than 3 shots at a time. The machine is to be used every day, but no heavy use. Gaggia and Rancilio service is available if the machine breaks. Lelit service?..forget it. We already own a decent grinder
My budget is $750, PID included.
I had a breville roma espresso machine for 8 years until it broke, and worked in a coffee shop 10 years ago...i'm not a newbie to coffee, yet haven't owned a decent machine yet...
Coffeenoobie Senior Member Joined: 11 Dec 2011 Posts: 2,314 Location: PNW Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: N S Oscar Grinder: Vario W
Posted Thu Dec 27, 2012, 2:23pm Subject: Re: Lelit, rancilio or gaggia.
The steps in the virtuoso are pretty wide. I only recommend the preciso and up for espresso unless you are using the pressurized basket. Which is not the best thing to do but it allows you to get away with a less capable grinder.
Coffeenoobie
Buying advice: GRINDER GRINDER GRINDER. Don't cheap out on the grinder. My coffee treasure map... Click Here (maps.google.com)
D4F Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2012 Posts: 1,191 Location: USA Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Classic PID Grinder: Preciso
Posted Thu Dec 27, 2012, 6:18pm Subject: Re: Lelit, rancilio or gaggia.
Coffeenoobie Said:
The steps in the virtuoso are pretty wide. I only recommend the preciso and up for espresso unless you are using the pressurized basket. Which is not the best thing to do but it allows you to get away with a less capable grinder.
Ameliej Senior Member Joined: 27 Dec 2012 Posts: 6 Location: Cnada Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Fri Dec 28, 2012, 3:23pm Subject: Re: Lelit, rancilio or gaggia.
Forgot to mention its the preciso...
There may be better prices somewhere in Canada, but I need to have it shipped to Quebec. The Gaggia may be found at one retailer in Montreal, but the other machines are unavailable in Qc...It narrows down the options and the possiblity to shop for the best price...
Ebay may be an option and I buy alot from ebay sellers...but...how reliable it is to order espresso machines???
Out of these three machines, I would consider them in this order:
Lelit
Rancilio
Gaggia
The Lelit poses the best value for the money. Mainly due to its PID, which is usually another $150-$250 add on for other machines. However, this machine is a little unproven still because it is relatively new. So far, I haven't heard anyone complaining about theirs.
The Rancilio machine is the best quality for the money, at least IMHO. I owned one of these machines, they're bulletproof. It seems like almost every member of these forums has owned one of these machines at one point in time or another and this is a tried and proven machine whose origin dates back to 1998, (If I recall properly) so any bugs were worked out a long time ago.
The Gaggia isn't a bad machine in its own right, but a lot of people who own these machines usually retrofit them with the Silvia's steam wand, which is a fairly inexpensive and easy swap. However, if you are buying this machine for the lower price, don't. You won't save any money over the other two. (ie. The extra cost of a PID installation on the Silvia or the steam wand retrofit on the Gaggia.)
My advice would be, find someone in your area who sells and services the machines above and buy whichever machine they have in stock.
It seems to me that everyone seems to sell Rancilio machines, but I've never seen a Lelit machine on display in a retail shop, speaking from experience. You would probably have more avenues of support if you purchased the Silvia.
This seems to come up a lot as a concern but every espresso machine takes a long time to get completely up to temperature. A large mass of metal will not heat instantly no matter what the brand or model. If that's a problem then get a timer. You can't use warm up time as a shopping item to rule out certain machines. A long warm up time is generally desirable as it's a rough indicator of thermal stability. If your machine heats up instantly then its also going to cool instantly as cool water from the reservoir or line refills the boiler.
It's the same as buying anything on ebay. It all depends on the seller and sellers aren't all identical. A generalization about buying on ebay isn't going to mean anything. If you want the safety net of a warranty and support and a new item then buy from a reputable retailer. That said, some reputable retailers use ebay to sell off open box stock.
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 