Rally200 Senior Member Joined: 2 Dec 2003 Posts: 1 Location: Ohio Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Tue Dec 2, 2003, 8:20pm Subject: Want to buy a used home espresso machine
I'm looking to buy my first machine. From what I've read, a Gaggia Coffee/Baby or something similar sounds nice, but I'd consider any decent used pump machine in the $100-$200 range.
Posted Wed Dec 3, 2003, 10:56am Subject: Re: Want to buy a used home espresso machine
I'd suggest you haunt Ebay. Set up your favorite search & have it email you when an auction is posted with those keywords. That's where I've unloaded all my old coffee equipment when I have upgraded, including two espresso machines. Just be sure to read the auction thoroughly, ask any questions before bidding & buy from a seller with a good feedback rating.
Jitters Senior Member Joined: 1 Jul 2003 Posts: 8 Location: St. Louis Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Expobar Office Control,... Grinder: Solis Type 166 & a Maestro Drip: Gevalia Thermal Roaster: Alpenrost, I-Roast
Posted Mon Jan 26, 2004, 10:15am Subject: Re: Want to buy a used home espresso machine
Mike,
I've been trying to sell one of my Solis SL-90s. You can view the post (Jitters) and check it out. The SL-90 is very stable and I've gotten great shots using the non-pressurized filters (included) and beans from Espresso Vivace (David Schomer's place). It's one of the quietest machines out there. The steam is good as is temperature stability when pulling shots. The pump is 19 bars. As with many machines in this price range, there's no three-way solenoid but I've never had much back pressure when I came to eject the puck (yes puck, just like the big boys). This is still a current model so there's plenty of information out there.
I've already reduced it to $300. If it helps, I'd be happy to throw in my Solis Type 166 burr grinder.
The grinder works great and I believe it has the same conical burrs and 'innards' as the newer Solis designs. I also recalibrated the unit with help from the the US importer, Baratza (who have a well-deserved reputation for service on all Solis products). I tuned it toward espresso (away from French Press) though it still ginds well for perked coffee at the other end of the adjustment.
You may not have heard of the Type 166. It was withdrawn by Baratza a few years ago due to pressure from Starbucks, who sell a black version. Baratza then briefly imported the Type 177 and finally introduced their own redesign under Solis license called the Maestro. The point is, the Type 166 comes from a line of decent grinders and would give you excellent service.
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 