A good machine supported by a company that lacks in the after-sales department.
Positive Product Points
Overall Construction. Rock Solid. QUIET, does it have a vib. pump? Forgiving. I tested its power consumption with a Kill A Watt and I had not been able to get anything higher than 1060 watts / 110volts-15 amp. Awesome for a double boiler machine. Auto Filler. Support !! WLL rocks.
Negative Product Points
None that I know of.
Detailed Commentary
I had my Silvia for over 2 years and learned to master it, getting good shots day after day, however, since the fist generation of Brewtus saw the day of light I had been dreaming in having one being unable to afford it. Recently, the new Brewtus III was released including cosmetic changes such as a stainless steel on and off switch, black pressure gauges and major changes like an excellent quality PID, improved boilers' insulation, enhanced water tray design and a new OPV. The transition from Silvia has been smooth. It is just a dream to set the temp. on the PID and pulling shot after shot without the hassle of surfing or flushing before a shot. Using a bottomless portafilter I have been unable to detect any channeling !! that is how forgiving the E61 group is. On the other hand, steaming is dry and powerful. I just uploaded one of my shots: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yykn8l16ZEM
Buying Experience
Whole Latte Love was great until you have a real problem, they just want you to ship them the machine at your expense, obviously and the labor/parts is pricey + you would have to wait about 6 weeks to get it back. They do answer the phone, however, once you get the agent beyond his/her knowledge, they do not care about finding out and calling you back. Again, they just ask you to shipt them the machine. They barely respond to emails...
Three Month Followup
Well, I could not be happier with this purchase. Awesome flawless machine. My friends stop by often than before, guess why.....
I make 4 cappas a day from monday to friday and about 8 cappas a day ( Sat/Sun).
My machine is on on a heavy duty digital timer+surge protector from 5:30 am to 7:15 am and from 3:00 pm to 10:30 pm mon to fri. 9:00 am to 10:00 pm sat/sun and holidays.
One Year Followup
Well, after months of waiting for the promised descaling instructions I had to proceed and do it following advice of other users. I kept calling customer service asking for them and there was always an excuse..... I never got them. After a year and a half I experienced an stubborn leak on the brew boiler and unsucessfully tried white and yellow teflon tape. I called customer service asking them for the right sealant for the leak, and never ever got a response. I have the feeling that once you go beyond the limited level of knowledge of the agents you are left out in the cold. Fortunately I purchased with my American Express that doubled the original warranty and I could get a local shop to fix it using a food grade/high temperature Loctite. sealant. This is a good machine, however, when the problems arise...... I ended up selling it and purchasing an Alex Duetto II from Chris Coffee.
