Actually Craig, there are any number of good quality commercial machines
that would make great home espresso machines. Personally, I think the ES-1A
by Bunn is the best of the lot. Having a smaller boiler than most commercial
machines means it has a smaller footprint than the Nuova Simonelli or
Rancilio commercial 1-group HX machines. The E61-type Faema group is an
definite plus (thermal stability & preinfusion among other things). The
outside is on the boring side (that blue-gray color is pathetic) but for
~$100 you can have it powder coated and it'll be a thing of true beauty.
The best thing about it is the shot quality. Having been built from nothing
but first class materials, one would expect nothing less. Although I added a
PID to mine, it wasn't so much to control the temp as it was to eliminate
the clacking of the pstat relays (noisy bastards were always making my
spouse jump).
I guess the thing that's generating the most enthusiasm for the Bunn is the
user group we've got going on Yahoo. There's a wealth of knowledge &
information there that makes it a piece of cake to restore and maintain
these machines. Of course, most of that info is applicable to any 1-group HX
machine, but for now we're limiting group membership to Bunn owners.
I suppose if someone started a user group for another model machine and
could provide the same level of help as the BUG group, any machine would
receive enthusiastic support from home baristas. I've heard from a lot of
folks who're bored with the archaic Gaggia's & Silvia's, and the high-priced
prosumer machines. These folks have figured out that buying a used
commercial machine for $400 - 700 and spending ~$100 getting it running
makes a lot more sense than buying a brand spanking new Fiasco T100 for
$2000 (which if something should happen to it, will cost a fortune to fix
due to the high-priced proprietary parts it requires).
So what's not to be enthusiastic about, eh Craig?
Robert Harmon
--
http://www.tinyurl.com/24p7hu - PID kits for Gaggia espresso machines
http://www.tinyurl.com/mb4uj - My coffee pages.
http://www.tinyurl.com/2cr3e2 - I have things for sale here.
http://www.tinyurl.com/2j8jur - Gaggia User's Group
http://www.tinyurl.com/235dfr - BUG is Bunn User's Group (espresso)
Post by Craig AndrewsPost by Craig AndrewsPost by TexWhat *REAL* man doesn't like nice Bunns?
;)
--
Robert Harmon
Hey Rob, I believe possibly that you've seen pics of my immaculate barely
used BUNN ES-1A that I purchased for $495.00. Where else could anyone
find a 1 US gallon boiler commercial one group Automatic, plumbed in
rotary? A Silvia is $100 more!
Cheers!
Craig.
Ohh, & with pre-infusion too!! {:-D
Craig.