# MaraX pressure



## DrBazza (7 mo ago)

I'm the (not yet) proud owner of a MaraX, but I'm having pressure problems.

If I back-flush it, I get 10bar which I hope shows that there's nothing faulty with the machine.

If I try and make an espresso, the pressure (so far) has only gotten as high as 6 bar. Generally it rises to 3-4 bar pretty quickly (pre-infusion I suppose), and then drifts slowly up to 6 bar.

I know you're going to scream in horror, but as I'm currently building up my collection of kit I don't have scales (so I'm using their measuring spoon), and I'm using an old grinder at its finest grind size.

I'm tamping pretty hard (I read 30lbs, but basically a good hard press), but I reckon it's all down to the grinder.

Any thoughts?


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## Rincewind (Aug 25, 2020)

"not yet" ?? ...i'm confused dot com, is that not yet the owner (as in borrowed machine) or not yet proud of it because of xyz ?


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## DrBazza (7 mo ago)

Haha. Not yet proud because I haven't produced a decent espresso with the machine yet.

I'm fairly sure my problems are down to a rubbish grinder that doesn't grind fine enough, but I'm not sure how I can test that.

The backflush hits 10 bars or so, so the pressure must be working.

In fact I just had another attempt at an espresso, and found that if I build the puck up in the portafilter and tamp it each time, I managed to get to 8 bars this time, so perhaps I've answered my own question.


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## Bicky (Oct 24, 2019)

If you're getting 10 bar on a backflush then it's almost certainly down to the grinder. Time for an upgrade 😁


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## DrBazza (7 mo ago)

Bicky said:


> If you're getting 10 bar on a backflush then it's almost certainly down to the grinder. Time for an upgrade 😁


Finally managed to get up to 9-10 bar. Seems like my grinder, whilst being a bit rubbish, is fine.  

It's all about the puck and making sure there are no voids.


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## ref (Apr 16, 2019)

I'd really recommend grabbing, at the very least, some cheap 500g/0.1 or 0.01g scales from Amazon. They are very cheap and will be more than accurate enough to make sure your dose in the PF is consistent. It's difficult otherwise.


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## DrBazza (7 mo ago)

ref said:


> I'd really recommend grabbing, at the very least, some cheap 500g/0.1 or 0.01g scales from Amazon. They are very cheap and will be more than accurate enough to make sure your dose in the PF is consistent. It's difficult otherwise.


Thanks. The thing I'm finding a bit tricky still is getting a consistent puck. It seems like having to tamp it a lot harder that I've seen in videos, otherwise it just never gets up to the right pressure. Seems to me that my grinder (and those scales) should be my next upgrade(s).


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