# Francis Francis X2 (mk ii) converted to ground coffee.



## HizerKite (Feb 25, 2011)

Am going to be selling a Francis Francis X2 (2nd generation) soon but thought I'd get opinions as to its value. I have totally rebuilt the machine including replacing 2 of the elements and 2 of the temp gauges. I have converted it from Illy 'iperespresso' capsules only to ground coffee, I did one a couple of years ago and it was used for 15 months in a cafe producing around 50 cups per day so I know the conversion works.

I have lots of before and after photos also.

There are 2 of these in existence (this and the other I converted) so is fairly rare. I know it's not a real coffee machine but heats up quickly and makes as good a cup of espresso as any other I've used (I've had a few).

Any comments welome.

Richard


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

Is the design of these machines a 'saturated group' (i.e. a boiler affixed directly to the group) with another small boiler feeding both the groups?


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## HizerKite (Feb 25, 2011)

Hi, the group is the boiler (the hot water comes directly out of the boiler into the coffee). In this case heated by an 800 watt element. It seems to work and means very fast heat up times as there is also a separate boiler used exclusively for steam with a 1400 watt element. The Francis Francis design has been around for ages and although not the most reliable, seems to work quite well. Just needs a small modification for the newer machines which are designed to work with just capsules.

Regards

Richard


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

I wasn't aware this is what FF did with their machines. Variations of it are now considered an advancement of e61 tech. La Marzocco use a saturated group (albeit of different design) and Sage use a electrically heated and saturated group int heir dual boiler and I think the same or something similar in their smaller machines.

Would be interesting to see if FF's design translates into temp stability.


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