# Good news new ownes, bad news old owners :)



## shrink

Fracino mailed me today on the back of some questions I had for them. They revealed the following.

people receiving new machines will get an updated Cherub which has the following improvements:

-water tank is now removeable as per the piccino

-water tank has an in line filter (one supplied, and more available from fracino) so should rarely need de-scaled

-drip tray is low larger and deeper than before.

oh and two hole steam tips are £2.50









All in all, fantastic news for anyone getting one soon! This machine has gone from good value, to outstanding value


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## sandykt

That is good news for prospective new owners. Am I right in understanding the standard steam hole provided will be 4 holes?


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## shrink

yeah its a 4 hole as standard... which may be problematic when steaming very small amounts of milk. Its doable but will require a lot of practice. The two hole tip is probably the way forward for single drinks.

but its great that they have fixed every single bugbear that people had with these. More secure pump mounts, so they are quieter, removable water tank, water filter, bigger drip tray.

Its pretty much a perfect machine now. Its probably got more features (if you include filtration) than a Rocket Cellini classic


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## CamV6

Shame they didn't go as far as fitting or having as an extra a PID control.

I wonder if the bigger drip tray cam be retrofitted to a pre upgrade model?


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## shrink

i think for the money you couldnt ask for another thing









a PID doesnt really work on a heat exchanger anyway, or at least has far far less purpose. Its the joy of a machine like this, nice and simple to operate


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## fatboyslim

Bah I had seen pictures of the bigger drip tray. I guess I'm stuck with the old model lol.

Cam pretty sure it won't fit in the mount but I guess you could just take the mount off? Probably not worth it though.

I have both 2 hole and 4 hole tips and actually prefer the 4 hole tip. The steam power is so great that the 2 hole tip has residual pressure left in the steam arm after you shut the valve. That can just totally ruin your lovely micro bubbles









Also steaming is really boring with the 2 hole tip compared to the exciting adventure of steaming with the 4 hole one.

Be sure to post pics when your machines arrive.


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## shrink

for me its the removable, filtered water tank thats the real seller. will make de-scaling easier. Although they suggest that if you're using filtered water, there is no need to de-scale. Not sure i 100% agree, but certainly would reduce the frequency with which a de-scale is needed.


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## fatboyslim

I'd be interested to see how exactly they are making the water tank removable.

I'm going to take the case off mine soon and clean water tank that way.

Don't you have to buy the in-line water filters from Fracino? Are they expensive?


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## shrink

well they supply one with the kit, which they say is good for 2 months in hard water areas. In scotland i'm thinking that time will be drastically increased. No idea yet how much they are, but given how reasonable their machines, accessories and so on are.. i doubt a filter will be expensive.

To be honest, any filter is worth it, if it means i only have to de-scale once or twice a year!

as far as removable tank goes, the newest pic doesnt have the stopper on the top any more, so i think it'll be like a rocket machine. A steel flap on the top with a pull out water tank. I'll get photos when i can.


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## shrink

if you look at the exploded diagram for the piccino (which they said the tank is based on) it uses a brita filter

http://www.brita.co.uk/brita/en-gb/ppd/aquaaroma-crema/aqua_aroma.grid

so should be easy to get replacements.


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## sandykt

So does an in line water filter remove the need to use water filter jug (e.g. Brita)?


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## shrink

Yep, that's about the size of it


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## sandykt

Oh, so one less thing to worry about.


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## shrink

It should also cut down on the need to descale


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## Shakey

Hi,

Found this pic of New Cherub at the link below. Anyone seen any other illustrations?

(I'm awaiting mine from Espresso Underground)

http://espressoassociates.com/shop/cherub/


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## shrink

The only downside to the new larger drip tray, is that its not as pretty as the old drip tray.


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## Shakey

I agree shrink but a net gain in the design improvements overall.


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## shrink

Yeah for sure. Its worth it for the overall improvements


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## sandykt

Has anyone found a picture of the new Cherub in stainless steel? I'm not having much luck.


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## tribs

I prefer the new square drip tray, but does it really need those angular side panels?


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## RoloD

tribs said:


> I prefer the new square drip tray, but does it really need those angular side panels?


Yes, the square drip tray is an improvement (looks a little like the Londinium drip tray...) but you are right about the unneccessary angular panels. Not sure about the bulbous knobs either. If only Fracino could stick to clean, simple straight lines and stainlesss steel - well, they could look as good as a Rocket Cellini. Fracino are great engineers, they just lack someone with a designer's eye.


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## lookseehear

I wondered whether they would include the joystick steam/hw controls from the londinium. I was thinking about emailing Fracino to see if I could buy them separately and see if they would fit my duetto. I know that Chris' Coffee in the US sells some joystick steam and hot water assemblies that fit but I'd quite like to avoid ordering from America after a previous order from a different retailer was lost and ended up back at the retailer 3 months later!


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## jimbow

It looks like the new drip tray is a draw rather than the drop-in affair used in the older model. I was wondering how they could make it bigger without changing the design. Hopefully they will have also included baffles in the drip tray to stop the water level from surging over the back side as you pull it out. I am also pleased to see the stopper for the water tank missing from the photo - I am guessing there is some sort flap in the top a la Rocket et al.


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## jimbow

sandykt said:


> Has anyone found a picture of the new Cherub in stainless steel? I'm not having much luck.


If it is anything like the older design, I would expect the stainless steel model to have stainless sides, drip tray and drip tray enclosure I.e. everything will be stainless steel or chromed brass except for the switches and taps which will still be black plastic.


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## coffeebean

The modifications made to the Cherub are as follows:

It now features the same water tank as the Piccino which 1) is easily removable for simpler filling and 2) enables the customer to fit a water filter to prevent the build up of scale (these are available from Fracino).

It also features the same drip tray as the Piccino, which is easier to remove and deeper than the original drip tray.

Aesthetically the purple panels have been replaced with black panels, the new tank makes the machine flat on top rather than featuring the domed tank lid.

There aren't any pictures around of the stainless sided model but as soon as I have more pictures from Fracino I'll put them up on here (if someone else doesn't beat me to it!!)

http://www.thecoffeebean-vanandroaster.co.uk/Heavenly---Cherub.html

Andy


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## shrink

i'll have mine next week so will post more pics. Its a shame about the loss of the purpleish side panels though, that was almost a selling point for me, but its no biggie. Might speak to fracino next year about ordering new side panels and drip tray.

I am keen to see how the water tank comes out though, and how much larger the drip tray is. I also hear in recent versions the pump mounts were slightly changed to make the machine a little quieter in use.


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## coffeebean

The new water tank is very much along the same lines as the Piccino with a flap lid rather than the old dome cap and the whole tank just lifts out through the opening


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## shrink

sounds ideal. I like that they have added a filter too. Its these nice touches that keep these machines being such amazing value.

Now i wonder if theres any way to get that little pressure dial to light up


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