# pressurised Vs Non pressurizers



## Gottzi (Dec 7, 2014)

Hi all,

I have a Delonghi Vintage Icona and noticed that some of yo who have this machine have changed to a non pressurised basket.

Can anybody tell me the advantages of doing this please and what is the difference between the two?

David


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

Gottzi said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I have a Delonghi Vintage Icona and noticed that some of yo who have this machine have changed to a non pressurised basket.
> 
> ...


The pressurised portafilter is designed so that you can put a non-precise amount of stale pre-ground coffee in it and still get out something that *look* like an espresso with crema. A pressurised portafilter has only one tiny very small hole where the water under around 12-15 bar pressure (whatever the pump is set to

+ the setting of the Over Pressure Valve) forces the coffee through. It all looks good as it comes out of the spouts, but it is not what espresso is.

A normal filter basket contains holes which pretty much occupy the whole of the surface area. The water would hits the coffee puck and extracts the coffee. The crema that you see is the actual oil of the coffee. However, in comparison to a pressurised basket, this is much harder to achieve, as you need a fine grind, a evenly distributed coffee put and well compacted so the water offers the same resistance throughout the extraction. If something is not done property, the water will take the path of least resistance and you end up with a very unpleasant drink in your cup.


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## Gottzi (Dec 7, 2014)

Ok thanks, so in your opinion a normal filter basket would be a better choice?

Would a normal filter basket enable me to stop using the double basket to create a better Espresso or is the machine not capable?

Does any body know where I can purchase a standard basket for this machine?

David


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

Gottzi said:


> Ok thanks, so in your opinion a normal filter basket would be a better choice?
> 
> Would a normal filter basket enable me to stop using the double basket to create a better Espresso or is the machine not capable?
> 
> ...


Are you using pre ground coffee or do you grind your own beans?

If using pre ground you might be better off with the pressurised basket.

From what I recall people took a hacksaw to the bottom of the pressurised basket and delicately removed the bottom layer with the single hole in to revel the multi holed layer above. Un reversible obviously.


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## Gottzi (Dec 7, 2014)

Whenever possible I grind my own and will be investing in an electric burr grinder in the near future.

David


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

Gottzi said:


> Ok thanks, so in your opinion a normal filter basket would be a better choice?
> 
> Would a normal filter basket enable me to stop using the double basket to create a better Espresso or is the machine not capable?
> 
> ...


Now im not saying this is the correct sized basket for your machine, That is for you to decide.

But I think this is what you are after. Please read the second review of the product.

http://www.buyspares.co.uk/product.pl?pid=1742107


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## Gottzi (Dec 7, 2014)

Wonderful, thanks for that.

I will get that ordered and give it a go.

David


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

Just to show what is achievable with a delonghi icona

Heres the naked portafilter mod in action


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## Gottzi (Dec 7, 2014)

Is it necessary to deliver the base of the portafilter or is it removed for demonstration purposes?

Does anyone also know if there is a mod for the steam wand as it seems a little restricting?

David


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Jumbo Ratty said:


> Just to show what is achievable with a delonghi icona
> 
> Heres the naked portafilter mod in action


That's not the greatest shot in the world to be fair ...


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

Gottzi said:


> Whenever possible I grind my own and will be investing in an electric burr grinder in the near future.
> 
> David


What does that mean? What type of grinder do you have? If you don't have a burr grinder at least, and one that can grind fine enough for espresso, I would not bother with the non-pressurised basket.


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

Mrboots2u said:


> That's not the greatest shot in the world to be fair ...


Might have been very tasty for all we know.

Pour time seemed right, but we dont know the weight output.

But the cup looked small enough to me and not over flowing, so perhaps the person who made the video prefers longer ratio drinks, who knows.

Also the machine is 15bar

Just used it to show what is possible on a delonhi icona which costs , what? £130 ?

Not everyone wants to spend £7000 on coffee equipment


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

@Jumbo Ratty your right could well have been tasty, my comment was around the extraction clip , which in itself doesn't tell you a huge amount about taste, but massive cone , big centre dead spot


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

Mrboots2u said:


> That's not the greatest shot in the world to be fair ...





Mrboots2u said:


> @Jumbo Ratty your right could well have been tasty, my comment was around the extraction clip , which in itself doesn't tell you a huge amount about taste, but massive cone , big centre dead spot


And without a naked portafilter and un pressurised basket the user wouldn't be able to see that happening and improve their distribution and tamping.

One of the comments below the video goes on to explain how to do the bottomless mod for that particular machine









I also thought about how big the cone looked, but then its a much smaller portafilter than the standard 58mm, so thought in perspective it may have been the right size ?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Jumbo Ratty said:


> And without a naked portafilter and un pressurised basket the user wouldn't be able to see that happening and improve their distribution and tamping.
> 
> One of the comments below the video goes on to explain how to do the bottomless mod for that particular machine
> 
> ...


I am guessing but with the dead spot at the start I think the big cone is reflective of the two parts joining to form a big elongated cone


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

would the dead spot at the start lead to the shot being under extracted ?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Jumbo Ratty said:


> would the dead spot at the start lead to the shot being under extracted ?


Possibly... but id go on taste... there is no point aiming for espresso porn every shot , taste has to be the driver . Ive had great tasty shots from tripod pours before ( they might be even more balanced if more even ) . So let the gob be your guide ( if you have a vst you can measure too ) , dont discard a shot coz it aint you tube worthy , but at the same time use the visual and the taste to guide if you think it cam be more balanced ..

Is it under or over , better to try and think where the taste imbalance is .Depending on BR .There could be parts of the basket under extracting and some over extracting .. a measure of a shot via a refractometer is always the sum of those .


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## Gottzi (Dec 7, 2014)

pessutojr said:


> What does that mean? What type of grinder do you have? If you don't have a burr grinder at least, and one that can grind fine enough for espresso, I would not bother with the non-pressurised basket.


I currently have a small manual burr grinder but it does not go quite fine enough for Espresso.

So the hunt is on.

David


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## Gottzi (Dec 7, 2014)

Now I am lost, so much to learn lol


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Gottzi said:


> Now I am lost, so much to learn lol


Get decent grinder before trying to change baskets

Ignore for now the jibber jabber between me and ratty

Get some scales

Read here when you have a decent grinder and are using a non pressurised basket , not worth it before ..

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?22879-Beginners-Reading-Weighing-Espresso-Brew-Ratios


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

Mrboots2u said:


> Ignore for now the jibber jabber between me and ratty


OI ! im just trying to get you up to your 20,000 post


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