# Just water on pre-infusion



## totallywired (Jun 25, 2011)

I have a Alex Duetto II. On pr-infusion it just seems to drip coffee coloured water into the cup instead of nice thick crema. I replaced all seals and gaskets in the group. New screen and basket but still the same issue. Anybody had this or similar problem?


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

totallywired said:


> I have a Alex Duetto II. On pr-infusion it just seems to drip coffee coloured water into the cup instead of nice thick crema. I replaced all seals and gaskets in the group. New screen and basket but still the same issue. Anybody had this or similar problem?


Hi, I don't have an Alex Duetto II but do have an e61 machine. I am not clear what you mean by pre-infusion in the context above. On mine, for the first 4-6 seconds nothing gets into the cup. I believe that on a standard e61 machine the so called "pre infusion" lasts around 2-3 seconds until the chamber fills up. Are you using a bottomless PF?


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## totallywired (Jun 25, 2011)

On the duetto you pull the lever to neutral then if you come just past that it will give you water line pressure only. I usually do this for about 6-10 seconds then give it full throttle. Yes i'm using a bottomless PF


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

A fairly typical Duetto II pour with naked PF






19g in, 38g out in 30s - quite tasty. Could've started a bit slower but not bad.

Need a video from you to be able to see what's really going on.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

totallywired said:


> I have a Alex Duetto II. On pr-infusion it just seems to drip coffee coloured water into the cup instead of nice thick crema. I replaced all seals and gaskets in the group. New screen and basket but still the same issue. Anybody had this or similar problem?


Normal behaviour, E61 isn't designed to do so called "middle position preinfusion"...also if it's not plumbed, best you will get is passive puck wetting because the brew boiler water is at approx 106C. Don't waste your time doing this, simply raise the lever and allow the built in preinfusion on the E61 to do it's job and the Duetto will produce a decent shot.


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## totallywired (Jun 25, 2011)

DavecUK said:


> Normal behaviour, E61 isn't designed to do so called "middle position preinfusion"...also if it's not plumbed, best you will get is passive puck wetting because the brew boiler water is at approx 106C. Don't waste your time doing this, simply raise the lever and allow the built in preinfusion on the E61 to do it's job and the Duetto will produce a decent shot.


I never used to do it until Coffeechap dropped off my grinder and showed me how to do it. I'll go back to just full lever and see what happens.


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## totallywired (Jun 25, 2011)

DavecUK said:


> Normal behaviour, E61 isn't designed to do so called "middle position preinfusion"...also if it's not plumbed, best you will get is passive puck wetting because the brew boiler water is at approx 106C. Don't waste your time doing this, simply raise the lever and allow the built in preinfusion on the E61 to do it's job and the Duetto will produce a decent shot.


I never used to do it until Coffeechap dropped off my grinder and showed me how to do it. I'll go back to just full lever and see what happens.


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

If tanked, rather than plumbed, then the benefits of "middle position" preinfusion are negligible - as you get a very small trickle and that's it. If it's plumbed then it may be more productive, as you should get more than a slight trickle.

Anyway, as DaveC says, just go for it and let the E61 do its stuff.


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## totallywired (Jun 25, 2011)

Still got the same issue. Here is a video.


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

There's something going very wrong there - but probably not with the machine.

1. How does the water come from the shower screen, without the PF loaded - does it "sprinkle" as it should - or is it also just a dribble? If a dribble and not a decent sprinkle then a good clean may well be in order.

2. Is the pressure gauge showing a proper pressure reading of 9-10 bar during the 'pour'? (From your video, it appears to be OK)

3. The naked pour appears to show some vicious channeling and spritzing - so your grind and/or distribution / tamp are probably out. If you loosen the grind up do you get a proper flow (or a gusher?) or does it still just dribble out of one area of the basket?

What weight of beans are you using? Have you poured a decent shot from these beans before, or are they new to you?

If I had that sort of pour then I'd start by loosening the grind and working back until you get a good flow across the entire basket.


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## totallywired (Jun 25, 2011)

Well, looks like it's sorted! Big thanks *MrShades* just backed off the grind and two perfect shots. Don't know how I got so far out on the grind? Anyway hope it's sorted, will pull some more tomorrow as it's too late for coffee now and have to up at 5am for work. Thanks again.


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