# New Gaggia Clasic R19403 Model



## 8800coffee (Nov 22, 2015)

Hi There,

Ive been reading the forum for a while now and found it a hugely helpful source of information and tips, so thanks for all the info! hopefully in the future I can return the favour?

My wife purchased a Gaggia Classic and Rocky grinder for me at Christmas after I decided to upgrade from the Gaggia Brera. I'm in the process of stocking up on cleaning and maintainence kit and got to the issue of backflushing. After reading on the forums that this should only be carried on on espresso machines with a 3 way valve it got me thinking - why hasn't my classic got the bypass tube, does it mean my version doesn't have a 3 way valve? The model number is R19403.

Any tips / info you might have would be greatly recieved.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

I believe the RI9403 (2015 new Classic) shares only a name and chassis with the original 'classic Classic' with the small aluminium boiler and solenoid. It's got a larger steel boiler, different heating element, EU power saving shutoff and no 3-way solenoid. As such it doesn't need back flushing. You can't retrofit a solenoid as you'd need to replace the whole group and associated plumbing/wiring. Bear in mind also that given the changes, warm up times and shot recovery times given for the older machine will not necessarily apply to the new one.

PS don't take this to mean the newer one won't still give you good coffee - it's just a different machine that will require a slightly different work flow. The solenoid is there to vent the excess pressure after you stop the pump at the end of a shot. This prevents 'portafilter sneeze'. It may be that you find you need to allow a short time on the new machine to allow this pressure to dissipate (usually via a pointy sprung thing - ahem technical term! - in the centre of the group).

Still a nice present to get!


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## 8800coffee (Nov 22, 2015)

Thanks Hotmetal, I thought there might be a reason for that! Will just stick the descalling from time to time.

If anyone knows which specific model this is - the pic should help


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

That's a new 2015 Classic. Not sure how many people here have these, but the place you'll find all the info for those is GUG.

http://www.gaggiausersgroup.com/index.php/board,35.0.html


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## timmyjj21 (May 10, 2015)

The date on it is 18/2015...umm, pretty sure there are only 12 months in a year? How odd.


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## 8800coffee (Nov 22, 2015)

Spot on, thanks Hotmetal.

Timmy - that one did have me buzzled for a bit - answers on a postcard....


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## MarkII (May 12, 2015)

why it has smaller wattage than older models?


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## ChilledMatt (May 9, 2015)

timmyjj21 said:


> The date on it is 18/2015...umm, pretty sure there are only 12 months in a year? How odd.


I believe this means it was manufactured in week 18 of 2015.


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

8800coffee said:


> Any tips / info you might have would be greatly received.


Yes, keep the original box and receipt in case you need to return it









I have one and its gone wrong twice.

Makes nice coffee and as mentioned was a nice present to receive.

I just found the constant dripping from the group head once the mechanical valve which is used in place of the solenoid valve had been used for a while was annoying.

I have the previous model to that one too and cant say it actually makes a tastier drink


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## 8800coffee (Nov 22, 2015)

Jumbo Ratty said:


> I just found the constant dripping from the group head once the mechanical valve which is used in place of the solenoid valve had been used for a while was annoying.
> 
> I have the previous model to that one too and cant say it actually makes a tastier drink


the dripping is a little annoying but the important thing is the taste isn't deminished in this newer version - that's good to know. Now I don't have to buy a blank disk for backflushing I'm trying to convince myself to spend a bit more and go for a naked PF or should I get my skills up using the standard PF.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

You do have scales right? If not, get these first. £7 on ebay. 0.1g resolution and ideally 1kg as a portafilter plus basket and coffee might weigh 550g so try to go above 500g max. Accurate weighing of the dose in, and weight of espresso out, will help you more than getting a naked PF. But get one of those too if you fancy...

A naked portafilter's primary purpose is to get your distribution and basket prep upto scratch by allowing you to see how the coffee extracts from underneath (when does it first appear? Is it even, lop-sided or are there dead spots?) This helps give you visual feedback about distribution and tamping as much as anything - so you don't need to get your skills up *before* buying one. Although at first you'll probably find that you get spritzers, or Kaldi's Arrows as I call them, where small jets of vaguely coffee-ish hot water squirt out at random angles all over your kitchen, white shirt if you're late for work, or in the eye if you don't wear glasses. But it's part of the deal with a naked, and will teach you how to avoid these things. Not having a naked means you don't see these problems, and have to go purely on taste and what comes into the cup. Less messy but less informative.

Added bonuses of a naked (aka bottomless) are that it's very satisfying when you get a lovely central pour with nice rich tiger stripes. And you can get taller cups and scales underneath.


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## 8800coffee (Nov 22, 2015)

Got the essentials, scales for weighting the grinds in but not weighting it out. I was relying on a 2 oz marked shot glass - top tip, don't put cheap 2 oz shot glasses in a dish washer as the marker comes off! So been doing it by eye until my new one arrives curtasey of Amazon - although I will try weighting it out from now on. I like the idea of the naked PF, the more I can learn from it the better although as you say I can already see me ruining some of my shirts!

im still winging my tamping - although applying a constant pressure with my specific grind / bean. A naked PF may help me hone my tamping a bit more along with the the spread of the grind in the PF.

Would you advise sticking with the standard double shot filter or buying something like the VST with a naked PF?


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Yeah don't rely on shot glasses with lines - it's difficult to know how much you've got out by eye due to different crema depth etc. While it might seem a bit OTT a couple of grams one way or the other may make a difference to how it tastes. In most cases you might not be bothered and will drink it anyway but if you're finding sourness or bitter taste and post on here for advice the first thing everyone will ask is 'what's your recipe' (g in : g out @ x") as you'll probably have seen on here already.

VST baskets are sometimes a bit more finicky than the supplied ones and a fair bit more expensive, so no need to rush to get one. Once you're happy that you're getting good results with the standard one in a naked PF, maybe get a VST basket to try next. They're a bit more sensitive to accurate dosing (but will happily work +/- 1g each side of nominal). They do squeeze a bit more flavour out though. Lots on here swear by them.


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

I took the plastic panarello attachment off the steam wand and didnt use it. I got quite good results with just the metal wand. I do think the 2015 delivers more steam power than the older aluminium boiler version.

Also, the rattling of the drip tray got on my nerves when you are pulling a shot so i just used brute strength and bent the two sides of the stainless steel at the front of the machine in so that it was a snugger fit. That put an end to any rattling and actually made the experience of using the 2015 better as it made it feel more solid and not so shoddy.


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