# Portafilter not dry when finshed..



## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

There isn't a general forum for machines not listed in the other forums so I'm posting here.

When I've 'pulled' a shot and the pressure has vented, when I remove the portafilter the basket is full of water - the puck scrapes out dry enough though.

Only once did it all vent away to give a bone dry puck, fresh beans and near powdery grind (I blocked my pressurised basket the second time around).

Any ideas? I'm using a Dualit Espressivo with pressurised basket if that helps.


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

That's a lot of water. How much are you dosing and what's your output and time?


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

If you have no solenoid in your machine, this is normal.

edit: I imagine the pressurised basket also stop some of the last bits of water exiting the PF the normal way as well.


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

froggystyle said:


> That's a lot of water. How much are you dosing and what's your output and time?


Tbh, when I pulled a perfect shot I ground about 16g and pulled to shot glasses in around 35 seconds..










At the minute I tend to grind enough to fill the basket, smooth off the top then tamp quite firmly - the basaket is about 2/3 full. The pour is quite quick though and in around 25 seconds will nearly half fill by Bodum glass mug. It could be that the beans are old? Or I should compact the grounds a bit and top up? If I set the RR45 any lower the burrs just start to chatter.


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

Dylan said:


> If you have no solenoid in your machine, this is normal.
> 
> edit: I imagine the pressurised basket also stop some of the last bits of water exiting the PF the normal way as well.


Probably.

What I can't understand is I managed to get a decent shot (once, and had guests over for dinner who were impressed lol). The machine vented quite strongly, probably due to the pressure that'd built up from having nearly blocked the pressurised basket (which I did the second time), there was no water in the basket when I removed it and the puck was bone dry and knocked out easily. Now I have to pour the excess off before knocking the relatively dry puck out into the bin.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

The pressurised basket will mean your tamp is almost pointless, pressure builds inside saturating the whole puck and really squeezing everything out of the coffee. It's very difficult to follow the advice of getting a shot from 18g in 27 seconds, or anything along those lines, as the pressurised basket interferes with the process.


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

Dylan said:


> The pressurised basket will mean your tamp is almost pointless, pressure builds inside saturating the whole puck and really squeezing everything out of the coffee. It's very difficult to follow the advice of getting a shot from 18g in 27 seconds, or anything along those lines, as the pressurised basket interferes with the process.


Thanks, thought so.

I've seen a post for an unpressurised basket (krups I think) but I don't think I can adjust the pressure from 15 Bar to 9 on my machine - also I'd have to fanny about with my portafilter as the screw that holds the plastic fake-crema thing in is in the centre. I could remove it and fill with miliput etc. but prefer to keep standard for when I upgrade and sell.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

the pressure can remain at 15bar and you can still get good results and follow the same procedures as others.

But it may just be worth upgrading to a Classic and be done with it


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

Dylan said:


> the pressure can remain at 15bar and you can still get good results and follow the same procedures as others.


That's good to know..



Dylan said:


> ..But it may just be worth upgrading to a Classic and be done with it


When funds permit (keep watching them on fleabay..) had a look at a couple of Pavonis as well though that's maybe running before I can walk lol


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

People often get put off the Pavoni EP's as they are less forgiving. But when you get it right they are really good, especially for espresso where they shine, they are also lovely looking things.


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

Dylan said:


> People often get put off the Pavoni EP's as they are less forgiving. But when you get it right they are really good, especially for espresso where they shine, they are also lovely looking things.


I've been watching a couple of Professional 16 cup models and they do look nice. Might hold out for one as they appeal to my technical side.


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Rhys said:


> Tbh, when I pulled a perfect shot I ground about 16g
> 
> At the minute I tend to grind enough to fill the basket


This makes me sad!

Buy some scales.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

I used to have one of these machines... you will struggle to get ratios in the time scales that a non pressurised basket machine would ....

It looks like you are getting 50-80 g of espresso out from your dose , i can't tell if your cups are 1 or 2 fl ounces...this is alot of coffee over time for a machine with a pressurised basket.....


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

Just measured out 16g, finest setting before chirping and choked the basket.. Tamped quite hard as well. Just done it again one step down from last setting and got 35 seconds for a single shot - no mouse tails, just a fast drip.

Will try again tomorrow..


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

just measures my shot glasses and they are 2oz


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Rhys said:


> just measures my shot glasses and they are 2oz


Ok so are you extracting in to two glasses .. Full would be a total of 4 fl?


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

Mrboots2u said:


> Ok so are you extracting in to two glasses .. Full would be a total of 4 fl?


The one I did last night was approx 1oz straight into my cup (I should do measured shots, I know..) the pressurised basket choked but what came out made a nice latté. Bit bitter for an espresso (I tried a sip). I didn't want to let my machine run past 40 seconds though hadn't blonded when I stopped it either.

Best bet I think will be to get an unpresurised basket (recent posts suggest a Krupa basket but might need a washer?).

Either that or just pull the trigger on a better machine when I've got a few more quid saved up.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

There is really very little knowledge on pressurised baskets on the forum, but as they are designed to 'squeeze' every last bit of flavour, good or bad, out of the beans, somehow I would imagine a finer grind to become over extracted.

You are the only one that would be able to observe this, and maybe the 25 secondish shot will still be a good guideline... but the point I'm making is when you are grinding finer and getting slower shots does it taste better because a slower shot may be the complete opposite of what you want with a pressurised basket (but this is just a guess).


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Dylan said:


> There is really very little knowledge on pressurised baskets on the forum.


We know they're not very good


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

Dylan said:


> There is really very little knowledge on pressurised baskets on the forum, but as they are designed to 'squeeze' every last bit of flavour, good or bad, out of the beans, somehow I would imagine a finer grind to become over extracted.
> 
> You are the only one that would be able to observe this, and maybe the 25 secondish shot will still be a good guideline... but the point I'm making is when you are grinding finer and getting slower shots does it taste better because a slower shot may be the complete opposite of what you want with a pressurised basket (but this is just a guess).


Actualy gets better, when using the ppf with anything that doesn't block it up the shot blondes very quickly and it comes out pretty quick - 25 seconds would half fill my glass Bodum coffee mug.

when I've got it ground fine enough to choke the ppf and slow it right down, the extraction takes longer to blonde and I get roughly the timings you should get but my machine struggles. After all they are meant for people who either chuck pods in or probably use pre-ground and want something better than instant and that's it. I'm pushing mine.



jeebsy said:


> We know they're not very good


it's the weekest link in my setup. The nearer I get to getting a good shot, the higher the chance of me choking it and straining my machine. So, new basket or new machine.. I know which I'd like lol


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