# Stumbling along the upgrade road



## fenix (Oct 31, 2010)

Hi all, after a bit of advice.

My current setup is a Gaggia Coffee Deluxe and a MC2 grinder. Never been convinced 100% with the deluxe, mainly because I picked it up very cheap second hand, did some repair work on it, but it now needs a full stripdown to repair some leaks, and major descale. This has all been put off for a while due to recent move from a flat to a larger cottage, with bigger kitchen









Drink wise I mainly drink flat white, but the occasional straight espresso, and latte. Numbers wise couple a day, more at weekends. Doing this on the coffee isnt ideal, and trying to do more than one if we have friends around is a pain in the aris. Wife has mentioned that there might be some spare kitchen space coming up, and some £££ to put towards a better machine. Having looked through the sales threads it looks like I might be able to pickup a used Fracino for £300-400 on here, with a bit of patience. I had originally looked on ebay but having read some threads on here, think I would prefer to avoid. Looking at a water hardness map it appears I live in a very hard water area Kent) so will need frequent descaling. With this in mind do you think its possible to pickup a used Francino for my budget, and which model would be best to watch for? Wife did mention that a hot water tap would be nice, but not an overriding factor.

Cheers

Jon


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## grumpydaddy (Oct 20, 2014)

Let me offer a Fracino.

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?20912-Fracino-Classic-1-group

It can be mains fed but you will need to install a water filter too by the sound of it


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

You will find something in your budget on here with enough patience, the one posted above by Grumpy is a good machine if you like the looks!

Forget regular descaling if you live in a hard water area and just buy Tasco Ashbeck or similar bottled water, it will allow you to forget about and not worry about scale and make your coffee taste better.

You are probably on the look out for a Cherub, Classic or maybe a Piccino (usually a bit more). Or possibly a Nuova Simonelli Oscar or Expo Pulsar (uncommon).


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## fenix (Oct 31, 2010)

Have come to the conclusion that I will need a machine with on-board tank, and will probably run it on bottled water. Unfortunately the ideal place to put a machine doesn't have any room underneath for a drain or external tank. Did start pondering lever but think that's too big a jump at the moment. On the plus side the Gaggia is fully up and running again, might do a PID mod on it.


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## grumpydaddy (Oct 20, 2014)

If you did choose to buy a lever and to make your wallet cry, I can recommend the Londinium1 as a next step









I have found it quite beginner friendly so you should have no trouble at all.

The only thing wrong is the £££'s


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