# BE high pressure issue



## MattLeB (May 18, 2020)

Spent a few weeks trying to troubleshoot this problem and days trawling this and other forums - can't find anyone who's had this particular issue.. first off I'll say how amazing the depth of knowledge and experience is in this community!

Been lurking for a few months but time for my first thread...

I'll explain my set up and hope I've made sure I'm not making too many of the rookie BE errors:

* Using freshly roasted beans from Pact (arrive within a week of roasting), they call it a their 'dark espresso' roast but I'd say it's a light/medium roast at most

* Using a 53mm Motta tamper rather than the Sage tamper

* Weighing my dose before and after grinding - have tested between 17-19g (for interest after grinding and tamping the 19g was around the depth of the 'Razor' tool, not that I've used it to trim the puck)

* Grinding into a small glass, shaking the grinds up a bit and dosing into the pf with a 51mm funnel (53 out of stock..), quick stir with a homemade wdt and a tap on the counter, a few on the side of the pf, level with a finger and tamp, fairly firmly

* Weighing the yield, aiming for the classic 1:2 ratio in 20-30 seconds (from first drip, so not including pre-infusion)

* I struggled to get anywhere near the target ratio with the grinder as it was out of the box: the shots would pour in 10-15secs with very little (or no) pressure registering on the gauge, and the shots tasting sour and unpleasant

* I had to adjust the upper burr to 3 to get near the ratio and flow I was looking for and for the shots to taste better, finally got a good looking and tasting shot at setting 2 or 3 with the upper burr at 3, and it would get close to choking at 1

* With these shots, the pressure on the gauge would register a small amount of pre-infusion pressure but then shoot up to 2o'clock (into the supposed 'over-extraction' zone)

* Using the spouted pf I was fairly happy with the flow and output, even if the flow would get a little erratic during the second half of the shot. Reliably 1:2 in 25 seconds and good taste.

* Fast forward a few weeks and I've started using a bottomless pf - both to diagnose any issues I might have with distribution and to enjoy seeing the glorious extraction!

* Each shot turns out the same, starts out nice and even, with a central 'mouse tail' then halfway through it will start spitting/spurting and the flow will spiral a bit. Tastes fine, but messy and clearly not extracting how it could/should

* I've tried dosing higher and lower, and grinding coarser and tamping harder- today I tried grinding coarser at setting 6 and tamping a bit harder and the shot finished in 12/14 seconds and made an ungodly mess..

* I've looked at the pucks after extraction to check for obvious channels but haven't seen any - the only thing I see is a light impression of the shower screen (mixed opinions of whether this is a negative or not...)

Ultimately I'm looking for some advice as to what people think might be causing this. It seems to me that the pressure is too high, and that the puck can deal with it at the start of the shot but struggles as the shot progresses and channels open up.. I've been trawling to forums to see if anyone who has modded the OPV has also had my problem but most seem to be a low pressure issue rather than a high one. Don't particularly want to open the machine up to do this if there's another way of sorting my issue.

I'm also aware the gauge isn't really known for being great, but I tested it today with the 'blanked' basket insert and then with an empty pressurised basket. The blanked basket registered a max pressure at the same spot on the gauge as my best shots (suggesting the opv would be opening?) and the pressurised basket was showing the 'ideal' pressure profile, so a small amount of pre-infusion pressure and then holding 12o'clock on the gauge, suggesting the machine could function correctly..

I'm happy with the taste of the shots as they are but the messy extraction is frustrating, and for all I know they could taste much better. I'll be the first to admit I don't have the most experienced palette for espresso. I was previously a Nespresso user and usually prefer a strong Flat White over an espresso in the morning, but I do like a humble espresso every couple of days so would like to get the most out of the machine as I can!

Thanks in advance!


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## facboy (Dec 13, 2019)

Hum...I don't have a BE but it seems like the pressure gauge is a bit of a distraction. If it tasted good (and the channelling looked fine), then you'd be happy?

Re: the channelling issues, in my limited experience that is to do with poor distribution. My personal findings:



Don't WDT except to break up any big boulders or clumps. I find this almost invariably makes the channelling worse.


Tap sideways to distribute horizontally before you try to distribute vertically by tapping down. My 'theory' as such is that tapping down is like a mini tamp and it somewhat fixes the grounds in their current distribution, so if there are any gaps or cracks it's harder for the horizontal tapping to fix them. The 'tamp' is more likely to fix vertical distribution problems, but it won't fix a bad horizontal distribution.


I found a distribution tool (I have the Motta) improved my results a lot (in terms of consistency, channelling, and ultimately taste). I've posted ad nauseum about this, but I use the distribution tool alone and don't tamp any more.


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## terio (Oct 17, 2017)

Have you tried pulling the shots at the preinfusion pressure? I do all of mine like this, just press the button and keep it pressed. Works for me.


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## MattLeB (May 18, 2020)

I agree it's a distraction, it just seems to suggest that the machine is brewing at max pressure and probably opening the OPV as a result, but I don't seem to be able to get it to brew at a lower pressure (and indeed it's the channelling that is an issue that could be linked to the overpressure..)

I agree a distribution tool would be good to try, so will look to pick one up - trying to establish if there is a more substantial issue with the machine though before I pour too much more money into more toys!



terio said:


> Have you tried pulling the shots at the preinfusion pressure? I do all of mine like this, just press the button and keep it pressed. Works for me.


 Tried this today and yesterday actually and liked the result - my first thought though is that if the flow is reduced because it's at the 'pre-infusion rate', then this might result in a higher brew temp as it is spending more time in the thermocoil (correct me if I'm wrong anyone). Whether this would end up being a good or a bad thing is another question altogether!


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## terio (Oct 17, 2017)

I've found that the shots actually run a little quicker when doing it this way, although if you felt temperature was the issue can always adjust that higher or lower if on the standard setting.


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## DavidMIZ (12 mo ago)

I've been browsing various forums, hoping to find some advice on a similar issue with my BE.

This is the first time I have posted on this forum, in fact it is the first time I've posted on any forum, so please go easy on the newbie!

Having a small concern with the BE!

Set up

I use good beans (Dark roast) roasted locally (used in date) and now I stick to the same one as I enjoy the flavour.

I weigh out/grind 18g only into a dosing cup, I carried out the internal adjustment of the grinder for finer ground.

I then tip into PF, distribute & tamp with a double ended adjustable tool. I'm using the sage Double cup single wall basket.

Results

With a grind setting of 6, I'm getting a yield of 36-39 grams from about 20-22 seconds excluding pre-infusion which seems fine and importantly tastes good to me.

The concern is, the gauge reads 2 o'clock and even slightly higher some times!

Is this acceptable?

I spoke to Sage today and they said it's too high and I should consider using the double wall baskets!!

Surely not..

Any advice would be much appreciated.


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