# E61 fast heat-up



## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

Yesterday I wanted a cup of coffee after work, so I used the trick to wrap a towel around the E61 to heat up faster. I noticed my machine heats up the water in the boilers in no time (less than 8 minutes) but, to get the machine at temp, it usually takes 45 minutes or so.

So, to speed that heating up process up, one can technically insulate the E61 (with a towel) so that heat is conserved and not lost to the environment.

My question here is: In order to save energy and fast heat up times, why is the E61 group head not insulated with silicone or something else?


----------



## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Silicone is not an insulator, if the E 61 was covered with an insulated coat how would you access the components for maintenance / servicing?

B M I You would not have a beautiful chrome E 61 head to look at


----------



## Jezsherwood (Jun 30, 2017)

This is one of the only things I think the internet connected plugs are good for.

You could have turned it on at work so it's hot when you get back 

That and the iron for the wife


----------



## Jezsherwood (Jun 30, 2017)

Sorry, couldn't help it, please don't hate me I'm not sexist.


----------



## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Jezsherwood said:


> Sorry, couldn't help it, please don't hate me I'm not sexist.


Mildred is on her way-- watch out:exit:


----------



## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

Would be nice wouldn't it.... but then it's wouldn't be an e61 if it was ready quickly ;-)

Spontaneous, unscheduled desire for a coffee - one of the use cases a WEMO etc can't fix..... only a quick warming machine e.g. Sage.

At the end of the day we've got a 50 year old design that was intended for commercial use in our homes....... something's got to give. Will be interesting to see if the likes of Decent/Sage etc eventually consign the e61 to history. I hope not!


----------



## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

Jezsherwood said:


> Sorry, couldn't help it, please don't hate me I'm not sexist.


So was this you then?


----------



## Jezsherwood (Jun 30, 2017)

No comment


----------



## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

I was thinking after my OP that, if it was insulated then it maybe be that we would have overheating issues instead... 

I need to come up with a design of a pop-in/pop-out E61 insulting cover, so one can heat up the machine without having to plan ahead.


----------



## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

El carajillo said:


> Silicone is not an insulator


Dont tell Decent Espresso that! (They insulate their entire boiler in a Silcone coat)

Anything can be an insulator really, its just a matter of how good of a job is does.



MediumRoastSteam said:


> I need to come up with a design of a pop-in/pop-out E61 insulting cover, so one can heat up the machine without having to plan ahead.


It would be a palava - but if you felt Silicon was a decent enough insulator for your needs you could remove your e61 - cover it in vaseline, then create a silicone mold from it, cut it down the middle and slot it on whenever you wanted to use it.


----------



## nomilknosugar (May 9, 2017)

I love the idea of an insulting cover. Nothing says "pick me up" better at half past six in the morning than your coffee machine going "gosh, you're looking crap today" and "have you put on weight again?"...


----------



## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

^ insulting cover LOL! I'm going to get one with F#ckoffee on it. (Maybe that's a merch idea for the infamous Bermondsey St coffee shop of that name).

I just use a microfibre cloth wrapped round group and the PF. Cuts waiting time down a little bit but not drastically.


----------



## Mmiah (Feb 13, 2015)

the e61 is a lot of brass to heat up, drill and tap a heating element into it instead of relying on the convection current of water alone


----------



## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Jezsherwood said:


> This is one of the only things I think the internet connected plugs are good for.
> 
> You could have turned it on at work so it's hot when you get back
> 
> That and the iron for the wife


And possibly one for your life support system . . .


----------



## Jezsherwood (Jun 30, 2017)

MildredM said:


> And possibly one for your life support system . . .


Touché


----------



## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

nomilknosugar said:


> I love the idea of an insulting cover. Nothing says "pick me up" better at half past six in the morning than your coffee machine going "gosh, you're looking crap today" and "have you put on weight again?"...


May I put my name forward for the role of voice over artiste.


----------



## Phobic (Aug 17, 2016)

I turn the machine on i the morning and once the boiler is up to temp I do the back flushing and cleaning routine.

then I pour boiling water over the PF to get it hot, dock it back in and leave it a bit.

warms the whole machine up much faster


----------



## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

Phobic said:


> I turn the machine on i the morning and once the boiler is up to temp I do the back flushing and cleaning routine.
> 
> then I pour boiling water over the PF to get it hot, dock it back in and leave it a bit.
> 
> warms the whole machine up much faster


Does that actually work well for you? I've tried that once but didn't fiend that it warmed the group hot enough if compared to leaving the machine on for 45 min sort of thing.

Wrapping a towel around the group works a treat though.


----------



## Phobic (Aug 17, 2016)

it works pretty well on my QM, even better if the 1st coffee I make is for my wife (she drinks decaf so she can take one for the team!)

I was going to get a group head thermometer to check it out but simple rule is, if it burns my pinky it's most likely hot enough.

45 mins is a hell of a long time!


----------



## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

I once had the idea of pouring boiled water from the kettle over the group to recover it after I flushed too much. What actually happened is that it lost a further 4-5 degrees (as measured by Eric).


----------

