# Ponte Vecchio Lusso



## embee (Apr 29, 2014)

Hi, I'm thinking of buying a Ponte Vecchio Lusso, Has any one used one and what do you think of them?


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

How good are you at repairing things?

Where will you get the spares from? And is the one you fancy simply so cheap you have to have it?


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## embee (Apr 29, 2014)

your questions are the reason I asked for peoples experience of the PV lusso. Do you have any experience of useing the PV and what is your opinion of it and the company? as for your first question, yes I'm useful at repairing things.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

They have a reasonable product but no representation in the UK that I am aware of. I know BB stopped dealing with them as they found the back up they offered totally unprofessional, ie pretending no one spoke English when contacted etc etc

The Lusso makes a reasonable cuppa but I know where there is one that has seen minimal use but the boiler has leaked on z3 occasions and is deemed un repairable and unaffordable to replace

For me, it would come down to how much the item is and it's past history. One member on here used one for quite some time and loved it, if that is a recommendation! Me, I would look for something more mainstream


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## billcoxfam (Jan 8, 2013)

I had a PV Lusso for over 2 years and had no problems. It was a great little machine and made a good espresso although volume is small unless you use a second pull.

Build quality is not great but there is nothing comparable for the money. It's like a commercial lever machine in miniature. You can leave it on all day and it won't overheat.

Replacing seals is tricky but there is information on the internet. You need to make a jack to lift the piston and take the weight off the spring before detaching the lever. If you ever get to that stage I could provide a sketch of how I did it.

BB still have some spares on their web site but not many.

The PV Lusso is still made and the machine has its devotees in other countries so I imagine spares will continue to be available.

A nice looking machine sold on Ebay in March for £275, I managed to get quite a bit more when I sold mine on Ebay earlier in the year.

If the L1 hadn't appeared on the market I would never have thought of selling mine.


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

I had the pv lusso for 6 months and bar a few machining issues, I thoroughly enjoyed using it.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Just refreshed my memory by re-reading the review i did on it...lots of standard parts and if nothing bad is wrong with it, it should be fine, especially if it's cheap!


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## natmat (Aug 24, 2016)

I've had a PV Export (single group) for 5 years now. Nothing has gone wrong in that time.

I've recently replaced the seals; fiddly as people have said, but once you understand what needs to be done it's quite simple.

Also frequently changed the steam wand o-ring; whenever the knob is stiff I change the o-ring.

I use the single portafilter, with about 10g grinds. Needs careful consideration of the grind and tamp to extract the best espresso.

Only has thin crema with this portafilter, but the extraction is good.

Steam is plentiful and controllable and makes wonderfully textured milk (both skimmed and full fat).

I love its simplicity and will look to buy another when this fails me.

But, the build quality isn't good. However, only a couple of things irritate me:

- grouphead attaches to wonky captive studs

- the water level gauge clouds up and the glass cover is just a push fit.

[Just signed uo to this group so my first post]


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## WHT (Dec 9, 2016)

It could make perfect espresso, but need good grinder.


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## natmat (Aug 24, 2016)

Paired with an Anfim Best/Milano grinder (bought at same time).

I use it on a 2-2.5 setting or, if the beans are dark/oily, maybe a 1.5 - extracts slower for lightly roasted beans.

Having developed my coffee passions whilst living in NZ for 5 years, my preference is for an NZ-style flat white.


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