# 4 hole steam tip. Wanted



## Eyedee (Sep 13, 2010)

With many people discussing the merits or not of the 4 hole steam tip I am wondering if anyone has a spare which will fit my Piccino.

I have the 2 hole tip which seems to take a long time to steam my milk and have a notion to try the 4 to experience the difference.

Can anyone help me out.

Ian


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## Steve_S_T (Dec 7, 2012)

They only cost two or three pounds to buy. If you get one from Fracino they'll charge a flat rate tenner postage but Peter at Espresso Underground carries loads of Fracino stuff at the right price and posts at a more reasonable rate for small items.

Steve.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD


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## Steve_S_T (Dec 7, 2012)

I just had a quick look here http://www.espressounderground.co.uk/fracino%20parts.html and Peter only lists the 2 hole but it's worth phoning him because I know he struggles to keep the website bang up to date and I can't believe he doesn't stock the 4 hole.

Steve.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD


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## Monkey_Devil (Jul 11, 2011)

I would speculate that the piccino doesn't have the recovery speed to cope with 4 holes personally.


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## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

I'd speculate that the 4 hole isn't a very good tip anyway lol


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## gman147 (Jul 7, 2012)

How come? I'm getting great results with mine now


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## gman147 (Jul 7, 2012)

How come? I'm getting great results with mine now


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## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

IMHO it's just too powerful for home use. I don't need to steam milk in 10 seconds and I'd rather take the time to get absolutely perfect microfoam.


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## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

poona said:


> How come? I'm getting great results with mine now


You ripping off my signature









Lol


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## gman147 (Jul 7, 2012)

Ha I copied and pasted and edited the colours and curved bit







Scumbag or what


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## gman147 (Jul 7, 2012)

Yeah have to admit too, it is hellish powerful, im struggling to get to grips with it. I said im getting great results but in reality my milk could be so much better recognising the potential of the machine.

I hadn't thought the reason was due to the 4 hole being more powerful than a 2 hole?


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## gman147 (Jul 7, 2012)

Just had a quick search on the forum and see that Jimbo from west midlands found that the wand in centre of jug with a 15 deg angle gave good results.


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## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

Yeah, I just don't find I get such nice latte art foam with the four hole. The two hole slows it down a bit and let's me texture to perfection


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## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

poona said:


> Ha I copied and pasted and edited the colours and curved bit
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Haha, epic. TBH I had no issue being signature buds. Just shows that great minds think alike !


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## gman147 (Jul 7, 2012)

Nice setup btw ;-)


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## jimbow (Oct 13, 2011)

The 4 hole tip is definitely a beast and it took me a long time to tame it. With 4 holes you do need quite a vertical angle as stated above and you need to work really quickly and really precisely. You can chill the milk and jug before steaming to buy a bit more time and increase your stretching window.

Discard your thermometer if you are trying to use one - it simply cannot keep pace with the rate at which the milk is heating. Use your hand against the side of the jug and feel how hot it is. When the jug no longer feels cool (it is around body temperature) then stop stretching and sink the tip ever so slightly to start texturing. If you try to stretch beyond this point you will create big bubbles because the milk is too warm to incorporate the air properly.


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## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

See my other post in the fracino section. There's now another 4 hole tip that while not as crazy as the standard one, is about double the power of the two hole tip.


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## gman147 (Jul 7, 2012)

My problem is that now I see it as a challenge to master it


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## Eyedee (Sep 13, 2010)

Well thanks for all your comments, as an update, today my postie brought me a 4 hole X 1mm new steam tip from Londinium, as an aside, with it was a bag of beans to try. That's what I call service.

So it's on the wand straight away and steaming began, immediate impression is that texturing the milk looked improved. The steam was not violent but the heating of the milk was accelerated by the addition of the extra 2 holes. Yeah yeah I know the increase was 50% but until you have experienced it you just do not realise how slow the 2 hole tip actually feels, BUT compared to my Gaggia Baby the two hole was like a F1 car.

Ian


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## Foz (Jan 19, 2013)

Thanks for the update Ian, can the Piccino steam boiler keep up with the 4 x 1mm tip? I also have a Piccino and think that a little more folding power would benefit my milk texture.

Peter


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## Eyedee (Sep 13, 2010)

I actually forgot to mention that the Piccino boiler will keep up with the 4x1mm tip but I have my doubts about the boiler keeping up with the Fracino 4x1.5.

I watched the pressure guage dropping as I steamed but it settled at about 0.25 bar then immediately recovered when I stopped steaming.


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## Steve_S_T (Dec 7, 2012)

Has anybody considered changing the tips to suit the situation? I've finished my experiments with the standard four hole tip (4 x 1.5mm) and have concluded that it's ideal for larger quantities of milk, say 300ml or more, but for the amount I use if I'm just making myself a drink, probably less than 100ml, it's ridiculously (but wonderfully) powerful. Just steamed enough milk for a small flat white whilst pulling a shot and the Temptag changed colour at the same time as the first drop of espresso was hitting the glass, and although I turned the steam off quickly the milk was still a little bit scorched. So I look forward to trying the 4 x 1mm which I have ordered from Londinium but think I might also consider chopping and changing as needed - use the 2 hole when I'm the lone coffee drinker then if I'm making lots of drinks for the family or visitors then just change it for the 4 x 1.5. I can't imagine that this regular changing would damage the wand itself.

Steve.


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## gman147 (Jul 7, 2012)

Don't see why not. In an ideal world we would all master the 4x1.5 but the beast is not to be tamed it seems. the 2x1 is slow so I hear, I have yet to try myself however my milk skills aren't great. Ihear the 4x1 is fantastic but Londinium charge a small fortune for it!!


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