# Noob Sage DB questions and observations



## 7877

So just starting to get to grips with the Sage DB and I have a few questions and observations I thought some of you might be able to answer or comment on. Overall I am really liking that although it has a lot of features it really is pretty easy to get started with.

1. In terms of weight of coffee, what are the stock baskets ideal doses? I've gone straight to the double basket and it seems to take a 19 or 20g dose easily and still have a lot of clearance from the group, the razor gizmo doesn't even touch the puck and the PF turns to about 4 o'clock before it goes no further......so is that how things should be, should I dose higher? Use the single basket or not tighten the PF so much and leave it at 6 o'clock?

2. Water hardness setting? I have to admit to not knowing much about how water hardness is measured. On the test strip provided and the settings on the machine of 1 to 5....I don't get if 1 is hard or 5 is hard.....after testing my water is clearly set to 1

3. Sort of related to the last point...is the filter really needed if you filter the water before it goes in the tank? I have a brita filter I always use and have continued to with this new machine even though there is also a filter in the tank. I set the hardness setting after testing the brita filtered water rather than straight out of the tap.

4. Amazed how quickly it seems to warm up and loving the built in auto start feature BUT....why does the clock have to reset when you switch off the machine at the plug, that is pretty annoying. In my view it wouldn't have taken much to keep the clock going when unplugged....all other settings are retained so there must be a little battery in their somewhere powering things I would have thought...

5. The tamper provided seems a bit pointless and has very little weight to it....I suppose it has to be quite light otherwise it would not stay magnetically attached to the machine in its special storage spot.

6. The razor tool.....I don't really get it. It seems the wrong thing to do to me, to start interfering with the puck after you have tamped I mean.

7. Not steamed much yet, but it does seem a little on the slow side. Have others bumped up the steam pressure at all?

8. This is the last one honestly!....is there any consensus about tweaking the pre-infusion settings yet or views over whether volumetric settings are of any advantages?

Thanks all


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## Mrboots2u

Have you booked your white gloves service ?


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## jeebsy

I'm basing this on what i've read and the demos I got of the DB, so take with a pinch of something.

If you're weighing don't use the razor thing - i got the impression this was to ensure a consistent dose in the PF but weighing is better

Stock tamper is probably sufficient for most people who buy it

Why do you switch it off at the plug?


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## Mrboots2u

Razor tool


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## 7877

Mrboots2u said:


> Have you booked your white gloves service ?


Not yet....but I will, if nothing else to help me get my head around the settings and volumetrics.......and I feel like I am trying to use it at first as though I am still on the silvia and that's probably not necessary


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## 7877

jeebsy said:


> Why do you switch it off at the plug?


Why not? I'm trying to be eco friendly


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## jeebsy

I think in standby mode it's probably pretty eco friendly. To get the benefits of the timer i'd leave it on, even if it was slightly to mother nature's chagrin.


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## Mrboots2u

OK

Dose - dose and use a real recipe that works for you.

Weigh in and weigh out.

It sounds like you can use 19g no problems. You need some headroom in the basket to allow the coffee to swell during pre infusion.

Gsryt or Charlie may be able to tell you what the stock basket is comfortable with as a Max dose.

The oracle stock basket takes 22g but this may not be the same as yours ( due to the auto dose and tamp function )

Re tamper- its not the weight thats important but the way it fits the stock bakset. I would presume since these are sage baskets then the tamper is designed as a good fit for them. You could change to VST baskets this would allow you to dose to their recommended basket levels.

You might need a decent 58.35 or above tamper of some description.

If your weighing in then the razor tool is a pointless step , ignore it.

Steam- yes it steams slower than say a brewtus but ancedotally gives great foam as a result. BTW what would you class as slow ?

I've left the oracle at stock pre infusion setting it seems to work OK . its there to play with though.

If your changing coffees a lot and hence grind and dose then perhaps manual brewing button would be better ( using scales ).

If your a one blend kinda guy set the volumetric s up for that and relax ....


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## 7877

Thanks MrBoots2u

Weight in and weigh out.....totally agree that's my routine anyway, hence me scratching my head about the razor









I have an 18g VST basket and a mbk 58.35 tamper









The mbk fits the stock basket nice and snugly, no different to the VST in that respect, the stock tamper has ever so slightly more wiggle room. Side-by-side the VST basket looks marginally deeper. It seems to me though there is a lot more clearance from the group head compared to my silvia.

In terms of dose I guess I was used to overdosing a little with my silvia to compensate for other variables at times, so I need to get out of bad habits to some extent









Steaming.....as mentioned, I've come from a silvia but I had a PID with steam temp control. It felt like it was more powerful perhaps due to the single hole in the wand I don't know. Attempts so far have ended up with me having a bit too much head and not enough body, but it's pretty easy compared to all the swirling and tipping of the jug I'd have to do previously.

I am coming to the conclusion that manual brew might be better, but I don't get all the other settings yet so may chnage my mind on that. I do pretty much change beans every bag although there are some I'll keep coming back to. I like trying different flavours.


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## Beanosaurus

Sibling Chris said:


> 1. In terms of weight of coffee, what are the stock baskets ideal doses? I've gone straight to the double basket and it seems to take a 19 or 20g dose easily and still have a lot of clearance from the group, the razor gizmo doesn't even touch the puck and the PF turns to about 4 o'clock before it goes no further......so is that how things should be, should I dose higher? Use the single basket or not tighten the PF so much and leave it at 6 o'clock?
> 
> 2. Water hardness setting? I have to admit to not knowing much about how water hardness is measured. On the test strip provided and the settings on the machine of 1 to 5....I don't get if 1 is hard or 5 is hard.....after testing my water is clearly set to 1
> 
> 3. Sort of related to the last point...is the filter really needed if you filter the water before it goes in the tank? I have a brita filter I always use and have continued to with this new machine even though there is also a filter in the tank. I set the hardness setting after testing the brita filtered water rather than straight out of the tap.
> 
> 4. Amazed how quickly it seems to warm up and loving the built in auto start feature BUT....why does the clock have to reset when you switch off the machine at the plug, that is pretty annoying. In my view it wouldn't have taken much to keep the clock going when unplugged....all other settings are retained so there must be a little battery in their somewhere powering things I would have thought...
> 
> 5. The tamper provided seems a bit pointless and has very little weight to it....I suppose it has to be quite light otherwise it would not stay magnetically attached to the machine in its special storage spot.
> 
> 6. The razor tool.....I don't really get it. It seems the wrong thing to do to me, to start interfering with the puck after you have tamped I mean.
> 
> 7. Not steamed much yet, but it does seem a little on the slow side. Have others bumped up the steam pressure at all?
> 
> 8. This is the last one honestly!....is there any consensus about tweaking the pre-infusion settings yet or views over whether volumetric settings are of any advantages?
> 
> Thanks all


I think questions 2, 3, and 5 have more or less been answered;

However I'm using Tesco Clearview water, I'm not a fan of Brita filtered water anymore because of the inanity of filling the thing up in the morning then waiting around for it to filter through then the filter might need replacing meaning more and more water being ran through... It's just a massive waste of time and a faff to me and I now reserve the Brita jug for my kettle.

Just a thought...

Anyway!

1(ish). The stock double basket is a precision basket and excellent though I do use VSTs the majority of the time, if I can add anything to this I've noticed an issue with pucks getting stuck to the shower screen on oft occasions and this has to do with the depth between the surface of the screen and the coffee itself - if there is a deep enough gap it can make the puck vacuum to the screen when the pump shuts off.

If this happens you can unlock the handle slowly and give a slight wiggle that will make the puck slip off. (Recognition to Charlie and Gary on this for helping me out on this problem.)

So yeah, if this happens with low in the basket doses a lot at your given grind setting then try switching to the stock double basket.

4. No need to unplug it, just rely on the timer I imagine the current it draws in standby is about as much energy as a Casio calculator uses. (I have no evidence to support this!)

6. The 'Razor' tool might come in handy for scraping things with other than coffee perhaps even basting cupcakes with icing. (Yet to be trialled.)

7. With a half full 12oz pitcher it takes me around 25-30 seconds to get to 55°c, good enough for me I usually start steaming before the shot and then hit the button anyway.

8. I personally like having the pre-infusion pressure at around 70pp(%) and for 10 seconds as a starting point, depends on the bean, grind, and how its extracting but each to their own.

In regards to time or volumetric settings I prefer the latter - as long as your beans aren't too fresh/overly stale and you are consistent with your dosing, distribution and tamping then it can be a surprisingly repeatable experience.

Hope this helps Chris!


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## 7877

So anyone get their pressure gauge steaming up on the inside.....got this today after switching the machine off so as its cooling after making my last drink.


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## Sean

Sibling Chris said:


> So anyone get their pressure gauge steaming up on the inside.....got this today after switching the machine off so as its cooling after making my last drink.
> 
> View attachment 9498


Nope.


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## 7877

I suppose the next question is, should I be bothered?


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## El carajillo

I would say yes, that condensation indicates moisture inside the gauge. Where did it come from ? How did it get there? Have you spilt any water down the front of the M/ch ?, ot that it should be able to get in through the glass seal. How long after you bought it did it show up?


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## Sean

Sibling Chris said:


> I suppose the next question is, should I be bothered?


I wouldn't be happy. It shouldn't happen and should therefore be fixed. It won't get better, only worse.


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## DavecUK

Sibling Chris said:


> I suppose the next question is, should I be bothered?


Yes, bourdon tube inside gauge is leaking or split and replacement is required....no further discussion required. Contact the retailer, get a replacement and fit it if you can...if not ask them to do it.


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## 7493

Time for the 'White Glove' service maybe?


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## 7877

Thanks for the info.

White glove service is about getting a run down on the machine rather than fixing it I thought?

I'll give Lakeland a call tomorrow and see if they want to replace it or whether to get fixed with Sage. I'd prefer a replacement to be honest I think that would be less of a faff but not sure if Lakeland have any stock according to their site....which is strange as mine came straight from sage anyway apparently....


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## Mrboots2u

Coffee classics who provide the white gloves are also the service people for sage too. Mine said if the oracle broke they would come out and fix it

Dunno if that applies to Lakeland bought machines might do


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## 7877

And yes it appears worse today


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## jeebsy

Test out this famous Lakeland warranty


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## 7877

I'll let you know how I get on. Been so busy at work today I didn't even get time for a phone call


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## 7877

So I called Lakeland this morning, who informed me I needed to contact Sage in case it was something repairable.

Sage told me this wasn't a problem they were familiar with so the machine needed to be replaced by Lakeland, then ultimately they would be sent the faulty machine to test it out.

So getting back to Lakeland they had 1 machine in stock, which they are sending out to me - when I get it up and running (they suggested leaving it a week to ensure its OK), that they would then arrange pickup of the faulty machine.

So other than the faff and the fact that I had to play a bit of piggy in the middle between the two, I should be sorted with a new machine within a week

cheers

chris

PS: does anyone know on machine the water hardness scale whether 1 is hard or 5?


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## doolallysquiff

1=softest 5=hardest.


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## DavecUK

Sibling Chris said:


> Sage told me this wasn't a problem they were familiar with so the machine needed to be replaced by Lakeland, then ultimately they would be sent the faulty machine to test it out. So getting back to Lakeland they had 1 machine in stock, which they are sending out to me - when I get it up and running (they suggested leaving it a week to ensure its OK), that they would then arrange pickup of the faulty machine.
> 
> So other than the faff and the fact that I had to play a bit of piggy in the middle between the two, I should be sorted with a new machine within a week
> 
> cheers
> 
> chris


Sounds like an excellent result.


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## Dylan

That sounds like great service from lakeland, I wouldn't have been surprised to hear they insisted you dealt directly with sage and sent it off for weeks to be repaired whilst you had no machine.

To provide you with a new one before even asking the return of the original sound like top notch service.


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## 7877

D_Evans said:


> That sounds like great service from lakeland, I wouldn't have been surprised to hear they insisted you dealt directly with sage and sent it off for weeks to be repaired whilst you had no machine.
> 
> To provide you with a new one before even asking the return of the original sound like top notch service.


from what I understand the guys who do the white glove service also do service and repair, but I guess they wont be able to fix absolutely everything. By the sounds of it they are setup to deal with common/frequent issues only, but Sage customer services sounded quite keen about getting the machine back so they could assess it to see how they might fix or prevent in the problem in the future.


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## 7877

Replacement arrived from Lakeland within two days, sent via TNT.


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## 7877

Well the new machine seems to be getting along nicely without skipping a beat.

The faulty machine has gone back to lakeland....which was a faff. They use a cheap ass courier who claimed they tried to pick it up when they hadn't. Lakeland actually called me on a Saturday afternoon to check if that was really the case. In the end it was easier for me to drop the thing off at a store for them to get it back to their Kendal distribution centre.


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## Beanosaurus

Aw poo, time to use the guarantee!


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## robashton

Yikes - I hope this doesn't happen to me - I can't do without my Sage!


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## Beanosaurus

robashton said:


> Yikes - I hope this doesn't happen to me - I can't do without my Sage!


Functionally fine but it kind of sucks as I observe my gauge much more than I used to.


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## 7877

On the plus side they might have a fix by now. When I reported it to Sage it was the first time they had heard of it and instructed Lakeland to just replace with a new one but they wanted the old one sent back to them to assess it.


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## robashton

I literally had a nightmare about this last night.

i watch my gauge all the time, and as has been said it's indicative of other problems!


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## Beanosaurus

Apparently this can be fixed by an engineer without having to take the machine away so I'm going to book in with Sage appliances!


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## NickdeBug

You didn't by any chance access the engineer's menu and accidentally switch on the fog gauge function?


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## 7877

robashton said:


> I literally had a nightmare about this last night.
> 
> i watch my gauge all the time, and as has been said it's indicative of other problems!


I disagree, not sure anyone said that, I think You're worrying too much! Both myself and beanosaurus reported the machine was working still 100%


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## 7877

Beanosaurus said:


> Apparently this can be fixed by an engineer without having to take the machine away so I'm going to book in with Sage appliances!


Better that than having to deal with Yodel IMHO!


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## Dylan

I think if you change "has been said it's indicative of other problems!" to "has been said it could be indicative of other problems!" then he wouldn't be too far off the mark. I think a few gleeful naysayers guess as much when the problem first cropped up.


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## Dallah

On the question of service under warranty, contact Sage customer service and they will arrange an engineer (from Coffee Classics) to come to your home when it is convenient for you and service the machine then and there. I had a very faint steam hiss from inside the machine. Two days from emailing Claire at Sage I had an engineer in my house to fix. This is not a back to base warranty, they fix it at your site so there is very limited down time. Turns out one of the O rings had ever so slightly perished. Engineer removed and replaced all o rings just to be sure as well as replaced two silicone lines in the steam path; again just to be sure. He was on-site for 2 hours and the charge was nada. Nothing. This seems to have also helped the cup warmer work better and the top of the machine gets quite toasty now.

Engineer was very polite and helpful. At the end of the service, he even left me with a 350g bag of their coffee. "Who do you normally get your beans from?" My answer Hasbean. He kind of giggled and said well try these anyway but they aren't as good as Hasbean. Offered to brew up a few espresso and steam some milk before he left to make sure I was happy with repair.


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## jeebsy

NickdeBug said:


> You didn't by any chance access the engineer's menu and accidentally switch on the fog gauge function?


That's easy done, it's right beside the fog on the Tyne setting


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## Dallah

Answers in line in red

1. In terms of weight of coffee, what are the stock baskets ideal doses? I've gone straight to the double basket and it seems to take a 19 or 20g dose easily and still have a lot of clearance from the group, the razor gizmo doesn't even touch the puck and the PF turns to about 4 o'clock before it goes no further......so is that how things should be, should I dose higher? Use the single basket or not tighten the PF so much and leave it at 6 o'clock?

Stock baskets are very high quality and the only basket worth bothering to replace it with would be a VST and even then the difference is very slight. I have successfully dosed up to 21g in this basket although most time I only dose to 19g. This tends to leave the top of the puck a bit wet and sloppy but makes no difference to the coffee. As one personsaid "Are you making pucks or are you making coffee?" Do not use that razor gizmo as it will screw up your tamped basket. It is an idea that may look good on paper but in practice is total sh!te. Do not use the single basket. If you want single shots go for split pours. Even if you only need one single shot, just sink the other. Singles are difficult to get right and most people waste more coffee trying to get a single right rather than the small difference in coffee needed to make the double.

2. Water hardness setting? I have to admit to not knowing much about how water hardness is measured. On the test strip provided and the settings on the machine of 1 to 5....I don't get if 1 is hard or 5 is hard.....after testing my water is clearly set to 1

1 is soft. Very soft. It is the same here in Manchester. Set your water hardness on your machine to one and wait for two years before it tells you a descale is needed. Again in practice its nice to have that warning but a descale every six months is a good idea just to keep things clean inside.

3. Sort of related to the last point...is the filter really needed if you filter the water before it goes in the tank? I have a brita filter I always use and have continued to with this new machine even though there is also a filter in the tank. I set the hardness setting after testing the brita filtered water rather than straight out of the tap.

I use the filters in the tank even though I filter in a Brita jug first. I figure it is two chances to get rid of any chlorine smell or taste. As the filters in the tank are designed to be replaced every two months, I think its a false economy not to use them. If you don't use them and you do get a scale problem or anything that might be blamed on water quality, it might void your warranty. From my experience so far, Sage will bend over backwards to help, but better not to push them too far for the sake of £2 every 2 months.

4. Amazed how quickly it seems to warm up and loving the built in auto start feature BUT....why does the clock have to reset when you switch off the machine at the plug, that is pretty annoying. In my view it wouldn't have taken much to keep the clock going when unplugged....all other settings are retained so there must be a little battery in their somewhere powering things I would have thought...

Do not switch the machine off at the plug. Switch it off either on the front panel or let it turn itself off after 4 hours of no use. When in standby, the only power draw is to keep the motherboard powered up and ticking. Its about the same power as having an electrical alarm clock on all the time. Too little power to worry about, although I do agree it is a pain to reset the time and the time to come on when you unplug to move to another location or to clean the plug surround. On a technical level, all the settings are stored in RAM. Time cannot be stored in RAM as it is constantly changing so therefore would need a constant power supply to keep calculating the time. The machine does not contain a battery and therefore the clock has to be reset every time power is interrupted. All the settings in RAM do not need power to be retained. Its a pain but the machine is not designed to be user serviceable, so they do not want us opening up the machine to replace a battery. There could be a small compartment for a battery and perhaps in a future version they will take that feedback on board. For now its a minor annoyance.

5. The tamper provided seems a bit pointless and has very little weight to it....I suppose it has to be quite light otherwise it would not stay magnetically attached to the machine in its special storage spot.

The weight of a tamper has nothing to do really with its ability to tamp; its the pressure you put behind it that matters. Having said that, I don't use that tamper as I don't like the way in feels in my hand and it is a standard 58mm which leaves a ring of untamped coffee around the edge. I have tested the MBK Heft 585 tamper in the stock basket and it works fine. As MBK is pretty crap at delivery I would recommend a Torr tamper via @coffeechap or a Reg Barber either direct or from Coffeehit. Measure your basket with verniers to make sure but 58.5mm fits mine like a dream.

6. The razor tool.....I don't really get it. It seems the wrong thing to do to me, to start interfering with the puck after you have tamped I mean.

Avoid, avoid, avoid. It screws up your lovely puck and encourages channeling. Put it in the box just in case you ever sell on so you can say it comes with all original accessories but otherwise do not use it. Stupid marketing idea.

7. Not steamed much yet, but it does seem a little on the slow side. Have others bumped up the steam pressure at all?

I have bumped my pressure up to 141 which is full blast. It doesn't make that much difference to the time but does make a much better swirl to incorporate microfoam into the rest of the milk. Use the extra time that the Sage takes to make sure you are getting your milk right. There are quite a few naysayers on here who are down on the SDB, but I don't think anyone would disagree that it is the best machine for producing high quality microfoam milk consistently by a home user.

8. This is the last one honestly!....is there any consensus about tweaking the pre-infusion settings yet or views over whether volumetric settings are of any advantages?

I have my flow set to volumetric. IMHO I can't see why anyone would leave it in seconds. Bt setting it to flow/volume you know your shots are always the same weight and you only have to worry about the fineness of the grind (assuming your tamping is consistent). Preinfusion, quite honestly just play with it and see what works best for you. I had it as high as 10sec but didn't care for the way the shot gushed after that much preinfusion. I have therefore gone back to 5 seconds which suits me just fine. Others here do all sorts of different preinfusion routines. Its pretty unique at this price point to have this much adjustability for preinfusion. Nothing is wrong, its what it tastes like that counts.

That was rather long winded but I hope this helps you out. Its a great machine, especially at the price point. Warranty service is great. I don't know if any other machine is serviced at the users home instead of being returned to base.


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## Dylan

No need to filter Manchester water, and it may even be of detriment to the end result.

Also try other waters, Manchester water is good with a lot of coffee, but its mineral content it actually too low in some cases.


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## jeebsy

Would seem that the razor thing should the used before tamping to level, no? Not that it's really required


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## Dallah

Dylan said:


> No need to filter Manchester water, and it may even be of detriment to the end result.
> 
> Also try other waters, Manchester water is good with a lot of coffee, but its mineral content it actually too low in some cases.


Sorry but I disagree. The chlorine needs to be filtered out. It affects the taste and smell of the coffee and not in a good way. I prefer the belt and braces approach of Brita jug then in tank filters but that is because just a whiff of chlorine will put me right off a drink.

Its horrible.

I might try those BWT filters which add Mg to the water as Mg is considered to be a major flavour carrier. I think @Xpenno did not experimenting in this area.


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## Dallah

jeebsy said:


> Would seem that the razor thing should the used before tamping to level, no? Not that it's really required


According to the instructions it is to be used after tamping to shave the puck down to the right clearance. Used either before or after you are stuck with two mounds of grinds which you somehow need to get out of the basket. Not sure how you would do it pre tamp. Post tamp in theory you could brush it off or tip upside down and let those two mounds fall out. In reality, now matter how hard you tamp, the razor so mucks up you puck, if you tip it to remove the extraneous grinds, the whole puck falls out. Even giving it a quick puff of air screws up the puck.

The razor is of no practical use.


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## Xpenno

ridland said:


> Sorry but I disagree. The chlorine needs to be filtered out. It affects the taste and smell of the coffee and not in a good way. I prefer the belt and braces approach of Brita jug then in tank filters but that is because just a whiff of chlorine will put me right off a drink.
> 
> Its horrible.
> 
> I might try those BWT filters which add Mg to the water as Mg is considered to be a major flavour carrier. I think @Xpenno did not experimenting in this area.


With you hear mate always filter tap water, you don't have to filter out hardness just to remove anything that affects the smell or taste I.e. chlorine.

My current espresso water is filtered via mg2+ Britta replacements and its pretty rocking. If you have very low hardness in the first place I found them detrimental to taste of coffee though.


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## Dylan

ridland said:


> Sorry but I disagree. The chlorine needs to be filtered out. It affects the taste and smell of the coffee and not in a good way. I prefer the belt and braces approach of Brita jug then in tank filters but that is because just a whiff of chlorine will put me right off a drink.
> 
> Its horrible.
> 
> I might try those BWT filters which add Mg to the water as Mg is considered to be a major flavour carrier. I think @Xpenno did not experimenting in this area.


Fair enough, I was thinking of it purely in terms of reducing mineral content. I cant say I have noticed much difference in the taste of filtered water, but it has been well over a year since I last tried it.


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## Dylan

Xpenno said:


> With you hear mate always filter tap water, you don't have to filter out hardness just to remove anything that affects the smell or taste I.e. chlorine.
> 
> My current espresso water is filtered via mg2+ Britta replacements and its pretty rocking. If you have very low hardness in the first place I found them detrimental to taste of coffee though.


Are there any filters you can recommend that reduce chlorine but leave or even add mineral content to very soft water?


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## Dallah

A really good way to assess the taste of chlorine in your water is to drink it warm. First get it as cold as you can from tap and have a sip. Put glass aside and have another sip in an hour's time. You will find that when warm the chlorine taste is much stronger. That is why I double filter as it were.

I am not sure if by using a BWT filter to add Mg that I am then having that Mg removed by the Sage filter in the tank. I'm still so cack handed and with a reasonably poor palette that aside from chlorine, I don't think I'm to the point where different water is going to be detected by me.


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## Xpenno

Dylan said:


> Are there any filters you can recommend that reduce chlorine but leave or even add mineral content to very soft water?


Bwt bestmin.


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## jeebsy

Xpenno said:


> Bwt bestmin.


Interest piqued...


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## Xpenno

I think they're working specific coffee remineralisation filters but this is the best I've found. I don't think it works for as long as the published figures suggest and performance will depend greatly on you source water pH and general makeup.


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## Dylan

Xpenno said:


> Bwt bestmin.


When I start living somewhere where I can mess with the pipes... I may be able to give that a go









Edit: also, it doesn't seem to be for sale anywhere, is is exclusive to business suppliers?


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## Dallah

You can get the BWT Mg+ filters which fit into a Brita jug which holds a Maxtra filter. Or just buy a BWT jug as well. I read on the Amazon reviews that the BWT jugs are a bit flimsy and break rather easily. I've had the same Brita Maxtra jug for at least 5 years, probably more.


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## jeebsy

Dylan said:


> Edit: also, it doesn't seem to be for sale anywhere, is is exclusive to business suppliers?


x2 @Xpenno


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## Dylan

ridland said:


> You can get the BWT Mg+ filters which fit into a Brita jug which holds a Maxtra filter. Or just buy a BWT jug as well. I read on the Amazon reviews that the BWT jugs are a bit flimsy and break rather easily. I've had the same Brita Maxtra jug for at least 5 years, probably more.


But are these any good for soft tap water... Xpenno said a few posts up that the Brita Mg2+ were not good for water that was soft to begin with.


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## Dallah

I would take @Xpenno advice as he knows more than I will ever know. Perhaps just stick to regular Brita Maxtra filters. I assume that if we have very soft water, then it can't remove what isn't there; if that makes sense. My only advice is make sure you filter to get chlorine out as best you can. Chlorine will ruin your coffee.


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## Dylan

ridland said:


> I would take @Xpenno advice as he knows more than I will ever know. Perhaps just stick to regular Brita Maxtra filters. I assume that if we have very soft water, then it can't remove what isn't there; if that makes sense. My only advice is make sure you filter to get chlorine out as best you can. Chlorine will ruin your coffee.


I'll see if I can borrow a Brita filter to run that experiment. There seem to be a million and one things that can ruin coffee, after all.


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## Xpenno

Dylan said:


> Edit: also, it doesn't seem to be for sale anywhere, is is exclusive to business suppliers?


I've had 2 from these guys.

http://www.cliftoncoffee.co.uk/


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## Dylan

So those are all Bestmax, not Bestmin was it a special request to order in?


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## Xpenno

Dylan said:


> So those are all Bestmax, not Bestmin was it a special request to order in?


They are.

No.


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## Dylan

Xpenno said:


> They are.
> 
> No.


I was asking out of interest, should I ever go down the road of adding filtration although its a long way off. It couldn't hurt to elaborate a little.


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## Xpenno

Dylan said:


> I was asking out of interest, should I ever go down the road of adding filtration although its a long way off. It couldn't hurt to elaborate a little.


Sorry. I'm not sure what you want me to elaborate on. I told you that's where I got them from and I thought I answered your questions.

Just to clarify. Yes all of the cartridges currently showing on their website are bestmax. No, when I ordered it was not a special order.


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## urbanbumpkin

NickdeBug said:


> You didn't by any chance access the engineer's menu and accidentally switch on the fog gauge function?


What does the purple gas option do?


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## Dylan

Xpenno said:


> Sorry. I'm not sure what you want me to elaborate on. I told you that's where I got them from and I thought I answered your questions.
> 
> Just to clarify. Yes all of the cartridges currently showing on their website are bestmax. No, when I ordered it was not a special order.


Thanks for the sarcasm.


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## Xpenno

Dylan said:


> Thanks for the sarcasm.


Please tell we what you want me to elaborate on, I'm not sure. Happy to help.


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## Dylan

Xpenno said:


> Please tell we what you want me to elaborate on, I'm not sure. Happy to help.


I am probably just reading your comments in a way they are not meant, I am in an inexplicably bad mood today so I'm probably seeing the negatives in everything.

I saw your response as a bit short, curt even, by elaborate I meant along the lines of "No, they used to have them in stock, but no longer it seems".

But I certainly shouldn't be expecting other forum members to respond in the exact way I would like, so I refer to my bad mood.


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## Xpenno

They did have them in stock, can't remember how I ordered, think it was over the phone after BWT told me they were one of the companies that had them in stock. Give them a bell, they are a great bunch down there.


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## garydyke1

You're so rude Spence.


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## NickdeBug

urbanbumpkin said:


> What does the purple gas option do?


I think this was a feature on the 007 edition.

Although it might explain that missing week in March


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## Beanosaurus

Sooo, to get back on track I've been booked in with Coffee Classics.


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## garydyke1

Beanosaurus said:


> Sooo, to get back on track I've been booked in with Coffee Classics.


I bet it'll be a dude with a huge moustache


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## jeebsy

garydyke1 said:


> I bet it'll be a dude with a huge moustache


Tom Selleck?


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## urbanbumpkin

garydyke1 said:


> I bet it'll be a dude with a huge moustache


George Michael?


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## Beanosaurus

It's apparently Lemmy.

I should probably add that I noticed the problem with the misty gauge appear after a massive hungover lie in where the machine was on for a lot longer than usual without me pulling a shot.

The steaminess has since disappeared but it's best to get it nipped in the bud.


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## 7877

Mine did that at first but it soon came back. Like you say, best get it sorted anyway


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## Beanosaurus

Sibling Chris said:


> Mine did that at first but it soon came back. Like you say, best get it sorted anyway


Since the gauge has not been steaming up again I think that steam has been evaporating from the vents on the back, there has been water condensating on the underside of my cupboards nonetheless.


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