# Installing commercial 2-group Wega coffee machine at home



## dabac (Oct 2, 2013)

Hi all!

Could someone give me some inputs with respect to how difficult it will be to install a commercial coffee machine in a home environment? Namely, I've managed to find the following 2-group Wega on e-bay at a very good price:









The machine is sold together with the water softener:









So, how much hassle is ahead of me and are there particular specifics to pay attention to? I don't have any experience with commercial machines whatsoever and was really planning to stick with my Silvia for a long time, however I've felt that the offer was too good to pass on and I've acquired this thingy (picking it up on Saturday)... :L


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

I think it fairly simple, not hugely different to plumbing in a washing machine or the like.

Be aware that this is going to cost a fair amount to run, although it can probably replace the radiator in the room it goes in ^_^


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## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

That looks awesome mate! Looking forward to seeing how you get on









Spence


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Quality! Is there not a considerations with the electrics? Thought these bad boys need wired in or summat.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Not sure of the wattage of the machine but above 3Kw you will not be able to use it on 13 AMP socket.

You will need a dedicated supply from the main fuse board with its own fuse (often spare space for additional fuse in modern boards) Depending on distance it may require a heavier cable possibly 6mm , also an isolation switch adjacent to machine.

You will need space to accommodate the softener close to the M/ch (flexi pipe)

The softener requires a supply and drain for flushing (salt resin exchange ) also drain for M/ch .These need to be trapped to isolate from drain/sewer.

You will require shut off valves and a back flow prevent valve for the softener

Just noticed address these are UK requirements


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

It's very doable. Things to consider:

-Voltage - as mentioned above in the UK the max you can draw from a socket is 13amp, if you need a higher power output this will require an electrician.

-water pressure - if you have very low water pressure you may need a pump to fill the machine

-water hardness - you mention a waterfilter but in high limescale areas this isn't enough, you need to look into reverse osmosis water systems.

-weight - How heavy is the machine + grinder, and can your kitchen counter take it? Maybe obvious but my counter has sunk a few mm since getting my machine!


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## dabac (Oct 2, 2013)

Thanks for the answers, everyone!

Unfortunately I don't have the datasheet yet (couldn't find the exact model online), so hopefully won't need more than 3kW (this is the household limit in Italy as well), otherwise I guess I'll have to contact the electric company to get that increased which probably won't be very cheap







.

Water is supposedly not too hard where I'm at, so softener should be okay by itself...

I'll write the impressions here once I (hopefully) get it all set up..


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Can you look at the plate on the M/ch ? voltage and power will be on it . Probably 4 /5 K w


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## espressotechno (Apr 11, 2011)

Yes- the machine specification plate will probably say 4-4.5kw / 230v, so it will need to be hard-wired into a 20amp supply....even in Italy I reckon.

You ca always disconnect one of the loops on the boiler element, to reduce the power down to around 3kw, but you'll need some electrical experience to do this safely......


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## dabac (Oct 2, 2013)

espressotechno said:


> You ca always disconnect one of the loops on the boiler element, to reduce the power down to around 3kw, but you'll need some electrical experience to do this safely......


Can you elaborate on this please; what would disconnecting the loop exactly do (and is it reversible)? I have a friend who is an electrician but would need to tell him what I wanted to do...

Cheers!


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

dabac said:


> otherwise I guess I'll have to contact the electric company to get that increased which probably won't be very cheap
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Actually the supply to your house is probably sufficient, but the sockets are rated at 13A. You will just need an electrician to run a thick cable from the RCD (trips witches) / fuse box to where you want the coffee machine to go. If you have an electric oven this will be wired in a similar way.


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## dabac (Oct 2, 2013)

OK, I've managed to get the thing to my place; the beast weights more than 80 kg







.



jeebsy said:


> Quality! Is there not a considerations with the electrics? Thought these bad boys need wired in or summat.


Hmm yes it seems that it will have to be wired in..







This is how I got it; seems I will have to talk to the electrician about this:











[URL= said:


> El carajillo[/URL]]
> 
> Can you look at the plate on the M/ch ? voltage and power will be on it . Probably 4 /5 K w


It says 3.4 kW



aaronb said:


> Actually the supply to your house is probably sufficient, but the sockets are rated at 13A. You will just need an electrician to run a thick cable from the RCD (trips witches) / fuse box to where you want the coffee machine to go. If you have an electric oven this will be wired in a similar way.


Supposedly in my contract with the electric company, I have 3kW max power (which can go up to 3.3kW for a limited amount of time); won't the fuse simply switch off if I try draining more than that (especially considering that, even if I turn off all the other appliances in my flat, at the very least I have to have the fridge running all the time which is probably around 0.5 kW) ?


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## dabac (Oct 2, 2013)

OK, I've managed to get the thing to my place; the beast weights more than 80 kg







.



jeebsy said:


> Quality! Is there not a considerations with the electrics? Thought these bad boys need wired in or summat.


Hmm yes it seems that it will need some wiring; shouldn't be too difficult though; Wega kindly sent me the scheme...



El carajillo said:


> Can you look at the plate on the M/ch ? voltage and power will be on it . Probably 4 /5 K w


It says 3.4 kW



aaronb said:


> Actually the supply to your house is probably sufficient, but the sockets are rated at 13A. You will just need an electrician to run a thick cable from the RCD (trips witches) / fuse box to where you want the coffee machine to go. If you have an electric oven this will be wired in a similar way.


Supposedly in my contract with the electric company, I have 3kW max power (which can go up to 3.3kW for a limited amount of time); won't the fuse simply switch off if I try draining more than that (considering that, even if I switch off all the other appliances, at the very least I have to have the fridge running all the time which is probably around 0.5 kW) ? In general, I don't know at what times does the machine come to its max power and how much it typically utilizes.

With respect to the cable, is this what you were referring to?:


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

I would really consult an Electrician before plugging that beast in, looks like there are 2 separate circuits, maybe it is designed to eb run off 2 phases? I don't know enough to give an accurate response.

What i can tell you is, you see that green/yellow cable that was snipped? That's the ground, you REALLY want that wired in too as if a fault occurs and the metal all goes live it will prevent you from being electrocuted!


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

It looks like that might be for a three phase commercial supply. OR It may be made to use off a single phase by changing connections inside the machine.

I.e made to enable use where a three phase supply is un available . Is that a white core in the photo close to your thumb?

Can you take a photo of the data plate to show ALL information.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Just consulted an electrician friend pretty sure its three phase ,If you open it up and look at the top of the boiler ,if it has 3 terminals it is a 3 phase machine.

You will only have one phase supply in your house/flat. Apparently you can buy converters to change your single phase to 3 phase, these plug in and the machine connects to the converter .


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## dabac (Oct 2, 2013)

I also thought so initially, but the technician from WEGA confirmed that the motor is in fact monophase, and that the cable is used to connect it to either monophase or 3-phase network (he provided me with the scheme of how to connect it to a monophase network)


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## dabac (Oct 2, 2013)

El carajillo said:


> Can you take a photo of the data plate to show ALL information.


Here goes although I don't think it gives overly relevant info:


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Just looked it up on WEGA technical data, you are correct it can be connected to mono or multi phase.

Connections show all phase connections to live supply I.e brown ,black, grey to live supply

Blue to neutral

Green and Yellow to earth.

This is from page No 1 ELE 4 WEGA Tech Data.

This draws 3400 WATTS which may overwhelm your supply. I would at least have a separate supply and Isolators for this supply

Are you aware that this is a 12 Lit boiler (2.6Gals) =expensive to heat and run !!!


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## espressotechno (Apr 11, 2011)

Yes - Brown, black & grey go together = live. It's the bonkers Italian & Spanish(4 wires) old school wiring system ! All single phase stuff.

(Very very few commercial espresso machines are 3 phase - even the 3 group beasts)


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## Jason1wood (Jun 1, 2012)

It is a 3phase machine but as mentioned, can be ran from a single phase (household supply) but at 3.3Kw it does require an independent supply, at full load it'll draw 15 amps so best getting a 20A circuit from your Distribution Board (DB)


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## espressotechno (Apr 11, 2011)

Re. Italian household electrics & commercial espresso machines: Coffeechap may be able to advise you, as he's in Italy a lot of the time.


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