# Londinium 1 - Unpacking & Set-up



## Squarepusher

I am now the proud owner of a new Londinium 1.

I am very new to the lever world having previously only used E61 based pump machines and more recently got caught up in the world of pour over methods after my Isomac died.

So, I thought I would share my unpacking and set-up experience.

And then follow on with updates of how I get on learning how to use the machine..


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## Soll

Congrats Squrepusher, and welcome to the world of levers. I look forward to seeing your toy all shiny and new.


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## Squarepusher

So I ordered the new machine and a few accesories and they all arrived together within 2 days.

  

  

I thought the machine came with a 2 spout portafilter but it also came with a naked version, so I have 2 now.

  

The grouphead box, well packaged and wrapped.

  

  

The Machine itself was well packaged with tight fitting pieces of polystyrene foam surrounding it, which reduced the risk of transit damaged.

  

Boiler test cert, this is good to see as it shows that the boiler has been pressure tested and the date which it was carried out.

  

Loose Leaf Manual - I had actually downloaded the PDF as well, but this was good and as quite well written, particularly when compared to the Isomac which was sparse to say the least.

  

The machine packaging, nice and tight with little movement.


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## Squarepusher

The Accessory pack.

  

Lever Handle, Naked Portafilter, Water Softener/Filter, Water Tank-Filter Adapter, Grouphead Allen Key

  

Out of the box and on the bench - Not the easiest thing to lift out of the box, but achieveable without too much straining.

  

Unwrapped - You can see the protective film on the panels, this is used to protect the panel surface during laser cutting and etching.

And is left on for transit which is a good idea, although removal is not explained clearly in the manual and I had a bit of messing about re-removing panels when I thought I was finished.

  

Water Tank cover and Water Tank removed

  

  

Top Panel removed - This is a ball type joint into the side and rear panels and was very tight - Which is a good thing, if a little tricky to remove when you don't realise how much force is required to serperate it.

  

  

Panel Relief around grouphead - this is nice attention to detail and when in place provides a neat look to the front panel and the joint where it meets the rest of the machine.


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## ronsil

Congrats on the new Machine. Impressive packaging. Look forward to seeing it set up.

What coffee are you planning to use for starters?


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## Squarepusher

Inside the machine - View of the top of the boiler

  

The Red Clip needs to be removed before continuing.

  

This slides off very easily.

  

Side panel pops off in a similar manner to the top panel.

For some reason the Electronics unit was set at an odd angle and touching the side panel.

My OCD wouldn't let me move on, so I had to adjust it and square it up to the water tank carrier.

  

Top Panel back on and grouphead ready to be unwrapped.

In hindsight this is the stage I should have removed the protective film from the side and rear panels.

Due to the way it wraps around the sides of the panels it can't be easily removed when the panels are assembled to the machine carcass.

  

  

Upper Grouphead unwrapped

  

A view down the throat of the grouphead checking the grease coverage

  

Upper Grouphead wiggled and lowered into position.

Nice and smooth operation and if you support it should glide into position

  

Rear vent hole facing the rear of the machine


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## Squarepusher

Gouphead fixings - Std Socket Head Cap screws

  

Capscrews fitted - This was very fiddly, but once you get the thread started they run up easily.

The rear 2 were the most tricky due to proximity of the hot water and Steam wand bosses.

  

Water Softener and tank adapter.

  

Fitted to water tank

  

Drip tray and cover - I like the cover design - It is very sturdy and has a very good finish to it.

  

Drip tray removed using the finger slots provided

  

Drip tray - Often overlooked by manufacturers, this one is a good solid contruction, with some nice welding and a good volume.

  

Time to remove the protective coating - This was very time consuming.

But as said earlier I think leaving it on is a great idea and keeps everything blemish free during transit.

  

A few fiddly bits left to remove around the Laser etching on the front.

  

Rear Panel with film removed


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## Firochromis

Congrats on your new toy







I'm sure you'll have a great time (and great coffee) with it


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## Squarepusher

Top & Side panels removed - again - and replaced.

  

Now we are getting to the business end.

Lever Handle ready for assembly

  

Assembled

  

Water added

  

Ready for action..

  

Were off...

  

It took 3 sets of running the pump until the alarm kicked in, turning off and starting again, before everything settled down and the boiler kicked in.

  

But heat up it did and then it was a case of waiting for it to come up to pressure.


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## Squarepusher

I left it for about 20 mins and then - as recommended - ran through about 400ml of hot water through the grouphead.

  

The action of pulling the lever was new to me and it has a very pleasant heft to it.

With the spring resisting my efforts to pull the lever horizontal, it is a very smooth controlled motion.

  

So all in all as smooth assembly process

A little more involved than what I have been used to.

But very good as I am now a lot more familiar with the machine and how to assemble/disassemble it.


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## lespresso

Two suggestions -

1. Take the panels off and place them in a tub of hot water to warm them and the protective wrap will pull off easily. Press a hot towel up against the chin panel rather than removing

2. A rub with a rag with some WD40 on it takes the gunk out of the laser etching very quickly

Kind regards

Reiss


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## Squarepusher

So far I have managed to pull a few shots and spent some time yesterday trying to find the best combination of grind to get a nice tasting shot.

And with very little effort it is surpassing the E61 machines I have owned.

Today is a bit busy for me.

But tomorrow I am going to be playing around with it

I have bought a selection of Has Bean coffee's, that I have had before.

And some Jailbreak (Has Bean Blend) which I had from a Synesso in Birmingham, so if I can get some where near that shot I will be very happy.

In the back of my head I know the grinder will need to be replaced to get the most out of things.

And this will most likely follow, but I need to do a bit more reading and reasearching before I part with another large chunk of cash.

Thanks for reading and the comments am off to make a Flat White....

Cheers

Jon


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## Mrboots2u

Nice pics and and post , glad you making tasty coffee already !!!

What's the grinder you have with it ?

I've made some very tasty hasbean coffee with my l1 previously

Im sure you'll be knocking the synesso out park super quick


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## Vieux Clou

Congratulations! Fascinating beast - kinda makes my fingers itch (and my wallet scream at the thought).

I hope you'll be very happy together.


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## Squarepusher

Thanks for the tips.

It wasn't all that bad and much easier to do with the panels removed.



lespresso said:


> Two suggestions -
> 
> 1. Take the panels off and place them in a tub of hot water to warm them and the protective wrap will pull off easily. Press a hot towel up against the chin panel rather than removing
> 
> 2. A rub with a rag with some WD40 on it takes the gunk out of the laser etching very quickly
> 
> Kind regards
> 
> Reiss


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## Soll

Well that was a most thorough review of unpacking I have seen and you really have given us all an insight in what's involved, look forward to your musings with the L1


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## Phil104

Thanks for the post Jon, and for conveying what's involved in setting up the LI. I got mine (very recently) already built so I was particularly interested to see the innards of it. I'm still working on getting to where I had got to with my Classic in terms of a drinkable shot and have had lots of helpful advice. One helpful suggestion has been to stick to one bean (i.e., a reference bean) to practise with, to at least take that out as a variable. I had started pulling shots, thought I was getting somewhere, changed beans and then to a certain extent had to start again because they needed a different grind. The process also needs different coordination since I'm weighing out, keeping an eye on the timer, then whipping the cup away and replacing it with another one to catch the rest of the pour. Obviously fluency will improve and at some point I'm assuming I will rely more on eye. I'm looking forward to reading more about how you get on.


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## Mrboots2u

Let it pour into the drip tray Phil .......


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## Phil104

What - and get the drip tray dirty!


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## The Systemic Kid

Congratulations Squarepusher - you've got a fantastic machine there. As for removing the protective plastic - warming it with a hairdryer will do the job effortlessly.


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## aaronb

Phil104 said:


> What - and get the drip tray dirty! ��


Yeah, just rinse it with some warm soapy water regularly?


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## Mrboots2u

Phil104 said:


> What - and get the drip tray dirty! í*½í¸


Drip - tray

Tray for drips to go in ......


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## Phil104

Okay, I have taken this sound advice to heart and both got the drip tray dirty by keeping one hand free (now that reminds me of the zen shot and the sound of one hand pulling an espresso) and am now soaking it in soapy water to clean it (nasty coffee dregs, yuck).


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## Phil104

On an entirely different matter, I have noticed that if I post emoticons from my ipad, the formatting of them changes. To get it back on topic, I'm pretty sure that it never used to happen before I got an LI. And also, what a great size the drip tray is. The Classic tray fills up in next to no time.


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## 4515

Great write up

I was too eager to get mine up and running to take photos of the assembly


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## Orangertange

Nice almost makes me want to buy a new one,


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## Walter Sobchak

Excellent thread! I want one even more now!


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## Squarepusher

I know now what you mean.

I switched beans from some I had 'dialled in'

and the taste changed quite a bit.

so had to do a bit of adjustment and test shots.

i have been trying to stick with Reiss' method of 15.8g in, 6s pre infusion, 27s pour for 27g out.

I was was tamping normally, but have reduced this to a minimal amount of pressure and have noticed that the coffee doesn't seem particularly sensitive to the tamp pressure.

So somewhat counter intuitively I am no longer tamping with any real pressure.

Anyway, plenty for me to learn and get used to.

Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day or trial and error.



Phil104 said:


> Thanks for the post Jon, and for conveying what's involved in setting up the LI. I got mine (very recently) already built so I was particularly interested to see the innards of it. I'm still working on getting to where I had got to with my Classic in terms of a drinkable shot and have had lots of helpful advice. One helpful suggestion has been to stick to one bean (i.e., a reference bean) to practise with, to at least take that out as a variable. I had started pulling shots, thought I was getting somewhere, changed beans and then to a certain extent had to start again because they needed a different grind. The process also needs different coordination since I'm weighing out, keeping an eye on the timer, then whipping the cup away and replacing it with another one to catch the rest of the pour. Obviously fluency will improve and at some point I'm assuming I will rely more on eye. I'm looking forward to reading more about how you get on.


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## Squarepusher

I have an old mazzer mini.

I have never used a high end grinder, so it is difficult to know what I am missing out on.

But I seem to have upgraditis, so I am going to have to do a bit more research before dropping another chunk of cash on a new bit of kit.



Mrboots2u said:


> Nice pics and and post , glad you making tasty coffee already !!!
> 
> What's the grinder you have with it ?
> 
> I've made some very tasty hasbean coffee with my l1 previously
> 
> Im sure you'll be knocking the synesso out park super quick


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## Mrboots2u

Go second hand ...

Grinder makes a huge difference

And you can get better for a oration of what you paid for the machine

Royals majors will do it justice

I've got a mignion alongside the l1 as well at the moment

It makes goodish espresso but it's not in the league of the better grinders in terms of flavour and extraction . Even a 19% ey shot on the mignion is muddled compared to a conic I've had on there and things like the mythos , k30 hg1 , Royals etc ....


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## The Systemic Kid

HG One does a Londinium proud but, being a hand grinder, is not everyone's cup of tea.


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## Squarepusher

Thanks for the comments.

will post some more pictures of tomorrow's adventures.

I tried to steam a small amount of milk today.

the steam is much more powerful than I am used to and it was up to temperature before I knew where I was.

I bought the smaller 4 hole tip, but this hasn't slowed things by a huge amount.

aside from the 2 hole tip, are there any others I could look at?

or is it a case of just adjusting to the extra steam power?

I only steam small amounts of milk and don't want to waste milk for the sake of it.


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## Mrboots2u

Learn to use the tips

You won't regret it


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## Squarepusher

Thanks for the grinder tips.

have had a quick look at the HG 1, it seems an interesting prospect.

I was also looking at the versalab and the ceado E37.

but will read up on the ones you mentioned.

it does seem to be a bit of mine field, particularly as I only single dose most of the time.


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## drude

If you single dose, the HG One is excellent. It does perhaps depend on how many coffees you make at a time, but even when I've had a bunch of people round I've been fine with mine, and with drinks for 1-2 people it's hard to see what could be better for the cost, especially if you don't want to waste beans purging.


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## Squarepusher

Is there anywhere in the UK to buy the HG1?

Did a Quick google search but could only find them on the official site, and there seems to be a waiting list of sorts there?

do they come up second hand regularly over here?


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## drude

No UK suppliers. I've seen maybe 5 appear here over the time I've been a member.


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## 7493

You might also consider a Pharos. Especially a VoodooDaddy modified one. Almost zero retention and not that hard work. I love mine!


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## Squarepusher

Thanks will take a look.


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