# Izzo Alex Leva



## BlackCatCoffee (Apr 11, 2017)

Hi folks,

As some of you know we started stocking Izzo machines late last year and they have proven to be very popular.

I was tempted at the time to pop a couple of their lever machines on the order but I decided against it as I was concerned about limited appeal. I do not think I have ever seen them mentioned on the forum to be honest which is a bit odd. Are people not aware of them or is there no interest for another reason?

They are a plumb only machine and fill from mains pressure alone. I believe they use the LSM double spring 53mm group although I am just waiting for Izzo to confirm this. The boiler is 5 litre PID controlled with insulation and steam heating for the cup tray.

They would come in around the 2k mark and we can get them in multiple colours and wood handles etc for additional cost.

Does this appeal to spring lovers out there!?


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## PortafilterProcrastinator (Aug 26, 2020)

I think they look really good. The exposed spring (like the ACS Vostok?) is a really nice touch.

I guess for a home machine mains plumb only will put some people off and then a 5ltr boiler seems pretty big.

If there were a pumped version it'd be high on my list - a smaller boiler too would be the icing on the cake.


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## BlackCatCoffee (Apr 11, 2017)

SuffolkDoug said:


> I think they look really good. The exposed spring (like the ACS Vostok?) is a really nice touch.
> 
> I guess for a home machine mains plumb only will put some people off and then a 5ltr boiler seems pretty big.
> 
> If there were a pumped version it'd be high on my list - a smaller boiler too would be the icing on the cake.


 I think it is the same group as the Vostok to be honest. It is just a shame they only do plumb in.

The Bezzera Strega is a good option for a tank driven lever. We have some arriving tomorrow 😁


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## Marocchino (May 1, 2019)

BlackCatCoffee said:


> I think it is the same group as the Vostok to be honest. It is just a shame they only do plumb in.


 It looks a lovely machine, there was a guy who used to frequent the forum some time ago who had one.

It was the plumb only option that put me off adding it to my list when researching levers. Just a casual observation, rather than a criticism, the clearance under the group looks smaller than on some other lever machines around at the moment. By the time a scale is put under the spouted portafilter in the picture, the clearance doesn't look that great, or perhaps it's the angle the photo is taken.


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## BlackCatCoffee (Apr 11, 2017)

Marocchino said:


> It looks a lovely machine, there was a guy who used to frequent the forum some time ago who had one.
> 
> It was the plumb only option that put me off adding it to my list when researching levers. Just a casual observation, rather than a criticism, the clearance under the group looks smaller than on some other lever machines around at the moment. By the time a scale is put under the spouted portafilter in the picture, the clearance doesn't look that great, or perhaps it's the angle the photo is taken.


 You are correct. Cup clearance is 70mm which is pretty tiny. They definitely have the traditional Italian market in mind I think! A bottomless portafilter will give you an extra couple of cm but it is still quite tight.


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## Marocchino (May 1, 2019)

BlackCatCoffee said:


> Cup clearance is 70mm


 Wonder if this is a common feature of this type of group? Certainly you'll squeeze a few extra mm using a bottomless, but as you say it's tight. The drip tray on the Leva does look pretty deep too, so obviously not a design consideration - it's probably just designed to have espresso cups places under it.


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## BlackCatCoffee (Apr 11, 2017)

Marocchino said:


> Wonder if this is a common feature of this type of group? Certainly you'll squeeze a few extra mm using a bottomless, but as you say it's tight. The drip tray on the Leva does look pretty deep too, so obviously not a design consideration - it's probably just designed to have espresso cups places under it.


 Yep for sure. I think it shares a drip tray with the Duetto which is enormous to say the least!


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## Northern_Monkey (Sep 11, 2018)

@BlackCatCoffee - If you have convinced yourself that £2K is OK to spend on a coffee machine then stretching to get a Londinium isn't a big mental jump potentially which could give you all the pressure control bells and whistles....

They do look nice but I couldn't see why you would get one rather than a Profitec 800 which is smaller and has tank/plumb options for similar money.

Has anyone ever gotten in touch with you to express interest, as they seem quite pricey for the level of tech?


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## BlackCatCoffee (Apr 11, 2017)

Northern_Monkey said:


> @BlackCatCoffee - If you have convinced yourself that £2K is OK to spend on a coffee machine then stretching to get a Londinium isn't a big mental jump potentially which could give you all the pressure control bells and whistles....
> 
> They do look nice but I couldn't see why you would get one rather than a Profitec 800 which is smaller and has tank/plumb options for similar money.
> 
> Has anyone ever gotten in touch with you to express interest, as they seem quite pricey for the level of tech?


 The Pro 800 is a direct competitor for sure but the Londinium with all the bells and whistles are approaching double the price I thought?

In terms of spec for price I guess it depends on your priorities. You don't get the pump of the 800 but you do get a larger boiler and the LSM group which I think is very highly regarded. All the rest of the specs seem pretty similar between them as far as I can see.

We have indeed had a few enquiries about them but it is always a tough sell when you say sure we can get you one but it will be X weeks wait. I might give a couple a go. I suppose if I struggled to sell them I might end up with one in my kitchen and wouldn't that be dreadful 😁


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## Northern_Monkey (Sep 11, 2018)

@BlackCatCoffee - I had forgotten how they priced them, the R24 is £3,080 + VAT.

Actually a pet peeve of mine when b2c businesses don't add it in by default.

Well, obviously I do hope they sell well. But then quite nice to have options if you have room just in case? 😉


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## PortafilterProcrastinator (Aug 26, 2020)

Are all Spring Lever machines made equal? I can't believe they are.

I noted in the Vostok thread @DavecUK commented "...a typical single spring configuration maxes out at around 8 bar (that's against a blind filter)" when talking around the incorrect(?) implementation of commercial dual spring levers (please correct if wrong). This is something I know nothing about and am now starting to try and do more reading on (not sure the best place to look/ start).

If the Alex Leva is a commercial spring lever (of a type), does the spring configuration have benefits over a prosumer machine at a similar price point with perhaps more features, but a different spring?

The Vostok (please correct me if I am wrong) is a prosumer implementation of a commercial spring group (the same group as in the Alex Leva?) - best of both worlds?

The Londinium is a commercial spring lever designed for home use (if you want to) with an increasing number of features depending on price - which ends up much higher than a lot of the other options.

What spring does the Fracino Retro 1Group have? I think this is commercially focused machine again.

So then you have the likes of the Strega / Pro800 / Rapida / Achille - where do they sit?

I am sure there are more. Do lots of them share the same group, or are there lots of variations?


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

@SuffolkDoug I first saw/used the LSM group almost 18 years ago and I always liked it. Izzo used it in the Pompeii. It was early days back then and they wouldn't make one in an Alex case that was smaller. The Pompeii had a massive boiler. The issue was the tipping over of the machine, according to Izzo. So I gave up on that and later helped them design the Duetto.

I've always liked levers and in particular the LSM group for a few technical reasons. It's also the more expensive group for manufacturers to use. It costs the factories around 40% more...which doesn't surprise me.

The V-Vostok is an implementation of a commercial and professional setup group on a prosumer machine (my chance to actually help design something I would want as a spring lever at home). It actually isn't quite the same as the Izzo version of the group, there are a few differences. They are invisible to the user, don't affect the spares requirements but allow for a Manometer and heater cartridges, some of the implementations can take heater cartridges, but not a manometer. It's also quite a different machine to the Alex Leva in every way, including functionally.

It's also very different to the Londinium machines..including others you have mentioned.

There are 2 main variations in use commercially...the Fiorenzato 58mm and the LSM (53mm) group


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## Marocchino (May 1, 2019)

DavecUK said:


> It's also quite a different machine to the Alex Leva in every way, including functionally.


 In discussion with @BlackCatCoffeeearlier in this thread the cup clearance is a bit tight on the Leva to the underside of the group, he quoted 70mm under the LSM group. Having only just started reading up on the V-Vostok journey with interest; does the positioning of the LSM group on the V-V increase this clearance much?


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Marocchino said:


> In discussion with @BlackCatCoffeeearlier in this thread the cup clearance is a bit tight on the Leva to the underside of the group, he quoted 70mm under the LSM group. Having only just started reading up on the V-Vostok journey with interest; does the positioning of the LSM group on the V-V increase this clearance much?


 @MarocchinoThe only measurement which really gives a fair comparison is the one from the bottom of the LSM group to the drip tray surface the cup stands on. In the V-Vostok this distance is 127mm approx.

With a bottomless portafilter (large basket) the distance becomes 107mm approx.


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## Marocchino (May 1, 2019)

DavecUK said:


> The only measurement which really gives a fair comparison is the one from the bottom of the LSM group to the drip tray surface the cup stands on. In the V-Vostok this distance is 127mm approx.
> 
> With a bottomless portafilter (large basket) the distance becomes 107mm approx.


 Thanks very much for the information @DavecUKI know I was stretching the topic boundary a little, but the clearance thought occurred earlier in the thread. Enjoyable reading on development.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Marocchino said:


> Thanks very much for the information @DavecUKI know I was stretching the topic boundary a little, but the clearance thought occurred earlier in the thread. Enjoyable reading on development.


 Well it's all a bit of fun for me...in fact the main reason I pushed ACS into the V-Vostok route was just being irritated and when something irritates me, I find the best response to be a constructive one. Miniaturizing the actual Vostok to a 1 group wasn't going well for various reasons, but there was an existing lego set, so I played with it.

If you want to know more it's really better to use the thread DFK started, I'm not going to respond on this thread any more, as it's taking it way off topic.


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