# Draining the Mechanika's drip tray.



## DevonStan (Sep 19, 2016)

Apparently previous ones had some sort of fitting or pre drilled hole to accept a fitting (maybe blanked off for tank only use?)

My machine just as a sort of pressed out depression...about 1 or 2 mm in depth.... in the middle of the drip tray base....no hole, no fittings.

The supplier (BB) has sent off to ECM for clarification and we await that.

What did the previous fitting consist of? And what sort of outlet tubing have members used to drain the drip tray.

My machine is so close to the sink (literally a few millimetres from it) that it makes sense to simply have a narrow-ish flexi hose made of rubber - corrugated or not depending what was avaiolable - (ideally with a right angle on it to overhang the sink) This would alleviate plumbing it in to a waste pipe (not especially convenient - and I'm not drilling holes in my worktop!

Thanks


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## DevonStan (Sep 19, 2016)

May I ask if anyone has any knowledge or experience of these things?

Bella have posted the new drip tray (with the hole drilled and a blank plug fitted - plus the black "sink" that bolts to the machine's chassis, which has an outlet to accept hose). It arrives tomorrow.

I would have liked to keep the original drip tray (with no hole drilled, just the depression where the hole would go) .... but BB would like it back , despite the fact that it's now "used" and bears the scratches from the bottoms of cups.

I have the option to pay £125 to keep it. Honestly, yes, £125. And that relates to the cost price of the drained drip tray that they've just received from ECM and posted to me.

So I'm asking if anyone knows where I might buy the plain, undrilled drip tray anywhere else...ideally for less than £125

Thanks.


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## DevonStan (Sep 19, 2016)

Just spotted that 1st Line in the US show it at $516. Plus fees, VAT Royal Mail's £8 charge to collect the VAT...etc. And probably plus insurance in transit.

Blimey, I do declare ECM bits are not exactly bargain basement price! OK, they might be good...but £500 for a blanked off drip tray!


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

DevonStan said:


> Just spotted that 1st Line in the US show it at $516. Plus fees, VAT Royal Mail's £8 charge to collect the VAT...etc. And probably plus insurance in transit.
> 
> Blimey, I do declare ECM bits are not exactly bargain basement price! OK, they might be good...but £500 for a blanked off drip tray!


Welcome to the world of coffee. Why do you want two drip trays ? you can always put the plug / bung back in the new one .


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## DevonStan (Sep 19, 2016)

Indeed a fair question....and one which the (very helpful) fella at BB politely asked. The only reason (and I agree it's not a very good reason) for keeping a blank drip tray is that the blank one is just that....a small depression in the bottom and nothing else. Whereas in the new, drained, one if I did choose to revert to "non drained" then you have to remove the black plastic "sink" fitting....that's easy enough...but the remaining drip tray still has the threaded blank plug in situ - and where, at the moment, it's a doddle to wipe it out - I envisaged the blank fitting might keep snagging on my microfibre cloth and just be a bit of a nuisance compared to the undrilled one.

The more I think about it the more ridiculous it seems that I should want two.....and I'm almost certainly over-thinking the whole affair. But we're all a bit odd at times, are we not?









Thanks for the advice. Appreciated. And maybe contributing to saving me £125......


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

DevonStan said:


> Indeed a fair question....and one which the (very helpful) fella at BB politely asked. The only reason (and I agree it's not a very good reason) for keeping a blank drip tray is that the blank one is just that....a small depression in the bottom and nothing else. Whereas in the new, drained, one if I did choose to revert to "non drained" then you have to remove the black plastic "sink" fitting....that's easy enough...but the remaining drip tray still has the threaded blank plug in situ - and where, at the moment, it's a doddle to wipe it out - I envisaged the blank fitting might keep snagging on my microfibre cloth and just be a bit of a nuisance compared to the undrilled one.
> 
> The more I think about it the more ridiculous it seems that I should want two.....and I'm almost certainly over-thinking the whole affair. But we're all a bit odd at times, are we not?
> 
> ...


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## DevonStan (Sep 19, 2016)

Well, it's 12 kilos of beans from my local man...or a bit more than what I just paid for a few goodies from BB - see my newly created thread in Coffee Lounge.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

I agree - definitely better to have a precision tamper, set of baskets, alternative steam tips, posh shower screen, and spare group gaskets than a 2nd drip tray without the screw/hole!


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## DevonStan (Sep 19, 2016)

It has all arrived today so I'll be fiddling and messing about for a while.

I'll be pleased to report back with any observations.

Thanks.


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## DevonStan (Sep 19, 2016)

All fine with the machine. I may yet plumb it in as it's not an especially difficult run for the pipework (I've done a bit of plumbing along the way) but it's not a massive hardship to fill manually plus this has the extra safeguard insofar as I use a Brita type filter jug as an extra means to keep the innards in good order..... and, of course, by filling manually it'll never flood the floor if something failed internally.

I ordered, and received today, some rubber heater hose (inside diameter 13mm) to connect to the spigot on the black plastic drainage container/sump that came with the drained drip tray kit and I've run that to a right angled pre-formed piece of hose which hangs over the adjacent sink. It drains OK but I noticed that if you empty too much water in to the drip tray too quickly it overflows the black plastic sump.....but that's not an issue as long as you remember not to tip a bucketful into it.

These are the bits from Ebay.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190987131021?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=490220036070&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200963328389?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=500185833752&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380450656344?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=650053704981&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


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## u2jewel (Aug 17, 2017)

DevonStan said:


> The supplier (BB) has sent off to ECM for clarification and we await that.


Can I ask? What you are saying is that BB was able to secure for you a plumbable drip tray set for your profi IV at no extra cost? So it should have come with one originally?

Since their website doesn't mention it as a supplied accessory (nor do the ecm website for that matter) I was curious.

Thanks!


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## DevonStan (Sep 19, 2016)

It's many months on so things may well have moved on regarding what drip tray is or isn't supplied with the machine. At the time they (BB) said that there had been a recent change in the way they were required to order the machine and its drip tray i.e. does the customer want a plumbed drip tray or a blank one. It transpires that I was sent a plumbed tray and that's what I'm currently using.

I'm sure that a prospective purchaser would receive updated information regarding how to order the required tray from BB. However, I see your location isn't in the UK therefore I would imagine machine specs and ordering procedures in your region could be different. Can't add much more.


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## u2jewel (Aug 17, 2017)

DevonStan said:


> It's many months on so things may well have moved on regarding what drip tray is or isn't supplied with the machine. At the time they (BB) said that there had been a recent change in the way they were required to order the machine and its drip tray i.e. does the customer want a plumbed drip tray or a blank one. It transpires that I was sent a plumbed tray and that's what I'm currently using.
> 
> I'm sure that a prospective purchaser would receive updated information regarding how to order the required tray from BB. However, I see your location isn't in the UK therefore I would imagine machine specs and ordering procedures in your region could be different. Can't add much more.


Thanks for the quick reply!

Yes, I will double check with BB before ordering.


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## grumpydaddy (Oct 20, 2014)

Do you fancy Altering the black plastic tray?

Just using plastic sheet in an L section, ( I may have some if you need it) trim a piece to fit flush to the top and then 3/4 the depth so the gap from mouth of tube outlet and the vertical of the now inverted L is maybe 10mm.

Seal the edges with silicone "bath" sealant.

In this layout the water is picked up from the bottom of the tray and if it goes above the top of the pipe there is no air ingress. If the pipe is not too long in the horizontal then the flow will become syphonic and thus empty faster

Well Looking at your pics that is my theory anyway..... and the good bit is the sealant should peel off easily if you want to revert


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## DevonStan (Sep 19, 2016)

Re. the above, I don't think I do. After a decent period of use I haven't felt the need to alter it. It drains my limited quantities of waste water perfectly well and is simplicity itself. I will concede that if lots of waste water were produced it would over-top the little container - but I cant think why anyone would produce that much water.

Having said that, I do use a small mini ice cream type polythene container to receive the dirty water when flushing/washing the head through in order that I don't tip too much dirty water with bits of coffee grounds through the drainage container and it's respective outlet tube ... but that's not strictly necessary and I'm only saving myself from wiping the grounds from the machine's stainless drip tray.


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## Jezsherwood (Jun 30, 2017)

More importantly, do you actually use your sink? It's bloomin spotless!


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## DevonStan (Sep 19, 2016)

It's made by a company with the distinctive name of "Smeg". It does get used twice a day for the purposes of coffee waste water and occasional car wash leather rinsing duties and only gets cleaned with 'ShinySinks' or suchlike, but the secret is, it's a matt finish with a sort of stippled finish with millions of little raised dots on it and isn't the more conventional shiny finish, which undoubtedly would have looked grubby now, ten years after I fitted it.


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