# Spring lever issues



## PhillyYasvilly (Jan 30, 2014)

Howdy gang,

So I have my *Izzo Pompei 2 group spring lever dual fueler* plumbed into my pump and water tanks and have it running from the *mains electricity*.

The only issue is that when I pull a shot, instead of pre-infusing while I have the lever all of the way down it just starts to spout coffee (usually after a second or two).

The lever isn't gliding gracefully back to its starting position (after it's passed horizontal) and has to be held in order to stop the lever whooshing back up. Has anybody any ideas what I can do to try and rectify the situation?

*Could grinding finer and tamping harder perhaps help? As there'll be more pressure in the grouphead and maybe I could pre-infuse for a few seconds without espresso starting immediately!*

I'll be putting a few pics up in my setup section laters.

Cheers gang,

Philip


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

take a clip if you can of the extraction and the lever returning back

with my spring lever it needs to be held until it catches i can't just let go of it


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## PhillyYasvilly (Jan 30, 2014)

Thanks for speedy reply, unfortunately I can't watch any videos (as I may be in work :-(). But will do this eve!

To tell you the truth we were using pre ground coffee (







) as we've still no grinder. I think we're going to be able to grind up some fresh delisciousness for this evening in a local cafe (not ideal but it'll do).

Will post a vid this evening and hopefully have a grinder in the next few days.

Thanks again,

Philip


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

PhillyYasvilly said:


> Thanks for speedy reply, unfortunately I can't watch any videos (as I may be in work :-(). But will do this eve!
> 
> To tell you the truth we were using pre ground coffee (
> 
> ...


The coffee is your problem

you need a grinder - a grinder is as important if not more important than the machine itself, especially when you have a beautiful lever machine like you do

Pre ground form a shop will not befine enough or fresh enough to great resistance for the lever or at pre infusion.

Hence dribbling coffee at pre infusion and the lever catching late, and i bet it tastes bad .....

even getting it ground at your shop will not solve your problems , although will be an improvement from pre ground.

Tell them you need a fine espresso grind for a lever machine

But really till you get a grinder for that lever machine , you will struggle and the machine will not be delivering the great coffee it is capable off

Set a budget, look at the space you have and post up some suggestions we can help you spend money on a grinder









Levers are amazing machines and make lovely espresso , with fresh coffee , fresh ground .....


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Absolutely that he grind is not fine enough, it is impossible to use pre ground coffee on that type of lever machine, get yourself a decent grinder and some decent freshly roasted coffee and you machine will sing...


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## PhillyYasvilly (Jan 30, 2014)

Sweeto, to be honest after myself and my amigos got it all wired up and plumbed in! We just couldn't resist!

I'll be evaluating our grinder options asap. And hope to have one sorted soon!

For tonight tho, the lovely ladies in the shop around the corner will help us out. I'll be grinding fine then! I'll let you know how it goes! P


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## PhillyYasvilly (Jan 30, 2014)

So I got a friend in town to grind up some deliscious beans and pulled many shots this evening. It was so so different from yesterday. The lever action was sweet. It catches just above horizontal. 

Grinder hunt starts tomorrow. I'm looking for a decent grinder that's not too big methinks, that can run off my 12 volt battery.

Anyway, many thanks to all for your help.

philip


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Why do you need it to run off a battery may I ask?


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## CallumT (Aug 23, 2013)

Hg one? Could easily be converted to run off a set of bicycle cranks!


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Guess this has done from a mobile set up?


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## PhillyYasvilly (Jan 30, 2014)

Yup, gonna have to be set-up with battery in the future for mobile so we figured we'd set it up as close to the way we'll be using it!

Running off a bike would be amazing!


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

PhillyYasvilly said:


> Yup, gonna have to be set-up with battery in the future for mobile so we figured we'd set it up as close to the way we'll be using it!
> 
> Running off a bike would be amazing!


I presume this will be battery through inverter ? How big a battery ? /charging from engine?


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## PhillyYasvilly (Jan 30, 2014)

I've a big ol (no clue how to quantify the actual size) marine leisure battery and battery charger (Halfords finest) that'll charge it! I'll be taking the battery out after a days work and will be bringing it inside to charge.

Battery is 12 volts, goes straight to my shurflow pump and the grinder will indeed be after an inverter hooked up to the same battery.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Have a look on the top for the AMPERE HOUR rating this will give you a guide as to how much power you can draw for how long.

Ie. add up the amps that each item draws divide this total into the AMP /hours of the battery and it will give you an idea of how long the battery will last before needing charging. (in cold weather they do not last as long )

Also check how much the inverter will draw. The water pump will be negligible.

If you uprate the leads on the charger you can lengthen them and maybe charge without removing.


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## PhillyYasvilly (Jan 30, 2014)

Cheers, will do! Hmm, charging without removing isn't so much of an issue. Have day off tomorrow and might just be able to put up an aul video of the machine and set-up in the appropriate section!

Thanks again knowledgeable peoples,

Philip


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## grimpeur (Oct 18, 2013)

Why must the grinder be motorised? Why not weigh out doses in disposable paper or solo cups, stack them and grind them by hand?

An HG-One would be the very thing. No battery to charge, fantastic titan class grind quality, compact form factor and the speed of grinding is not so slow that it would affect service on a mobile set-up. You could buy a reasonably priced stand-in grinder (A vario perhaps?) while you wait for the HG to be shipped?

Just a thought









Apologies if I have missed this discussion elsewhere.


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

The hg1 is just not suitable in a commercial environment. Take too long and pre grinding the coffee means the coffee will start going stale


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

He is probably using a gas powered Pompeii on a coffee cart, they use a 12V pump to keep the tank filled. The girinder problem may well need a small inverter and separate battery A Mazzer mini E is 250W and Super Jolly about 350W. I would recommend anb inverter to convert 12V battery power to mains voltage, spending a bit extra for a sine wave inverter (type of electrical output), because the grinder motor will run smoother. If you can within your budget go for a higher power output than you think. Many inverters have a startup/continuous load rating....so perhaps 1000W start and 500W continuous load.

The other consideration is to try and get one where the cooling fan only runs when it needs to e.g. when it needs cooling.


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## grimpeur (Oct 18, 2013)

coffeechap said:


> The hg1 is just not suitable in a commercial environment. Take too long and pre grinding the coffee means the coffee will start going stale


I meant pre-weighed doses of beans, not pre-ground coffee. Much the same as when 3FE in Dublin had an EK43 on the counter...I may be a forum newbie but I'm not that green!

In hindsight, I do agree with you about workflow though. It all depends on the order frequency I suppose, 20-30 espresso based coffees a day from interested and patient customers and the HG1 could work. It could even be a feature...Hand roasted, hand ground and hand pulled!

Maybe not.

Anyway, I hope the OP is more successful than 20-30 coffees a day! I'm interested to hear what solution they come up with.


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## PhillyYasvilly (Jan 30, 2014)

Wow, so many opinions to consider. Thanks.

I've been away recently but am meeting a fabricator and printing up some branding this coming week so I'll

be picking some more brains about the final set-up we go for!

Space is a big issue in our trailer. So is the fridge, can I run a fridge of gas?

p.s. I also hope I can sell more than 30 cuppas in a day!

Philip


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