# Synchronika Flow Control Kit



## PeterF (Aug 25, 2014)

Has anyone had one of this kits fitted to their ECM/Profitec? At £179 from Bella Barista they appear to be worthwhile upgrade for those enthusiasts who like to experiment.

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## Polly (Jun 20, 2019)

I'm waiting on feedback too. The fact it is lacking is a tad suspicious.


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

Think@Nicknak fitted on to a different e61 machine.


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## jscott (Jun 25, 2019)

Yeah, I got one for Christmas. Still getting used to it but first impressions are good - nice to be able to do a low pressure pre-infusion on lighter roast coffees. No channeling at all now with a 15g VST, it was a bit hit and miss before.

Interestingly it seems they have altered the kit again - mine came with a replacement spring, presumably to disable the E61 pre-infusion chamber, similar to the Lelit kit.


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## PeterF (Aug 25, 2014)

Have they sorted out the problem with people getting burnt hands when operating the knob?

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## jscott (Jun 25, 2019)

It's quite a small knob and the metal shaft does get hot, but it doesn't seem to be a problem, I haven't burnt myself yet..


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## Nicknak (Aug 10, 2018)

PeterF said:


> Have they sorted out the problem with people getting burnt hands when operating the knob?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


 I have had mine fitted for over 2 months . Dead easy to fit and use . No burns here .. If you touch any metal part on the e61 it will be hot . The thing turns very easy with one finger on the knob .


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## devenm96 (Mar 16, 2019)

Any idea if I can fit this onto a ECM Classika PID?


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## jscott (Jun 25, 2019)

devenm96 said:


> Any idea if I can fit this onto a ECM Classika PID?


 Yes, you should be able to. Whole latte love are selling the Classika with the flow control kit pre-installed in the US


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Nicknak said:


> I have had mine fitted for over 2 months . Dead easy to fit and use . No burns here .. If you touch any metal part on the e61 it will be hot . The thing turns very easy ...


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## tohenk2 (Oct 11, 2017)

I now have one too.

It seems to be a v2 (smaller, round knob) and in the "Whole Latte Love" video they said the v2 should be able to shut off the flow completely.

Therfore I was expecting to be able to stop the flow completely, but mine does not/is not able to do that. It does slow down the flow, or decreases the volume per second (if measured without puck and only boilerpressure). I already contacted ECM via e-mail, but so far I got no response whatsoever. So - are there other units able to shut down the flow completely? (I set the pressure to test it at boiler pressure only...)


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## jscott (Jun 25, 2019)

tohenk2 said:


> I now have one too.
> 
> It seems to be a v2 (smaller, round knob) and in the "Whole Latte Love" video they said the v2 should be able to shut off the flow completely.
> 
> Therfore I was expecting to be able to stop the flow completely, but mine does not/is not able to do that. It does slow down the flow, or decreases the volume per second (if measured without puck and only boilerpressure). I already contacted ECM via e-mail, but so far I got no response whatsoever. So - are there other units able to shut down the flow completely? (I set the pressure to test it at boiler pressure only...)


 You should be able to set it so it turns off completely, if you unscrew the round black knob, you can lift the top part of the flow control device, turn it all the way to the right making sure it isn't completely touching the main body of the E61 mushroom before you tighten the knob again (it can help if you place a piece of paper in the gap while you do this)


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## Border_all (Dec 19, 2019)

Can i ask a numb nut question please 😁. Watched a YouTube video about flow control pre infusion this is the daft bit what is different if i switch flow on for a few seconds and switch off again. It still puts water in but not controlled later in the shot


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## jscott (Jun 25, 2019)

Border_all said:


> Can i ask a numb nut question please 😁. Watched a YouTube video about flow control pre infusion this is the daft bit what is different if i switch flow on for a few seconds and switch off again. It still puts water in but not controlled later in the shot


 Yes you can do that but you have to be careful you don't lower the lever completely as that will empty the pre-infusion chamber in the group and possibly disrupt the coffee puck, ruining the extraction. You need to lower it to just the midway position where the pump has only just turned off (so the switch behind the E61 lever is no longer engaged).

But with that method the flow rate is still the stock flow (~7.5ml/sec for my Profitec vibe pump E61). With the flow control you can reduce the flow to <1ml/sec where you can do a Slayer style pre-infusion of 20-30 seconds+ for example.

I like having mine to play with and I have had some fantastic 60+ second shots using lighter roasted coffee, but most of the time for medium/dark roasted coffees I just use it set to the stock flow rate. It's another variable to control and can sometimes over complicate things a bit. I find the stock pre-infusion from the E61 group is perfectly fine for most beans I've tried.


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## B-Roadie (Feb 29, 2016)

tohenk2 said:


> I now have one too.
> 
> It seems to be a v2 (smaller, round knob) and in the "Whole Latte Love" video they said the v2 should be able to shut off the flow completely.
> 
> Therfore I was expecting to be able to stop the flow completely, but mine does not/is not able to do that. It does slow down the flow, or decreases the volume per second (if measured without puck and only boilerpressure). I already contacted ECM via e-mail, but so far I got no response whatsoever. So - are there other units able to shut down the flow completely? (I set the pressure to test it at boiler pressure only...)


 Whole Latte Love refer to this as calibrating the flow control device. They have a video or two on it but essentially as above, you need to remove the top section as it bottoms out against the top of the mushroom valve.

Once removed, you can turn the pin all the way in to shut off the flow and then reinstall the top section with a thin card (like a playing card) between the top section of the device and the top of the mushroom so you're sure it'll never bottom out.


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## Border_all (Dec 19, 2019)

jscott said:


> Yes you can do that but you have to be careful you don't lower the lever completely as that will empty the pre-infusion chamber in the group and possibly disrupt the coffee puck, ruining the extraction. You need to lower it to just the midway position where the pump has only just turned off (so the switch behind the E61 lever is no longer engaged).
> 
> But with that method the flow rate is still the stock flow (~7.5ml/sec for my Profitec vibe pump E61). With the flow control you can reduce the flow to <1ml/sec where you can do a Slayer style pre-infusion of 20-30 seconds+ for example.
> 
> I like having mine to play with and I have had some fantastic 60+ second shots using lighter roasted coffee, but most of the time for medium/dark roasted coffees I just use it set to the stock flow rate. It's another variable to control and can sometimes over complicate things a bit. I find the stock pre-infusion from the E61 group is perfectly fine for most beans I've tried.


 Many thanks. I think that has answered my question very well I admit i am not a big fan of light roasts. I have also ordered a temp gauge for the head so probably short of space in any case 👍


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## B-Roadie (Feb 29, 2016)

You don't necessarily need the group pressure gauge to use the kit effectively. It's flow profiling, not pressure which is slightly different.

Once you've established your machine's flow at different lever positions, the gauge is kind of redundant.

Still looks swish though, just wish they'd do a group gauge that matches the Synchronika. Kind of sucks there isn't one, I want matchy matchy!


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## Border_all (Dec 19, 2019)

B-Roadie said:


> You don't necessarily need the group pressure gauge to use the kit effectively. It's flow profiling, not pressure which is slightly different.
> 
> Once you've established your machine's flow at different lever positions, the gauge is kind of redundant.
> 
> Still looks swish though, just wish they'd do a group gauge that matches the Synchronika. Kind of sucks there isn't one, I want matchy matchy!


 The temperature gauge is not what i call attractive if as time with the machine goes on i get just a feel for it i might remove it. Always options 👍


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## jscott (Jun 25, 2019)

Border_all said:


> The temperature gauge is not what i call attractive if as time with the machine goes on i get just a feel for it i might remove it. Always options 👍


 Not attractive but a very useful tool! A must on an HX in my opinion. I even had one installed on my dual boiler for a while to get to grips with how long the group takes to fully heat up (40 minutes, even though the manual says 15 minutes... No chance!)

Once you get to grips with how your machine runs you could probably remove it, but I think the thermometer is more useful than a pressure guage for an HX, even with the flow control device.


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## tohenk2 (Oct 11, 2017)

Thanks for the help on this - as described here and shown in the video @Border_all linked to in another thread, it now closes completely.


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## Hrti (Aug 14, 2019)

What's the consensus on installing the stiffer pre infusion chamber spring supplied with the latest iteration of the kit? I understand it "bridges" the pre infusion chamber to give the user control over the flow rates from the first second the lever is raised. But at the same time I guess it removes the inbuilt E61 pre infusion function if say one would like to leave the needle valve at the stock flow setting for "regular" non-profiled shots?


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

Hrti said:


> What's the consensus on installing the stiffer pre infusion chamber spring supplied with the latest iteration of the kit? I understand it "bridges" the pre infusion chamber to give the user control over the flow rates from the first second the lever is raised. But at the same time I guess it removes the inbuilt E61 pre infusion function if say one would like to leave the needle valve at the stock flow setting for "regular" non-profiled shots?


 You'd be adding another variable to your shots. The valve gives you the ability to experiment and finds what works best, but you'd need to follow the same "profile", manually reproduced, every time (unlike a pressure profile machine). It also allows you to have some degree of control should your grind/shot prep be up to scratch and "save it".

the pre-infusion on the e61 is minimal as the lower chamber fills up and the valve opens at 4 bar approx. You can actually hear it. Unless your machine is plumbed in and you can pre-infuse at line pressure with the lever in the middle position.


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## Hrti (Aug 14, 2019)

MediumRoastSteam said:


> You'd be adding another variable to your shots. The valve gives you the ability to experiment and finds what works best, but you'd need to follow the same "profile", manually reproduced, every time (unlike a pressure profile machine). It also allows you to have some degree of control should your grind/shot prep be up to scratch and "save it".
> 
> the pre-infusion on the e61 is minimal as the lower chamber fills up and the valve opens at 4 bar approx. You can actually hear it. Unless your machine is plumbed in and you can pre-infuse at line pressure with the lever in the middle position.


 Cheers. I run my Synchronika from the water tank, which is one of the reasons for installing the flow control kit. I also installed the stiffer spring from the lower chamber, so the inbuilt E61 pre-insufion is disabled (I used to hear the ramp up and opening of the valve before installing the kit). Just wondering how the flow control kit would behave if I left the old and softer spring inside the lower chamber. I guess with the old spring the flow valve would actually affect the E61 pre infusion time as the chamber would fill at a rate related to the valve setting before releasing at a given pressure? Which in theory perhaps should allow for even longer pre-infusions (at least without stopping the flow completely as some sort of "blooming" phase)? Tried to email ECM about this, but the response was not the greatest. I believe they just started adding the replacement spring to their latest iteration, like Lelit does for their kit.


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

Good question. I suppose with the new spring that valve never opens in normal conditions (say up to 9 bar)? If that's the case, I think the rationale here is that you have control from the start and any movement on the flow control valve will be noticeable in the pressure gauge even below 4 bar and you won't be subject to a sudden, unexpected readings on the pressure gage like "oh, what's happening there?" around 4 bar. i suppose it eliminates that redundant component.

Is there a pressure reading at the group that comes with the kit? If you leave the valve fully open, does the pressure increase gradually or is it a renter quick jump to 9 bar? What about when you have the original spring installed?


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## Northern_Monkey (Sep 11, 2018)

I would say there is more flexibility using the stronger spring. It allows you to manipulate it a lot more than you could otherwise.

Manual control allows really slow ramp ups to the pressure you want i.e. take 10-15 seconds to reach 6bar. Other options are declining pressure shots to mimic a lever where you can go below 4bar.

I personally found it easier to manipulate a set preinfusion pressure at 2-4 bar by having full control on the paddle as well. I would want to use the stronger spring most times.

I think @Stanic had good results with his flow kit with the stock spring, but the Mara-x has a very slow out the box ramp up and he was using it to drop the pressure at the end of the shot.

You would also need to find the lever position which matches the default flow rate on your machine, as fully open may be higher or lower.


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

The flow control with MaraX works fine. Correct, I've left the original pre-infusion spring in, it is quite a strong spring on itself. Most of the time I only use the valve to drop the pressure towards the end of the shot, however I was brewing some light roasted Kenya and needed longer PI. No problem, as the pressure is rising slowly and pauses at 2 bar, you can manipulate the valve to have 1 or 2 bar or whatever pressure pre-infusion. With the caveat of lower flow of course.


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## Daniel Vareika (Jan 20, 2021)

Hi all, I just installed the kit on my Synchronika. The only thing I could not install the stiffer spring since the inner diameter is smaller than the brass piece that goes in the end in the slimmer spring. Do you know if I have to install this brass spring in the stiffer spring or not? 
did yours come with a modified brass bottom with the spring or not?
thanks in advance, Daniel Vareika


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