Help installing 2 group Rancilio machine.

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Help installing 2 group Rancilio machine.

Postby Scudcow » Sat Jul 22, 2006 1:12 pm

I have just got my hands on this fairly ridiculous looking (well in my kitchen anyway) old-ish 2 group Rancilio machine but am not completely clear on how to install it.
Any advice?
What parts are needed for power, where to get a water softener (do I need a filter aswell as the softener)... anything useful really.

The machine is sitting next to my washing machine and close to the pipes leading to an outdoor tap. Does it seem like a good idea to put the waste into the waste pipe for the washing machine and tap the pipe leading to the outdoor tap for the water supply? (I don't use the outdoor tap at all, and it all seems to be part of the normal system.)

I have attached a pdf with the installation instructions I do have.

Any advice would be excellent.
thanks
Simon
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[The extension pdf has been deactivated and can no longer be displayed.]

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Postby bruceb » Sat Jul 22, 2006 2:00 pm

Hello and welcome to the world of commercial espresso. With that kind of kit you really need to become a member of TMC. Image

Depending on how hard your water supply is you can connect the machine without softener, at least to try it out and make surer it's ok. There are many mixed-bed softeners especially for hot drink machines to be had on ebay. Get a new one. You don't need a very large one, 8L is plenty. Be aware that they need regeneration with salt every few months, according to how much water goes through them. In the long run you will be glad you got one. Use pressure flexpipe to connect from the supply to the softner and from the softener to the machine.

Whether you need an additional filter depends on your local water and pipes in your house. Do your perlators (aerators) on the faucets need cleaning every few weeks? If the do you may want a particle filter before the softener. You can either mount the particle filter on the supply line or on the softener.

You can connect the drip-pan waste hose into the waste pipe for the washing machine, but make certain there is no way water can back up to the espresso machine. The waste pipes are best left hanging loose into the syphon (trap), but should be mechanically fixed so they can't slip or be pulled out.

For water supply you can tap into any cold water line. If your wash machine uses cold water you can put a "Y" on the tap and run one line to the washing machine and one to the espresso machine. If you need information on plumbing ask here again and someone will give you some help.

I assume the Rancilio is a 230-240V machine and it should have a good, heavy duty plug and be attached directly to a 20 Amp fused socket that is in good condition. Extension cords are not advisable for anything over 2 kW and your machine uses more than 4 kW. If you want to make it permanent you can wire it directly into the house mains without using a plug and socket. If you're not completely sure about that have a professional do it. We don't want to lose you before you join. Image

If you have more questions don't hesitate to ask. Good luck and good coffee!
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Postby Guest » Sat Jul 22, 2006 3:42 pm

Thank for the advice.
I have a water softener ordered now and it seems like the plumbing is a simple enough job to do with a bit of help from my friends.
I definitely need the softener here, the water is as hard as you can imagine. Now Iceland... that is the place for a good natural water supply. (not to mention some damned fine coffee in the right places.)


As far as I can tell I only have 13 amp sockets in the house (not even the cooker grrr...) is it best to get an electrician to convert one of those into a 20 amp socket or is there a simple way of doing this for a layman?
(Really I'm just getting impatient now, nice looking big machine sitting on the counter and me stuck with using my old dualit thing.)

Any advice on any tasks I should run the machine through before knocking the coffee out once I do get it running?
I was planning on running some citrus descaling stuff through it first?

thanks again. I shall send a message to get my TMC membership now :)
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Postby bruceb » Sat Jul 22, 2006 4:50 pm

Iceland, eh? Good!

The machine draws 4650 Watts. That's almost exactly 20 amps at 230 VAC. I would guess the circuit breaker will go the moment you turn the machine on. It's not the circuit breaker or the socket, of course. It's the wiring. For 20 amp you need #12 gauge wire (all 3 conductors!). You'll need an electrician to connect an appropriate cable from the distribution box (circuit breaker cabinet) directly to the socket for the espresso machine or have him wire it in directly without a socket. This is assuming that the present wiring is #14 gauge or less. I don't know if gauge is the proper unit of measurement in Iceland. Current capacity of wire at 50 Hz
goes according to the cut surface area. You'll need an electrician to decide what needs to be done.

As to descaling a big boiler, I don't think I'd try. If you get descaler in there you'll have a terrible time getting it back out. Normally a big machine like that is descaled by disassembly and soaking, etc. Trying to descale it assembled will loosen scale that then will cause problems. If the scale in the machine is "normal" it won't cause a problem. I would just plug it in (as soon as that's possible), connect up the water supply, make sure the pump has water and turn it on. You may want to check with Rancilio about bleeding air from the pump. A volumetric pump should never run dry, not even for a moment. Make sure there is water pressure right at the pump. There probably is a screw plug on the input side of the pump that can be removed, then turn on the water slowly until it comes out of the screw hole and then screw the plug back in. You only have to do this once when the lines are dry.

I hope this helps and I hope it's all correct :shock:. Looking forward to hearing how it goes and seeing you regularly on TMC!
:D
edit - I forgot to say that #12 gauge wire is equivalent to 4mm2 cross-section or cut-surface area (not 4mm diameter) in case Iceland uses metric for this sort of thing.
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Postby Scudcow » Sat Jul 22, 2006 5:58 pm

Ah... I don't live in Iceland, I just try to spend as much time there as possible and have a bad habit of reflecting upon how great the place is. Not least because of the coffee, nice to go somewhere where every single place has some idea of how to use the equipment they have, as opposed to the stuff you get in my town.

I shall definitely not descale the machine!
Electrician out at the beginning of the week then and hopefully have everything up and running at the beginning of the week.
I shall post some pictures up of the setup and whatever I can manage to produce on it at first soon after.

thanks again.
Rancilio 2 group S-series
KitchenAid grinder (modded to stepless)
And a growing addiction to sweet sweet espresso.
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Postby scottwhite » Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:08 am

Just like to say that I think everyone wiring a commercial machine in at home should really use a qualified trader, for both plumbing in and the elctrical side it is worth the money and could svae you an injury or fire/flood. Soz to be a scare monger but it does worry me sometimes.
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Postby Scudcow » Mon Jul 31, 2006 10:14 pm

Thanks for all the help, got my machine all up and running now.
Definitely wise to get an electrician in to do the wiring job.
Plumbing in this kind of machine I have to say is not too difficult though apart from the hassle of the unconventional fittings. (still, now I have a good understanding of plumbing fittings!)
Especially if you take bruceb's advice and just convert the washing machine connection, then you are really not messing with the home plumbing at all.
I certainly advise the use of thread tape though!

(It didn't hurt finding that Happydonkey is based about ten minutes drive from my house either!)
If anyone is interested I shall try and catch some pictures of the machine/set-up in operation this week. Still getting used to the whole thing but have had some pretty awesome results so far (by my standards that is) on my double espresso's.
Rancilio 2 group S-series
KitchenAid grinder (modded to stepless)
And a growing addiction to sweet sweet espresso.
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Postby CakeBoy » Mon Jul 31, 2006 10:20 pm

Well done. Pics would be great :P
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Postby doristori » Thu Aug 10, 2006 4:55 pm

and a curious question, what is it that brings you to my beautiful country so often? And yes, most of the baristas here in iceland at least have a good clue as to what they are doing.
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