Rituale Rebuild

Equipment, technique, or just drinking the stuff

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Rituale Rebuild

Postby simonp » Tue Feb 12, 2013 11:12 pm

So, the strip-down and rebuild/renovation of the Rituale begins.

The group is in pieces ready for the new seals to go in. One concern is that the can end of the exhaust plunger is curved and not flat which looks to be due to wear rather than design, so need to check on that and try to find a replacement if necessary.

All of the heat exchanger pipework is off and flushed out. The copper pipework is pretty much clear if scale. But, the elbow joint into the actual heat exchanger is pretty clogged with scale so not surprising I'm having issues. Due to this I suspect the inside of the HX pipe in the boiler is probably quite bad, so the boiler is coming out for a proper inspection & descale.

On the plus side, it was a good excuse to break out the new Chemex (broke the previous one) and new up some excellent El Bosque!
Last edited by simonp on Fri Feb 15, 2013 11:41 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Profitec 700 dual boiler
Isomac Rituale
Mazzer Mini
Mahlkonig Vario
Chemex
Aeropress
2 Bodum press pots
Hottop updated to a B with Compuetr control
Imex roaster, dimmer mod on heater (under spare bed)
Rival popper, with split motor and dimmer mod on heater (retired)
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For the greater good...

Postby boldham » Fri Feb 15, 2013 12:22 am

Pics would be cool!
We all like to look under the hood!
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Re: For the greater good...

Postby simonp » Fri Feb 15, 2013 12:34 am

boldham wrote:Pics would be cool!
We all like to look under the hood!


Yes, true. Trouble is I've been snatching moments to do the work and that doesn't really leave time for piccy taking. Maybe I can take some of the bits and re-assembly.

The group is back together now with new and cleaned up bits. The lever action now feels like it should (and used to!). The heat excahnger pipe and fittings in the boiler are descaling in strong citric acid as we speak. I used a boroscope (small lamp and video camera on the bendy thing) we had at work to look inside the main part of the boiler, very little sign of scale in there so I will leave that alone.
Profitec 700 dual boiler
Isomac Rituale
Mazzer Mini
Mahlkonig Vario
Chemex
Aeropress
2 Bodum press pots
Hottop updated to a B with Compuetr control
Imex roaster, dimmer mod on heater (under spare bed)
Rival popper, with split motor and dimmer mod on heater (retired)
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Re: For the greater good...

Postby boldham » Fri Feb 15, 2013 12:56 am

simonp wrote:
boldham wrote:Pics would be cool!
We all like to look under the hood!


Yes, true. Trouble is I've been snatching moments to do the work and that doesn't really leave time for piccy taking. Maybe I can take some of the bits and re-assembly.

The group is back together now with new and cleaned up bits. The lever action now feels like it should (and used to!). The heat excahnger pipe and fittings in the boiler are descaling in strong citric acid as we speak. I used a boroscope (small lamp and video camera on the bendy thing) we had at work to look inside the main part of the boiler, very little sign of scale in there so I will leave that alone.


I understand the time issue! I only suggested because I'm sure the pics would be useful to someone down the road. Good to hear you're making progress. Best of luck!
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Postby simonp » Fri Feb 15, 2013 10:55 pm

Well, it is almost there! The grouphead is back on the machine and the boiler is descaled and back in place. All the rigid pipework its back on, just the flexible to go back on. I'm going to leave the wiring till tomorrow as a lot of the insulators for the crimps have gone brittle with great and age, so I needed to put heatsink on those but might temporarily have to be insulating tape :oops:
With luck it should be ready for a power up and test (checking for leaks etc) later tomorrow :)
Profitec 700 dual boiler
Isomac Rituale
Mazzer Mini
Mahlkonig Vario
Chemex
Aeropress
2 Bodum press pots
Hottop updated to a B with Compuetr control
Imex roaster, dimmer mod on heater (under spare bed)
Rival popper, with split motor and dimmer mod on heater (retired)
User avatar
simonp
 
Posts: 1910
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 9:14 am
Location: Wiltshire, UK

Postby simonp » Fri Feb 15, 2013 11:41 pm

Well, it is almost there! The grouphead is back on the machine and the boiler is descaled and back in place. All the rigid pipework its back on, just the flexible to go back on. I'm going to leave the wiring till tomorrow as a lot of the insulators for the crimps have gone brittle with great and age, so I needed to put heatsink on those but might temporarily have to be insulating tape :oops:
With luck it should be ready for a power up and test (checking for leaks etc) later tomorrow :)
Profitec 700 dual boiler
Isomac Rituale
Mazzer Mini
Mahlkonig Vario
Chemex
Aeropress
2 Bodum press pots
Hottop updated to a B with Compuetr control
Imex roaster, dimmer mod on heater (under spare bed)
Rival popper, with split motor and dimmer mod on heater (retired)
User avatar
simonp
 
Posts: 1910
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 9:14 am
Location: Wiltshire, UK

Postby simonp » Sat Feb 16, 2013 11:26 am

It lives!

Surprisingly I only had one leak and that was just because I forgot to tighten a pipe. I did put PTFE tape on anything that wasn't a compression fitting though so it should be OK. The anti-vac valve needs replacing as it leaks a little bit now and then. The over pressure valve seems OK, but I will think about doing that too as the seal and o-ring looked pretty tired in there.

The really good news though is that the E61 grouphead gets MUCH hotter :D and with the boiler pressure topping out at 1.3 bar I now get flash boiling out of the showerscreen when I run water after a few minutes. I just measured the group temperature with my thermocouple meter and the top of the group is 20C hotter than before :shock: The main body is at least 10C to 15C hotter too. Sorted.

There are a few other things I would like to sort having pondered the internals. The wiring could do with better routing and possibly some high temperature sleeving. I might change the OPV to a better one. Also the mounting and position of the control module is a bit of a joke...

What I really should do now is pop the lid on and pull a shot, that and re dial in the grind, dose and my taste buds to the correct brew temp!
Profitec 700 dual boiler
Isomac Rituale
Mazzer Mini
Mahlkonig Vario
Chemex
Aeropress
2 Bodum press pots
Hottop updated to a B with Compuetr control
Imex roaster, dimmer mod on heater (under spare bed)
Rival popper, with split motor and dimmer mod on heater (retired)
User avatar
simonp
 
Posts: 1910
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 9:14 am
Location: Wiltshire, UK

Postby simonp » Sat Feb 16, 2013 12:01 pm

It lives!

Surprisingly I only had one leak and that was just because I forgot to tighten a pipe. I did put PTFE tape on anything that wasn't a compression fitting though so it should be OK. The anti-vac valve needs replacing as it leaks a little bit now and then. The over pressure valve seems OK, but I will think about doing that too as the seal and o-ring looked pretty tired in there.

The really good news though is that the E61 grouphead gets MUCH hotter :D and with the boiler pressure topping out at 1.3 bar I now get flash boiling out of the showerscreen when I run water after a few minutes. I just measured the group temperature with my thermocouple meter and the top of the group is 20C hotter than before :shock: The main body is at least 10C to 15C hotter too. Sorted.

There are a few other things I would like to sort having pondered the internals. The wiring could do with better routing and possibly some high temperature sleeving. I might change the OPV to a better one. Also the mounting and position of the control module is a bit of a joke...

What I really should do now is pop the lid on and pull a shot, that and re dial in the grind, dose and my taste buds to the correct brew temp!
Profitec 700 dual boiler
Isomac Rituale
Mazzer Mini
Mahlkonig Vario
Chemex
Aeropress
2 Bodum press pots
Hottop updated to a B with Compuetr control
Imex roaster, dimmer mod on heater (under spare bed)
Rival popper, with split motor and dimmer mod on heater (retired)
User avatar
simonp
 
Posts: 1910
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 9:14 am
Location: Wiltshire, UK

Postby GreenBean » Sat Feb 16, 2013 12:02 pm

Congratulations Simon :D I hope the coffee does not disappoint after all your efforts.
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Postby simonp » Sun Feb 17, 2013 2:20 am

Hmm, sorry for the double post earlier, no idea how that happened.

Anyway, well, the Rituale certainly behaves differently now, so I have had to change my flushing routine and set the grinder quite a bit coarser (can't quite figure why that is).
The shots are very different too, the sourness has gone and are sweeter, but more lively at the same time. The biggest difference is the mouthfeel though,very viscous and velvety smooth.
The other difference is that the consistency is back, run a shot, run the next with a tad coarser grind and I get a slightly longer shot. No random length shots and varying length before blonding.
What a relief to get back in the ballpark, so I can now work on my technique again.

I have ordered one of the grouphead thermometer/thermocouple adapters from Eric S (one of the HomeBraista regulars), so I can fine tune the brewing temp and flush routine. Plus I will never again be able to get into the same place of not realising the group/machine were not functioning properly.

I must add that I have also been using the new VST baskets (18g and 20g). I have so far had no issues, as some have. The shots are extracting evenly with no chanelling. Switching from the 18g to 20g with the same grind gave me a longer shot corresponding to a slightly lower extraction ratio, again exactly as expected. So far I'm impressed with them. I will post more once I have had some time to play properly with different shot lengths, plus being able to use properly rested coffee unlike the 2 day old I have been using today.
Profitec 700 dual boiler
Isomac Rituale
Mazzer Mini
Mahlkonig Vario
Chemex
Aeropress
2 Bodum press pots
Hottop updated to a B with Compuetr control
Imex roaster, dimmer mod on heater (under spare bed)
Rival popper, with split motor and dimmer mod on heater (retired)
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simonp
 
Posts: 1910
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 9:14 am
Location: Wiltshire, UK

Postby CakeBoy » Sun Feb 17, 2013 9:30 am

Good stuff Simon, you have done a great job there. It is amazing how subtly the coffee deteriorates as machinery becomes tired. You must be so very pleased. The grouphead adapter addition sounds good :)
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Postby simonp » Fri Feb 22, 2013 12:39 pm

Hmmm, my smuggness was perhaps premature. I have my new toy now (see pics below). Unfortunately this has shown up that there is till an issue with my machine. Whilst the group does get up to a good temperature, the thermometer shows that once you flush water, or pull a shot it takes a LOOONG time to get back up to temperature. For example some figures I have seen for another Rituale runnign at lower boiler pressure mine will take 3-4 times as long to return to a suitable temperature.
This tells me that I either have a leak somewhere in the brew water circuit, or there is still scale build-up, either in or around the HX in the boiler.

Looks like another strip-down coming up :roll:

My biggest fear is that the spot of crusty stuff I noticed near the HX outlet boss is in fact the result of a pinhole, especially now I find that my machine has a brass boiler not the stainless steel that I thought it was. £300+VAT for a new one :shock: though soldering would be a possible option for repair.

Anyway the thermometer it is very good and allows you to flush down to a suitable brewing temperature with a good degree of accuracy & repeatability. Due to my machine’s slow group temp recovery I have been doing the “flush & go” technique, which is kind of the traditional way with a HX E61 machine, rather than the “flush & wait” (which involves a long flush)which many people advocate for better consistency. Using this method of flushing (from 98C idle) down to 95C then locking and pulling the shot straight away, as you approach the end of the shot, past 25 seconds, the thermometer temp is about 2C below the actual brew temp, so at 91C indicated this give me approx 93C which is what I want. This I confirmed with a thermocouple on the coffee puck.
I can certainly recommend this for the E61 grouphead as it takes some of the guesswork out. It may however show you issues with your machine!
Attachments
Therm2 small.jpg
Therm2 small.jpg (39.33 KiB) Viewed 12180 times
Therm small.jpg
Therm small.jpg (30.9 KiB) Viewed 12180 times
Profitec 700 dual boiler
Isomac Rituale
Mazzer Mini
Mahlkonig Vario
Chemex
Aeropress
2 Bodum press pots
Hottop updated to a B with Compuetr control
Imex roaster, dimmer mod on heater (under spare bed)
Rival popper, with split motor and dimmer mod on heater (retired)
User avatar
simonp
 
Posts: 1910
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 9:14 am
Location: Wiltshire, UK

Postby simonp » Fri Mar 01, 2013 11:52 pm

So, a bit of an update on the Rituale. It has been apart more times that I care to mention. I have found many little leaks & seeps and found yet more scale!

Today I have fitted:
A new over pressure valve as the old one was on occasion leaking back hot water into the tank, and also stuck shut a couple of times.
A new pump as the old one seemed to struggle for pressure & flow at times.

I also temporarily fitted a secondary pressure gauge (one within 1.6% accuracy) in place of the steam valve piping to check the boiler pressure. Oh wasn't that a revelation!! When the accurate guage reads 1 bar the original one on the machine reads 1.5 - 1.6 bar :shock: :shock: :shock:
So, when I had my pressurestat turning off at what I thought was 1.4 bar, it was in fact under 1 bar. No wonder the group temperature and HX recovery was low and slow :roll:
The pressure gauge has always been odd since I got the machine 8 years ago, the gauge has never gone to the rest needle when off. I remember when I first tried the machine that I was surprised how poor the steaming power was and I now suspect the gauge has always been a way off (though probably not quite this bad). I have set the p-stat to top out at 1.2 bar now and I now have the alarming sight of seeing the original gauge go up to 1.8 bar :shock:
Perhaps not surprisingly the group temperature now ties up with the boiler pressure and recovery time should be much better (not recorded that yet). I may have to re-adjust to the extra steming power though, so I fully expect some nice dishwater foam in my cappucino at breakfast tomorrow :lol:
The couple of shots I ran this eveing were very fine, the extraction and flow seem much more even with the new pump and OPV.

So, I still need to get the remnants of scale out of the HX piping just for completeness' sake. Plus I need to do the lever seals in the E61 group as they didn't get done with the rest of the group rebuild and there was water dripping out when I was setting the OPV pressure.
I also now of course need to get a new small gauge for the boiler pressure. I can't believe how much the "proper" one is bearing in mind how low quality they are. I might try and get a same size accurate one from a gauge seller and solder on the fine pipe from the old gauge. OK it won't say Isomac on it but who cares?
Profitec 700 dual boiler
Isomac Rituale
Mazzer Mini
Mahlkonig Vario
Chemex
Aeropress
2 Bodum press pots
Hottop updated to a B with Compuetr control
Imex roaster, dimmer mod on heater (under spare bed)
Rival popper, with split motor and dimmer mod on heater (retired)
User avatar
simonp
 
Posts: 1910
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 9:14 am
Location: Wiltshire, UK

Postby CakeBoy » Sat Mar 02, 2013 1:14 am

That is a shocker about the gauge. Good news though that as a result of your investigations you have been able to get parity between the temperature boiler pressure. Let's hope you are on the home strait now and can soon enjoy the fruits of your labour in the form of coffee bliss.
www.CakeBoy.co.uk
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Iberital L'Anna 1 Gp Hand-Fill | Wega Orion 2 Gp | Bezzera 1 Gp | Rancilio Audrey PID | Spidem Trevi
Iberital MC2 Timed | Macap M4 DS & MXA DS | Mazzer SJ | Starbucks Barista Grinder (Dualit E60/Solis 166)
Pinhalense 2x500g Gas Batch/Sample Roaster | Gene Cafe | IMEX CR-100
Aerobie | eSantos | Zassenhaus | Bodum P/Over | Chemex | Hario Woodneck | Timer Filter
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