boyscout Said:

Count me in.  After months in an agony of indecision reading strong opinions about various machines, I decided to buy a Vibiemme DoubleDomo, and headed to a dealer in my region to pick one up.  I came home with... a Rocket Giotto Professional!  After a week of use, I'm very pleased.

Just two disappointments.

1)  The rotary pump is surprisingly noisy, almost as noisy as the vibrating pump in the same machine

2)  It wastes a LOT of heat from its un-insulated boiler.  When left on all day, cups left on top were almost too hot to handle, and the kitchen cupboard above the machine became very warm, no food could have been kept in it.  The heating element clicked on very frequently, I didn't time it, but maybe every ten minutes or so, so I worried about energy use.

To address the latter problem I just this morning completed the task of insulating the boiler.  At a plumbing supply place I got a sheet of half-inch glass insulation with a foil-paper backing, and some aluminum foil tape.  There are many pipes and sensors going in/out of the boiler, but with two largish pieces and several smaller ones I was able to cover most of the boiler, being careful not to let any aluminum rest near electrical contacts.

The difference is already obvious after a few hours.  The cupboard above the machine is just above room temperature, items on top are warm but not hot, and the heating element cycles on less frequently.  Curiously, I also seem to be getting better brew pressure, though I did not adjust the Sirai.  Boiler pressure is still just around 1 bar, maybe very slightly higher, but while I was usually getting just over 8 bars brew pressure before, two pulls this morning have been up at about 9.

I'm feeling love, and would be pleased to see a Giotto group form here.

Posted January 6, 2010 link

jacobkoski Said:

This is a great idea. I bought an ECM Giotto off craigslist last year for $395!!!! It was for sure the deal of a lifetime and now I have so far replaced the vacuum seal and have plumbed it into filtered water ( as is being described on my blog in progress The Bleeding Bean)  I think next will be a sirai pressure stat and erics adapter.  I will be following this post!

Posted January 17, 2010 link

boyscout Said:

You should be buying lottery tickets regularly... you're exceptionally lucky to get this machine for $395!

The Giotto now comes with a heavy-duty Sirai pressure stat.  What is "erics adapter"?

Posted January 18, 2010 link

jacobkoski Said:

I would like to set up a page on my blog exclusively for the ECM Giotto. We could complile mods, tweaks, how-to's guides reparations etc in one place that way and link back and forth from this form to find more input from other users. Any feedback on this idea?

Posted January 18, 2010 link

J_Premium Said:

1) Ok, first things first, how is everyone doing with Latte Art?  I'm relatively new to the "milk" world and am terrible at it.

Posted January 18, 2010 link