angelg Senior Member Joined: 24 Feb 2012 Posts: 2 Location: Bulgaria Expertise: Just starting
Posted Fri Feb 24, 2012, 9:38am Subject: BRIEL ES71 with pressure gauge
Hello everyone,
newbie to the forum and to espresso extraction at home. I bought a couple of weeks a BRIEL ES71 machine. After doing some research thought it would be good value for money as an entry point. Besides it also sports a manometer which based on my search is not that common (at least for this class)
So I'm already into the espresso journey fighting all the variables! One thing I noticed it that the pressure gauge always hovers around 12 bar and the extraction times I get are too short (~10 sec) I'm still trying different grind and tamp but meanwhile I also wrote to the manufacturer in Portugal. Pleasantly surprised at a prompt response which I paste below:
"About your question let me inform you that our machines are adjusted to a 9 bars pressure on the filter holder. The pressure you can see at the manometer refers to the pressure outside the boiler, during the rest of the circuit there are pressure drops, however before reaches the coffee (filter holder) the water passes through a valve that ensure the pressure of 9 bars."
So my question is - are all manometers on espresso machines showing the pressure at that higher pressure point outside the boiler? Is the manometer on my machine just for cool looks (and to show if the pump is working at all) and should I take it for granted that I have the 'right' pressure at the portafilter?
Posted Wed Mar 7, 2012, 9:09am Subject: Re: BRIEL ES71 with pressure gauge
I don't have that specific machine but I have a different Briel. Do you know if your Briel has a 3-way solenoid valve? (do you hear a "whoosh" when you stop the shot? Pressure released backflushing into the drip tray?)
Most likely your Briel has a spring loaded mushroom shaped valve in the brew head (my Briel does). And I did a bunch of tests to verify that the spring loaded valve removes anywhere from 3-6 bars of pressure (depending on the strength of the spring and the size/shape of the hole that the mushroom shaped rubber plug presses against).
So ... if anything I would worry that you have less than 9 bars at the coffee puck if you are only reading 12 bars at the boiler. But that all depends on your specific group valve. And if you do have the 3-way solenoid, then nevermind -- with the solenoid valve you should see the same pressure at the coffee puck as you see at your pre-boiler gauge.
Posted Wed Mar 7, 2012, 9:18am Subject: Re: BRIEL ES71 with pressure gauge
Here is a video I made (on a Gaggia with the same type valve your Briel has) testing the pressure with and without the spring loaded valve. Hope it makes sense. What I was trying to demonstrate is that based on how fast the liquid is flowing for the shot, the pressure will change when you have this type of valve. Also that the spring tension affects the pressure.
I re-read your response from Briel and it sounds like they are describing exactly this type of valve for your machine.
So I would suggest grinding finer and/or dosing more into your basket to get the extraction time and volume (and more importantly to get the taste you are after) and don't be surprised if you see your pressure gauge reading 14 or 16 bars when you get the right grind/dose and the pour starts taking 25 seconds for a double.
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