Markarian Senior Member Joined: 27 Jun 2012 Posts: 475 Location: Seattle Area Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Modded Nuova Simonelli Oscar Grinder: Vario-W, Mazzer Super Jolly Drip: Moka, Aeropress, Melitta 102 Roaster: Wear-Ever Popcorn Pumper
Posted Fri Feb 15, 2013, 2:38am Subject: Re: Presenting the Ultimate Oscar Video
Helen, that's a 115v indicator lamp. So if you can shove two AC leads under the connectors for that light and solder them to the transformer I gave you, you should be good to go. Polarity doesn't matter for the AC side of things, but does matter when you connect the 12v DC leads from the adapter to the light strip. Let me know how it turns out! If you have wire and solder, it should be a 15 minute job.
Smclaughlin Senior Member Joined: 31 Jan 2013 Posts: 21 Location: United states tampa Fl Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Nuova simonelli... Roaster: Naviera coffee mills tampa...
Posted Fri Feb 15, 2013, 5:58pm Subject: Re: Presenting the Ultimate Oscar Video
Hey great video suggesting that the oscar has the ability to improve. i was wondering does the puck have to be dry because mine seems a little wet though when i shut the brew button off after the shot finishes i can hear the vaccum action of the 3 three way though does that means its doing what it was made to do or does the puck have to be dry?
Markarian Senior Member Joined: 27 Jun 2012 Posts: 475 Location: Seattle Area Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Modded Nuova Simonelli Oscar Grinder: Vario-W, Mazzer Super Jolly Drip: Moka, Aeropress, Melitta 102 Roaster: Wear-Ever Popcorn Pumper
Posted Sat Feb 16, 2013, 5:57am Subject: Re: Presenting the Ultimate Oscar Video
Okay so maybe I'm not understanding the fundamentals of HX's, but tonight I had some really frustrating results with Oscar. I had settled in on flushing 2oz right before each shot, grinding much coarser (Setting 3Q on my Vario-W, where earlier in the week I've been on 3L). I nutated firmly and tamped much harder than I usually do. I pulled three or four gorgeous shots in a row with smooth cones and a tasty finish. Then my roommate got woken up by the sound of my dumping beans in the hopper and wanted some warm milk. I offered to steam it for him, since it was the least I could do. After steaming his milk, I adjusted my grinder one micro adjustment (to 3R) because my pulls were edging at 32-34 sec, and I wanted to shorten them slightly. What resulted was a spectacular 16 gusher. Every shot after that was a miserable failure, no matter what I tried, no matter how I tried to massage the flush routine. So my big question is how does brew temperature effect the shot, and is Oscar getting too hot or too cold? Is a runny, out of control shot the result of water not being hot enough, too hot, or have nothing to do with either? I can't believe changing the grinder one micro setting would alter my shot that much, nor would my tamping be so far off as to destroy the shot so completely. I'm kind of lost here and have never fully understood the process. "Watch the water dance" doesn't cut it, I need a more in-depth explanation, and preferably not a generalized one, aimed at E61 owners. Since getting this machine refurbished and modified I've seen it pull some shots I had only previously dreamed of and now some shots that literally sprayed me in the eye. I'd love to figure out how to get more consistent results and I'm really thinking my flush/temp/rest routine is the culprit. Thanks again, everyone.
germantownrob Senior Member Joined: 2 Dec 2007 Posts: 2,043 Location: Philadelphia Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Duetto 3, A Dead Oscar Grinder: Vario-W, Preciso w/Esatto,... Drip: Brazen Roaster: Diedrich IR-1, HT B
Posted Sat Feb 16, 2013, 7:59am Subject: Re: Presenting the Ultimate Oscar Video
Water temp is going to effect the extraction and flavor it has nothing to do with how the shot flows. Consistency in shot prep and tamp is what gets consistent results, small changes here make big changes when 9+ bar of water hits the PF. The Vario can also lead to some confusing outcomes, once in a while a small micro click of one or two clicks can take a few grinds to fully set in its new position which can lead to more grinder adjustments and the chase begins. Tamping at different pressures is definitely going to create a huge variable, it only takes a few pounds difference in force to change how the water will flow through the puck.
I have found an interesting taste difference from one particular blend that I loved on my Oscar but I have been having trouble getting the taste I want from my DB. A lot of experimenting with brew temps from 196f to 204f with 4lbs of beans has brought me to 204f being the closest between the two machines but the shot is still a bit boring on the DB. I am starting to think this blend is better with a HX temp hump then with the flat temp of the DB.
Understanding how your HX works to deliver temps you want to start your brew with will be determined by mods done and temp of the boiler.HX machines pretty much work the same, a tube with brew water goes through the boiler to the group, this water is heating the group and the plumbing to it, since the boiler that is doing the heating is around 240f to 265f the water in the HX system is super heated, the cooling flush gets rid of this super heated water that will over extract if brewed with. I believe one of the mods you did to your Oscar was to change how the water in the HX moves around and therefore changes the flush routine. The flush routine on a particular HX machine determines the extraction temp, the only way to clearly see what is going on is to use a Scace to see what X flush gives in temp of a 24 second or so shot. Temp will have a drastic result on flavor, I was surprised that I can easily taste a +\- 1f change, I have one blend that changing the temp up as it ages keeps the brew tasting the same over a 4-5 day period, this blend in particular I froze in small batches for use on the Oscar because I thought I only liked it on day 5 to 6 of rest.
That's a good point Helen, always make adjustments with the grinder running, I even do this when the grinder has no beans in it. I think once in a while some debris is preventing the micro adjustment to fully engage in its new position, this is when I can get into a chase by making bigger adjustments and when the adjustment seats proper the adjustment is to big. Something I do with the Vario that seems to limit this from happening is to make micro adjustments one notch further then I want and then to the setting I want, this may waste a couple more grams but if it helps limit 24g sink shots I don't mind.
Markarian Senior Member Joined: 27 Jun 2012 Posts: 475 Location: Seattle Area Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Modded Nuova Simonelli Oscar Grinder: Vario-W, Mazzer Super Jolly Drip: Moka, Aeropress, Melitta 102 Roaster: Wear-Ever Popcorn Pumper
Posted Sat Feb 16, 2013, 1:47pm Subject: Re: Presenting the Ultimate Oscar Video
Yes, I'm definitely running the grinder any time I make an adjustment, though not always with beans in it. Let's say I'm on 3L and I decide my Peaberry shot was just a little too slow and overextracted. I'll start running the grinder from the last shot, which usually has 3-4 grams of extra beans left in the burrs and click it over to 3M, and then let it run dry for about 5 seconds. I figure at that point, the grinder is set. In my last case, I accidentally bumped the grinder two clicks when I only wanted one, and then kicked it back--all while the grinder was moving. This may be a clue, but in an earlier incident a few days ago I had some coffee that was underroasted and ran it through the grinder at the same setting I had my favorites at (though wildly different roasts, they seemed to all be in the ballpark with extraction time and quality once it was set up). Every other shot after that was awful for hours, and I thought it was chaff from the bad roast that was fouling my other shots. I took the burr out of the Vario, vacuumed it out thoroughly and brushed off the burrs, but still had a hard time getting a decent shot for a while.
So you guys are saying it's my grind. Should I actually be pouring waste coffee through the grinder to get it to settle, maybe coffee that's gone stale before I had a chance to make it? The Vario's workings have been a mystery to me, and I never knew if I was adjusting it properly. I also could never understand the Macro adjustments easier. Is it completely linear, as in 4A continues right where 3W leaves off, etc? Thanks for your help guys. I KNOW it's not the machine. This thing is a freaking trooper and since the mod, I've seen that it's capable of greatness. Those three shots I pulled earlier last night were tragic only in that there was no one around to finish them and I didn't have my camera handy.
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