DiyPresso: DIY Espresso Machine

My thinking is that this machine appeals mostly to people who already has an espresso machine. It's not particularly technologically advanced. It's a single boiler, an E61 group and a vibratory pump. If you're buying this machine, you're probably replacing a machine at a similar technology level, and that's not really a sustainable choice.

A well maintained espresso machine has a lifespan in the range of decades. Many recent innovations in espresso machines is mostly controllers, sensors and actuators. Also better pumps. These are all things that can easily be retrofitted to an older espresso machine.

There has been innovation in other areas not easily retrofittable (saturated groups, dual boilers instead of heat-exchangers, to name a few), but this machine doesn't really feature any of those.

I strongly believe that in this particular demographic, it's a much better (more sustainable, cheaper and all around more fun) idea to retrofit new and advanced parts to the espresso machine they presumably already have, than to buy a whole new machine. We don't need old espresso machines on landfills.

On the off chance that a prospective buyer doesn't already have a similar espresso machine, this isn't too bad of a choice, and the price is decent, but on the other hand, there are a lot of used machines on the market that are looking for a new owner and can be upgraded.

If this was half the price, I might be interested. But if I wanted a coffee maker with open source control, I'd probably just hack an existing cheaper product. And I'm someone who absolutely loves assembling stuff from kits!

Heck, I'd be surprised if someone hasn't already got Doom running on a Sage.

Although I've been regularly fixing my Baratza grinder and Rancilio Silvia for years the fact is that disassembling hardware and tightening screws still looks slightly scary and dangerous. It is always an adventure but not always fun.

My fearless limit on hardware DIY is assembling IKEA furniture and cleaning my bike. Beyond that, I'd think twice.

Exactly. The parent post mentions this being "the wrong solution to the problem", but I don't know what the problem is this product is addressing. E61 machines are well understood and diagrammed with (somewhat) interchangeable parts. If this product appeals to you, you can buy a cheaper/similarly priced machine, take it apart and put it back together yourself.

* Espresso machine electronics are very proprietary. There's basically one manufacturer, no published schematics and very closed firmwares.

* That one manufacturer's hardware occasionally breaks and needs replacement, and they charge up the wazoo for it.

* Firmware updates is not a thing. Buying a new controller with the new firmware is your only option.

* Espresso machine electronics hardware is pretty firmly stuck in the past. If you're lucky you have a 128x64 px OLED, but more likely you have LED indicators, 7 segment displays, or graphical LCDs.

There are absolutely exceptions to this, but for 95% of the espresso machines out there, you're definitely not getting the full potential of the hardware.

Perhaps you're thinking of the commercial market and I'm thinking of consumer, but there's been a lot of really interesting developments in the last few years at the intersection of affordable and high quality output -- I own a plus Bambino plus now, for example, which is simply a delightful machine, though I too wish I could modify the firmware.

The machine is old enough to be well understood with documented mods and fixes, it's dual boiler, triple PID, extreme temp stability, fill from the front, drip tray indicator. I love it.

https://home-barista.com/espresso-machines/breville-dual-boi...

I've ordered DIY framework laptop not because it was cheaper, but because it was fun to build it.

More control than that, or a totally open PID, might be a hard sell for safety reasons. That alone is a nonstarter, but even as you approach that level of openness, it would be pretty hard to support and really isn't needed if you just want a good shot of espresso and aren't taking an niche academic approach to an already niche process. This is why you likely won't see it in more commercial machines.

As an aside, I'm frustrated for the same reason regarding induction cooktops. European units are a fraction of the cost of their American equivalents.

I don't know if I'd consider adding a screen to an espresso machine to be an improvement. What would it be useful for?

Besides that, I would absolutely not recommend you buy this.

Reason: the parent commenter already hinted in the right direction. The E61 brew group is ancient (invented in 1961 by Faema in Italy, hence the name), it sports 4kg of brass and many moving parts (3 valves, camshaft + lever) and features an analog pre brew chamber.

I do restore italian espresso machines for a hobby and have come to the same conclusion as the parent. Even if they're not maintained properly those things are meant to last and can in most cases be resurrected. Most spare parts are readily available and defacto industry standard (eg. The Brasilia ring brew head) and you can retrofit nice electronics easily (eg. clever coffee or the gaggiuino foss controller project featuring pressure transducers, pid controller(s) and a controllable Flow/Pressure rate, profiles, apps and so on).

This diy project is imho bland and uses the most ancient brew head available, with unnecessary heat dissipation, long warmup times and probably leaded brass...

Check this Video comparison (Not a modded Silvia though, but a Gaggia classic which I would not recommended due to its aluminum boiler and the new China manufactured models have a (probably Teflon) coated boiler that likes to shed the coating... just search on reddit). The emphasis in this comparison is on the Gaggiuino mod, which does all the magic (profile based brewing). The underlying base machine is not that important. I would stay away from Sage/Breville, too much non standard parts and lots of plastic for my taste.

Decent Espresso vs DIY Gaggiuino build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4kAgPm1Xfw

Edit: many typos and some rewording

(1) Automatic shot timer.

(2) Shot volume display (my machine is a volumetric one, but I have to measure the weight of the output to calculate what volume it dispensed)

(3) Ability to configure other parameters, such as pre-infusion time, where I'm guessing the manufacturer just left this out because it would complicate an already kind of painful button + LED UI.

I also wish it had a group head temperature sensor, but that would add more hardware to the machine than just the screen.

The only thing I'd change is the electric heating element. I'd like to be able to use it on my boat where electric BTUs are expensive compared to gas. Maybe there's a DIY boiler in my future.

This is your project?

If so, thank you for the ESPHome Acaia component. I repurposed it to do brew-by-weight on my Linea Micra!

I’m actually taking a very componentized approach with my new Rust based firmware. Wherever it makes sense, I’m spinning things off into separate crates and will be publishing them (e.g. crates for the ADS124S08 and FDC1004 used in the All-Purpose Espresso Controller.

Also, everything is permissively licensed, so feel free to use whatever you want.

This is perfect for me. There must be dozens of people like me. Dozens!