 | Boiler Size vs Heater vs. Power Draw vs. Cycling vs. Steam |
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Question: I had a really, really interesting conversation this evening with a fellow who knows a helluva lot about the modern day espresso machine and the way they work. Engineers sometimes frighten me The topic of steam power came up. Specifically, I wondered why a machine I had in my possesion with a 1.3 litre boiler seemed to have more steam power than another one with a 2.0 litre boiler, and how the 2.0 litre boiler machine seemed to become almost anemic at times. I thought, the larger the size, the more steam "stored" under pressure, etc etc. I admit, a lot of the talk was way over my head when it got on the subject of watts vs amps vs voltage. But the gist of it is this: there's a definite sweet spot for any machine in terms of the following elements: - boiler size - efficency and design of the heating unit inside - watts drawn by boiler - voltage of the line - amps available It was summized that anything drawing a typical household current (which, if I recall correctly, is 110v, 1500w max, 15amps max?) probably won't sufficiently power and cycle a 2.0 litre boiler to the needs of an espresso machine and specifically, the steaming power and recovery rate one would expect. He says that, given today's off the shelf Italian and Spanish parts for heating coils, their efficiency, etc etc in "catering sized" machines, the sweet spot seems to be around 1 litre to 1.2 litres. Anything above that, and the heating coils start struggling to cycle the boiler in a fast enough time. It's a new way of looking at these "prosumer" line of machines, and their boiler sizes. I always assumed "bigger = better" but the argument I got this evening really changed that thought.
Answer: I'd read somewhere that, for sub-commercial use, you'd want to aim at 1000w per litre boiler volume; the lower the ratio of element wattage to boiler litres, the more anemic a machine would become. Meaning that the HX Isomacs (Tea, Millenium) @ 1000w/litre (1400w/1,4 L) have a fairly good wattage/volume match, slightly better than the Livia @ 900w/litre (1350w/1.5 L), and a good deal ahead of the Oscar @ 632w/litre (1200w/1.9 L).
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