Brew Pressure on Vibration Pump Espresso Machines

Learn why brew pressure may be higher than 9 Bar, why that may be normal, how to measure brew pressure, how to change and why you might not want to. Covers static brew pressure, measuring with a Scace Device and with portafilter or group mounted pressure gauges. Learn how to set brew pressure with the OPV and using a machine's gauge to do so.

Links
Pressure and Flow

Pressure and Flow: A Guide for Espresso Technicians:

The Untold Story and Invention of the Scace Thermofilter Device:

Products

Whole Latte Love on Social Media
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[arisafghanzada]

This is honestly a really great espresso brewing / espresso machine technical tutorial. Props for creating content that advances the espresso communities knowledge and counters false assumptions.

[Sunshrine]

Finally, someone explained it and showed experiments behind their hypothesis. Yes.

[justinbouchard]

Absolutely fantastic video. I have no idea why the youtube algorithm didn't push this one out for you but it deserves 10x the views it has at least.

[whitegianlu]

That's why my lelit anna comes with the opv setted up at 10.5 bars! Thanks Marc!

[classicrockonly]

This makes me appreciate my Flair 58 a lot

[Joh]

Many thanks, that were obviously the right answers to some questions which lead to hot discussions without having the facts.

[SydneyPanda]

Thanks for so many wonderful videos. Great presentation and content. Learned heaps.

[knipsi]

Have you testet a Gaggia Classic with the scace? I wonder if the popular 9Bar spring mod is needed or even accurate

[MrArdytube]

Another Excellent video….. Rancillio also suggests the pressure can be adjusted on the regular Silvia by measuring how much water the opv breads off in 30 seconds

[rodrigodepazos]

Just the explanation that I needed!! Thanks a lot

[nelsondelatorre]

Marc, great video. I recently bought a RS Pro X from WLL and it came with 9 bars at the machine gauge. I’ve been chatting with Todd at WLL to help me adjust it up.
Your Pro X review video shows that 10.5 bars at the gauge equates to 9 bars static pressure at the group head, so it sounds like it needs to be adjusted.

[erlynlopez]

Excellent video Marc.. you have helped me understand how my machine works..keep it up...

[vitorzanella]

Hi, Marc!
Since you also sell the Lelit line and have access to the Scace device, could you tell us what static pressure value the Lelit Elizabeth manometer will show when adjusting the OPV to reach 9 bar of pressure in the group head using the Scace?

[timgerber]

Thanks for clearing this up! I always wondered if we the 9 bars for espresso referred to a blind filter reading or are meant to be achieved during an actual extraction where pressure must be lower due to water being able to escape the system. The only other thing I am now interested in is to see what the group mounted gauges read during actual espresso extraction. Would have been nice if you had included this as well. Since espresso flow is not static like in a scace device this would be quite interesting.

[daniwello]

My Lelit Anita produces great-tasting coffee with nice flow rate but the gauge shows 12 BAR, is that OK?

[mohmmedahmed]

Great video. Should I set appartamento to 10 bars to give me 9 bars

[masicher]

Excellent Video. I replaced my faulty pressurestat a month ago, opting for the same black one. My thermometer that displays a temperature exceeding 112 degrees on the brew group. I have lowered the pressure to 0.8, which has caused the brew temperature to reach 95 degrees. Could I elevate the pressure to .9 or 1 while ensuring that the brew temperatures remain between 90-95? Your suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

[telurkucing]

Nice video, now I know the reason to use my machine over 10 bar in my pressure gauge because before this video came in I always confuse about this

[mikebarnes]

How is the pump/brew pressure adjusted on the La Nueva? Era Cuadra v1 espresso machine?
It seems that the earlier machines were set for 16 bars, whereas the v2 appears to have a 9- bar setting!

[supercres]

Pesado TPD— temperature and pressure device. 354 AUD, 400 including the Pesado portafilter ($258, $291 US respectively).