BEST Ascaso Settings - Ace Your Steel Duo PID (or Uno/Dream) Setup!

These are, in my opinion, the best settings to get started on your Ascaso Steel Duo, Uno or Dream setup to get you the best espresso shots the fastest.

0:00 - Intro
1:00 - Take the Settings and Run
2:02 - PID
2:55 - Navigating the Setup Menu
3:27 - Ud (Temperature Scale)
3:44 - Pr (Pre-Infusion)
4:55 - Cr (Shot Timer)
5:10 - OFF (Standby)
5:32 - U (Temp. Offset)
6:03 - St (Steam On/Off)
6:15 - tSt (Steam Temp.)
6:51 - OPV
9:11 - Dialing In Espresso

[Sheldon_Classen]

Great information!👍🏼 Do you have any videos an proper maintenance an cleaning for the espresso machine?

[stagus]

I use 2.5 degrees offset, 89 for medium roast decaf, 92 light roast, 5-5 pre-infusion for light roasts, 2-0 for decaf, OPV 10 on blind resulting in 9 when extracting. 145 for steam.

Yes, I drink a lot of decaf :)

It is an amazing machine.

[Vikingbastich]

This was INCREDIBLY helpful. I've been paranoid because I felt that pulling higher than 9 bar was considered a no-no but honestly. I get the most consistent/best tasting shots pulled at around 10.5-11 with an 18g in, 45 out @ 28s.

[azndoodle]

This is perfect foe first time user with Ascaso machines! Thanls so much! There isnt a whole lot of videos using Ascaso

[spezifisch]

Loved your input concerning leaving the OPV at 11 bar - I totally agree!
When I got my Ascaso Duo (v1) I was unsure about what to do about it, but I ended up being very happy with 11 bar.

[wojciechjabonski]

Thanks for the excellent OPV explanation. I watched tonnes of videos and only you made that clear.

[EV_Jojo]

Hello, thanks for the video. You missed to explain the Cleaning Program ;-). I could not find any manual for them. Hopefully anybody can explain, what this is doing.

[pgollmann]

Thank you so much for helping me to understand how to get the best results - great educational video! :)

[nicolasrolin]

Thanks a lot for this video! really really helpful to handle the machine and start playing with it

[mugensekai]

Be careful when turning the OPV screw... there's a small glass ball that can fall out along with the spring.

1. Make sure your portafilter is really locked in and straight on with the machine!!
2. Because I had set the pre-infusion to 5-3, the pressure for me didn't build up till after that and I didn't realize this... I ended up _loosening_ and ultimately unscrewing the entire OPV screw causing the ball and spring to fall out!
3. After finding out the proper orientation (screw, ball on top, then wider end of the spring on the ball and screw, narrow end of spring to the machine). Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
4. Run the machine first, be patient till pressure builds to a steady point, then turn!

Hope this helps someone

[andrewzach]

I am sure this was a really helpful video for as lot of people

[michaelggaribay]

Wish I had this 6 months ago. Awesome video and much appreciated!

[enriqueseamanduras]

Just got mine, took about a month to arrive. Came with many baskets, a tamper and a nema plug adapter.

[marcfalardeau]

Thank you very much sir for these clear explanations! I just bought a Uno today! Marc Quebec 😉☕️🇨🇦

[jeffreychase]

Thanks for this video, and perfect timing! I just got an Uno about a month ago and haven’t made too many changes from factory settings. Definitely want to adjust a couple things now.

[adriansadler]

If you use 5 -3 pre infusion should you add time to the 20-30 second shot pull?

[Kiaulen]

Mine comes Wednesday! I can't wait! Thanks for the jumping off point!

[buildandbrewworks]

Justin!!! This video is 💯 🎉❤! I'm applying all of your tips from here on my DUO PID!

[hendrikvanwaveren]

Thank you for this great video! However, I'm still struggling. I could really use some help dialing in my espresso. Despite using fresh specialty beans and consistent puck prep, my shots always turn out bitter and unbalanced, and I can’t seem to fix it. Here are all the details:

⚠ The problem
The shot starts evenly, with a steady flow.
Around 20 seconds in, the flow suddenly speeds up and I see bubbles in the espresso.
The crema looks good at first but breaks down quickly.
The taste is consistently bitter, with a hollow or thin mouthfeel and lacking the complexity or sweetness I expect.

🧪 Setup
Espresso machine: Ascaso Steel Duo PID
Grinder: DF64 Gen 2, set to 13
Basket: IMS 18g basket
Portafilter: Double spout
Cup: Double shot
Dose: 18g in
Yield: 45g out
Total shot time: ±33 seconds
Pre-infusion: 3 sec water on, 2 sec pause
Pump pressure: Steady 10 bar during extraction

🔧 Temperature (potential issue?)
I measured the brew water temp using a thermometer directly at the grouphead (without portafilter).
Result: only 88°C at the grouphead
To reach that, I had to set the PID’s “U” offset to +17, which feels extreme.
That’s a huge discrepancy between the internal setting and actual output temp.
I’ve read others with the Ascaso have similar issues, but could this explain the persistent bitterness?

☕ Puck preparation
Using fresh light and medium roast beans, always <2 weeks after roast date
Careful WDT distribution after dosing
Tamping with a spring-loaded tamper, always straight and consistent
No visible channeling, spurting or side spray
Same result across multiple beans and multiple extractions

🎯 What I’m trying to understand:
Is the low actual brew temp causing under-extraction of sweetness and over-extraction of bitterness?
Or is there something else I’m missing – perhaps pressure/flow instability or something wrong in puck dynamics?

If anyone has experience with this or similar issues, I’d love your insights. 🙏 Thanks in advance!

[JaimetheNomad]

I’ve been playing with settings on my Baby T plus. Actually just earlier today I turned my OPV down to 9 bar.
Never thought to think about the pressure how you explained it and using grind size to more control pressure.
I’ll have to experiment some more