ACS Minima Dual Boiler Espresso Machine

More than the likely, the pump needs to be replaced.Typically the ULKA standard pump can be used and is a tighter fit.

The water level sensor for the reservoir should be placed immediately in the reservoir immediately next to where it sensor wire exists the internal frame. It should not extend across the top cover of the reservoir.

There are different versions of the water level sensor. Hence you many need to email us a picture and we need to contact the manufacturer.

Yes.  Part number W15295   and part number W0589  both will work.  Part number W0589 will require some lubricant to slide onto the wand.  Part numbers W.5089 and V.1679 do not fit your machine.  

The portafilter gasket needs to be inserted, after full cleaning. with the screen. A small stubby screwdriver needs to be utilized to push the gasket in all the way, then the portafilter used to create the final push of insertion. If the gasket drops out easily, then the grouphead may have been damaged or worn (least likely).

The area behind the gasket usually needs to be cleaned very thoroughly. We are unsure if you replaced with the 8mm or 8.5mm thick gaskets. More infor would be needed as far as specifics.

There is an OPV that can be adjusted from the top after the top cover is removed.

Hello.  This bottomless portafilter, SKU 50890, should fit the ACS Minima.  

How long does it take for the Minima to heat for espresso extraction?

A. For 'espresso only' boiler programmed on, the coffee boiler and grouphead will take a minimum of 20 minutes to warm up. If the steam boiler needs heating on top of the coffee boiler, expect a minimum of 45 minutes. However, in a cooler or colder environment, it may take longer for either boiler.

Is the 1100 watts during heat up or during extraction or both?

A. Typically, full power during warm up of the boilers. As the actual temperature gets closer to the programmed temperature, there is a power reduction as the PID controller lowers the power to the heating element so it slides into the programmed temperature. As soon as the PID sensor determines a differential in programmed/actual temperature, it will pulsate power tot he heating element. If a lot of how water in either boiler is displaced, then full power will be needed to recover to programmed temperature as soon as possible.

On the Minima, along with the majority of smaller 110 volt dual boiler machines, only one boiler gets power at a time.

I’m planning on this being in my RV, so it’ll be running off lithium battery. If it takes too long at 1100, I’d get a different machine.

A. Keep in mind the following: Faster warm up times indicate higher wattage heating elements and lower density of metals and cheaper metals such as aluminum. Hence, the fast warm up time machines also lose temperature very quickly when making an espresso, which means the espresso lowers in quality in the cup. Smaller boilers have the same problem by losing temperature very quickly.

There is a supposedly new technology of faster warm up times on an E61 group head, but there is an overshoot of temperature using a lot of power and lots of water need to be wasted to flush to lower the temperature.

As you can see, it is not as easy as one thinks as there are different scenarios.

We are sorry to read this. Not working can mean a lot of things. Espresso dispensing too fast, not heating, no steam, etc. Please use the contact us envelope on the top of our web site with your purchase details from 1st-line so we can get you back up and running.

We suggest you watch our videos about re-mineralized waters. Thee is a possibility of overheating the coffee boiler which may cause an initial push through of water flow and channeling. Again, a possibility.

Second, in regards to "under-extracted and sour tasting",

a) Under-extracted is a preparation issue which includes many variables - mostly hand prep and grinder issues. The only time it would be a pressure issue whuch you can read on the grouphead gauge.

b) Sour tasting is related to certain coffee blends and/or too low of a temperature. As long as the portafilter and grouphead are too hot to keep your hand on, then it is not the Minima.

We suggest you change roasters as they may use a bean that creates the sourness.

We also suggest considering the grinder as the culprit as the grind may not be consistent.

Our guidance, which everyone has differences on, is 23-27 double shots of 2-3 ounces. We also like ratios of inbound grinds to 1.5 outbound in the cup. In other words, 20 grams of ground espresso to 30 grams espresso in the cup. However, every coffee can be different and it comes down to taste.

Lastly, the only thing we can not help with taste. You can have 5 different experience a different taste of the same espresso. The reason is different people can have damaged sensors in their taste buds from smoking, alcohol, drug use, etc.

If the issue happens going from coffee boiler powered on to coffee/steam powered on, then a new brain unit is probably needed.

However, the issue can be from a PID sensor corroded or coated with limescale. It would have to be cleaned and tested. If you replace the PID sensor, you need to confirm if you have the male or female 2 pin connector on the sensor in your machine as it has been changed over the years.

Please descale the gicleur inside the top nut of the grouphead. You may have a partial blockage there

Please review our video on priming the pump on an espresso machine.

Please remove any water softeners and test. It can be a clogged water softener.

If there is no water softener attached, please run a descaler through the pump and grouphead only. This means not opening the steam nor hot water valves. A strong descaler, such as Dezcal or PulyCaf descaler is best. Backflush detergent is not a descaler.

Run minimum 8 ounces of descaler through the grouphead being careful not to get any on the finish as it can damage any finish. Use an empty blind filter and run for coffee switch 30-60 seconds and power off. This is to clean the OPV and grouphead valve as well as any gicleur. Repeat with blind filter 3 times.

Let sit for 8 hours. Run another 8 ounces. Let sit for another 8 hours. Rinse out the reservoir by filling and emptying 2 times with cold water. Wipe outside of tank dry and refill with water. Run 8 ounces of water through the grouphead, wait 5 minutes. Repeat this 4 times to clear the boiler of solution. Test the machine with the blind to see if it improves.

It is normal to leak during warm up. After warm up, if it leaks steam, the vacuum breaker needs to be replaced.

It is normal to leak during warm up. After warm up, if it leaks steam, the vacuum breaker needs to be replaced. After warm up, if it leaks water, it means the water is too pure and the steam boiler is overfilled.

The group head valve keeps the dispersion screen to bottom front electrovalve open, so any water in there will evaporate at such high elevation. The electrovalve may be stuck op which means water from the coffee boiler is evaporating and it will not refill. Hence, the heating element in the coffee boiler may get damaged from lack of water. When damaged, the water in the coffee boiler can speed heat as indicated. Please test the machine on a GFIC outlet. If it trips, the coffee boiler heating element is damaged. If not damaged, please do a back-flushing with coffee oil cleaning detergent, rinse and repeat with a descaler as hard water may also keep the valve open.

R037 is our recommended bling filter basket without any holes.

Yes, we have some gaskets, but it would be nice which gasket you were referring to. Portafilter? Selenoid valve gasket? etc....

Do you have an estimate of when the Minima will be available? --It is in port and will be here within 10 days.

Does it come with a US warranty and what is its duration? --Warranty is listed on the product page and is subject to change.

Should the machine need to be sent for service in the future, is there an authorized service center in the US? --Yes, 1st-line Equipment.

Are there any special electrical requirements for the machine such as running it through a single outlet surge suppressor and/or a 20A circuit? --Yes, search power protection on our web site.

Do you happen to know whether the NYC city's water is soft enough to use in a machine or whether it needs to be treated? NYC water is great drinking water, but horrible for espresso machines. Please purchase a V725 water softener.

Just leave it on brew boiler priority. The priority is for keeping the boilers warm. Last we checked, the brew boiler always heats first. If there will be lots of steaming for catering, cafe use, then steam priority should be selected to lessen the change of running out of steam.

General price increase as well as shipping cost increases across the board. Sorry, we do not know at the moment nor post any prices in Q&A as prices can always over time.  change.

Should be coming in within one month. Please note that we have been hit with a price increase.

The point of a dual boiler is to manage better temperature stability, especially for the espresso side.

With 220 volts, there is enough voltage to power on both boilers at the same time. This is why most of those machines warm up in 15-20 minutes.

With 110 volts available, there is not enough power at 15 amps, nor safely at 20 amps, to power both boilers which usually is over 2000 watts. Placing in lower wattage heating elements will degrade temperature stability because the boilers will not recover fast enough when the cold water enters either boiler. Using 2000+ watts at 15 amps or even 20 amps can cause electrical wires behind the wall or outlet to get hot and cause a fire. The only other alternative to this is create a 110 volt machine with 30 amp rated power plugs, outlets, and suitable wiring gauge. In 25 years, we never have seen a 30 amp 125+ volt outlet and we do not think anyone is going to install one either for their espresso machine.

Hence, the workaround at 110 volts is to alternate the current between the two boilers. Sequential heating pertains more to the order of heating the boilers one at a time. Most cases, it is the coffee boiler. In some cases, the heat up occurs with alternate current. In a few cases, users can choose to warm up the steam boiler first.

If the water has no where to go, it can exit the OPV which opens into the reservoir. Additionally, pressure can cause the steam boiler refill valve to open which can cause steam to exit the steam boiler safety valve. Backflushes on vibration pump machines should be 10 secs and multiple times.

As of current stock of machines (which means can be changed by the manufacturer), there are three hoses int he reservoir. The one with the particle filter (not water softener) is usually the longest. The second hose with the low water level sensor should have the cap positions so it is closest to the point of the body where the three hoses enter the water reservoir chamber. The last hose is the return from the OPV and this should be placed whereby on the tank cover is furthest from where the 3 hoses come into the reservoir chamber.

The decimal point indicates which boiler the reading is for.

Yes, on a PID machine, the temperatures need to be brought down in alignment to lower than boiling water at your elevation. For example, we like to extract espresso at about 203-204 d F. So, with this 8-9 d F different, if your boiling point is 200 d F, then set the programmed temperature to be 192.

Sorry to read this as this is not typical.

First, what water are you sing,. If purified, distilled, or RO, then the boiler refill sensor may not be getting a signal and overfilling the steam boiler.

Second, with power tot he steam boiler, does the machine trip the GFIC outlet. Please check. if yes, then, too much water may have been removed from the hot water valve at one time and damaged the heating element.

Third, you may need to review the hidden settings of the PID. The instructional manual should advise how to get into this menu.

The two hole may work when regulating the steam thorough-put with the steam valve knob. We are inquiring ACS about the 1 hole tip as we could not find any compatible ones within our inventory of steam steams

This E61 flow control as worked for other customers.

Sorry, we have decided to delay the colored versions as demand was very low and there is a minimum order quantity with the manufacturer as we can not just order 1 unit. We do have the stainless steel in stock.

Sorry to hear this. We suggest cleaning the PID sensor of the steam boiler. We have seen this issue occur when the PID sensor is partially corroded from the water. If it continues after cleaning, please use the contact us form on our web site with your serial number, purchase date, full name and problem described along with this solution.

Remove the lower nut and inspect. Lubricate with high temp food grade grease, such as PetrolGel or similar. It may also need tightening of the nut when re-installed.

Most E61 type bottomless filter holders are compatible as long as the portafilter does not state lips larger than ~6.5mm thickness.

The PID sensor on the steam boiler can be corroded with limescale or oxidation - especially so if the temperature bounces on the screen . It can be cleaned. With machine cold, the double red wire on top of the large steam boiler needs to have its two pin black connector disconnected.

Then without twisting or bending the double red wire, the nut where the double red wire goes into, needs to be removed with a crescent wrench. The internal potion needs to be wire brushed. Reverse he process to install and test.

Otherwise, replace the PID sensor. In a worst case scenario, the brain unit needs to be replaced or the hating element is damaged.

Sorry to read this. Please send us photos.

This problem is usually from water that is too pure, re-mineralized water, or water that is too hard with calcium or magnesium.

However, there was one batch of machines that had this issue (video) and need a wire to be moved.

Sorry, 2022 2nd quarter.

Sorry, but probably not until the Fall.

Sorry, times lines are all in disarray. However, we did get some in.

The knob covers need to be pushed out. Then there is most likely a nut inside that needs to be removed.

As for the portafilter, manufacturers will not always tell us when they change the bolt size. Is the one we provided too small or too large on our bolt?

Yes. Unfortunately, there are many delays in Europe. However, the machines have left Italy. We just do not have an ETA because the ports in Italy are backed up.

Yes.

Sorry, these engraved drip trays are currently not available. The pricing will increase on the new batch coming in as this is part of the cost increase.

Pretty much all of them, except maybe the screws, are needed.

Sorry, they must have changed this without notification. This is why we put this statement on our web site. In addition, they do not sell their steam tip separate from the wand.

If you want, we can take one off of our demo, but you would need to send the 2 hole to us so we can put it on our demo machine. One of our complaints was that the steam tip could never be fully placed over the drip tray when bleeding. So, if you decide to switch, you will have this issue.

There is a probability there may be an offset in the inner programming, which is off.

Thanks. There are so many videos to make, so some day, one will be done.

At this time, both boilers are stainless. From what we see, there is no pre-heat of the water for the coffee boiler from the steam boiler.

Timing of extraction is of an opinion, as it depends upon your taste and the beans used.

V725 is the best option.

This happens when the water is too pure. We have more information on this topic.

Sorry to hear about this.  Please note that these wands are a little heavier than the standard wands, so it may move by itself a little. We also add a little food grade grease to the ball joint when we test to make the gasket last longer.

You can try about 1/8th of a turn on the nut.

We will test our flow control device kit i the near future. Sorry, we can not confirm if kits by others will fit.

This would be difficult to determine since the pre-production model may have a different boiler or a different sized connection than the ones we sell. Your purchase of the Ascaso one just proves our point that this inquiry is not as easy as one thinks to answer.

Unfortunately, we are unsure at this time. We did forward your inquiry to ACS. However, since Italy is closed due to the Coronavirus, you may want to contact the person or company you purchased the pre-production machine from as they ultimately should support your inquiry and know the specifications. Once we hear from ACS, we will update our answer here.

From our experience, it heats up the coffee boiler first with priority, then the steam boiler. This is the only way to make it work at 15 amps at 110-120 volts.

At 110-124 volts, it takes the coffee boiler about 20-25 minutes under room temperature of 60-70 degrees F, and the steam boiler an additional 25-30 minutes.

The steam boiler needs steam pressure to push the water on the bottom of the steam boiler through the hot water valve and wand. Hence, the steam boiler needs to be set at 212 degrees F or higher.

In Italy, the hot water valve was created to rinse the portafilter, and not for Americano beverages as North Amercian customers have adapted. Although it can be done on the minima espresso machine, we suggest only remove 4 ounces of water from the hot water valve, then allow the steam boiler to refill before removing another 4 ounces of hot water. This is because if the water level drops too fast on the steam boiler, the steam boiler heating element can get damaged from lack of water. This applies to all HX and double boiler espresso machines with boilers smaller than 4 liters.

Sorry, on new machines, the programmers sometimes forget to ask the technicians about the electrical.

The coffee boiler is 1000 watts. The steam boiler is 1200 watts. The 110 volt current alternates between the two boilers, but not to both at the same time. This allows 15 amp service with minimum 110 volts up to 124 volts out of the outlet with a 15 amp circuit breaker.

We usually say 'should work" because we are not at every remote location to check the amperage rating of the circuit breaker, the age and type of wiring behind the wall, nor the actually voltage coming through the circuit. For examples, some very old homes have may have a 15 amp circuit breaker, but less than 110 volts at the outlet. If the volts are too low for any particular reasons, no 15 amp espresso machine will work correctly and/or potentially cut the circuit breaker. In other words, we have to try to think of every scenario, because there is always that one machine in one customer's home where it will not work... So, we say 'should work"....

We asked the programmer to correct the web site with greater detail.

15 amps should be sufficient if a dedicated outlet. 20 amps will work better if a grinder is on the same outlet.

Sorry for the delay as we had to confirm with the manufacturer. They responded,

"This machine is equipped with a vibration pump that is more gentle compared with a rotary pump. Basically, the E61 not have a real preinfusion chamber, but have like an expansion valve that operates at around 5 bars to avoid the shock of the 9 bars that the rotary pump push from the beginning.

The vibration pump have a short ramp up of pressure and also the volume of water in the same time is lower so the puck not suffer."

Not really. There is a three stage switch - off, coffee boiler power on only, and coffee and steam boiler both power on.

Hence, the steam boiler can not be powered on by itself.

There are two switches on the front panel on the Minima espresso machine. The top switch is to start and stop the espresso extraction. The lower switch for power has three positions:

Top - Power on coffee boiler only
Center - Power completely off
Bottom - Power to BOTH boilers.

Unless we are missing something here, the steam boiler can NOT be turned on INDEPENDENTLY of the coffee boiler. Please review picture below.