Double Boiler
Spiritello offers a dual boiler system. Both boilers are made in stainless steel 316L, which is more resistant against aggressive water than stainless steel 304 and has a long life expectancy in an espresso machine. Each can be switched on or off separately. Filter holders are in stainless too.
Both boilers can be easily drained through a ball valve. The coffee boiler`s drain is connected to the drain tray. A fitting with hose is supplied to drain the steam boiler.
Large steam boiler with total volume of 3.5ltr. Together with two 900Watt heating spirals controlled by a PID system, this ensures powerful and long lasting steam. Hot water is mixed with some cold, to deliver a non-spattering flow from the spout, at the touch of a button. The final temperature can be easily adjusted with a screw driver, reaching a jet through a hole in the body work. The hot water quantity can be adjusted through the display.
The steam valve has a turning knob, available in our standard four colourways, to match the rest of your accessories. The wand is in double walled stainless, finished by a PEEK tip. No milk will burn on.
The coffee boiler, complete with the group, is one large piece, holding 0.8ltr. with a 450Watt heating element, controlled by a PID system. This saturated set-up ensures a highly precise temperature. Cold water first runs through a heat-exchanger with hot-cold cross-flow system, to be pre-heated to near coffee boiler temperature, before entering the coffee boiler.
All welding is done inside and outside, no crevices to start corrosion.
Each group can be activated with 4 easily programmed volumetric buttons, or a continuous flow button.
Temperature Stability
Our approach is to create an exact water temperature and then make sure it does not lose any heat on its way to the coffee puck. Coffee boiler and group are one large piece, temperature is PID controlled. The Idrocompresso’s cylinder with piston sits inside the group and is fully surrounded by a generous amount of the very same water that will flow into the chamber when pulling the lever. The bottom of the piston is made in PEEK. This is fully heat neutral, so the water does not lose any of its heat and the piston does not become dirty.
The coffee boiler is fed with preheated water from the heat-exchanger in the steam boiler. All parts are stainless steel (316L where in contact with water). Stainless has a roughly ten times less heat transferring capability, compared to brass, so heat is not lost to surrounding metal.
Lever Group
When the lever is pulled into its lock, the group solenoid valve and pump are activated and water immediately flows up into the brewing chamber under the piston and down onto the coffee puck. As long as the lever sits in its locked position, the pump runs. This pump pressure can be adjusted by the large knob of the pre-infusion adjuster, from 1.5 to 4 bar. When the lever is un-locked the pump stops and the spring with piston starts to push the water through the coffee. The piston has 3 discs made in PEEK to hold the V-rings. The PEEK discs make it easy to replace the V-rings, do not absorb any heat and remain clean very long. At any time the extraction process can be stopped by pushing a button next to the group.
The solenoid valve will be de-activated and the lever will then quietly move to its original rest position and the remaining water in the cylinder will flow to the drain box. Flushing the group can also be done by pushing a button. The quantity of water for flushing can be adjusted by the display.