Gail tries out the new Ascaso Uno Professional PID that comes standard with a PID interface. She talks to us about the changes from the traditional Ascaso Uno Pro, pulls a shot and whips up some milk. This machine just arrived, so this is our first pass on an assessment; we will follow-up in about 6 weeks with our thoughts after we’ve played with it a bit more.
Duration : 0:9:54
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Obviously any …
– Kat
Obviously any Ascaso machine isn’t for you — have you thought about taking your engineering knowledge and designing and producing your own line of machines? You might be able to (finally?) get it right that way
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Sounds like you …
– Kat
Sounds like you have a great machine that you’re happy with! Always good to hear
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Why can’t lousy …
Why can’t lousy companies like Ascaso and pretty much the rest of them out there learn what a real machine should be like…. Like the Olympia Cremina… Mine is 32 years old and still puts out water temps. averaging less than 1 degree Fahrenheit. Pretty tight deadband if you ask me and just good old craftsmanship to achieve this with a 32 year old pressurestat no less. And I highly doubt ANY modern machines will purr like the Cremina after 32 years. Later!
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
If a machine is …
If a machine is designed properly you don’t need a PID to begin with. They are only needed to make up for the deficiencies in modern machines like these POS Ascasos…. Later!
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Sounds great – …
Sounds great – thanks!
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Thank you! I passed …
Thank you! I passed that along to our product/tech guys that are researching this. Appreciate the feedback, as always! – Kat
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
you might want to …
you might want to contact Jim Gallt, from MLG Properties. He does the PID’s on the Alexia. I think, though, you’re going to run into heat problems, trying to have the PID installed inside the machine, like on the D2/Ascaso. The way the Silvia is set up, its tough. However, if you DO find a way to safely mount it inside the machine, there are many people who will love you for it, that is for sure!
Gotta use the Fuji PXR3 though, of course!
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Honestly, we …
Honestly, we haven’t had time to get back in and play with this guy, things have been really crazy during the holidays. I’ll update once I know more…we have noticed that the PID has settled in and works like clockwork now, just need to experiment with the shot extraction and steaming. Will definitely post when we know more! – Kat
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Yeah, we’re hopeful …
Yeah, we’re hopeful that this will be a good option. We’re also researching a retrofit PID that we can put on the Silvias ourselves and then sell them out of the gate if requested that way — something that’s incorporated into the casing, etc. – Kat
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Hi Kat & Gail,
…
Hi Kat & Gail,
Thanks for your excellent review! This looks like a well-priced machine given the feature set (PID). However, I’m bummed at the lackluster performance in your review. I can’t wait until Feb for your update! Can you give any thoughts from your testing the past few days to let me know if it has improved sufficiently? Thanks!
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
I agree. It …
I agree. It definitely has the capability to be a great machine. Having a PID on it right from the factory is going to be a big selling point over the Silvia. The Silvia really needs a PID if you want to be consistent with it, but with only AfterMarket options, many people dont know about it.
Once this machine gets some more exposure, i bet its a popular choice in the Single Boiler/Dual Use market(Going to 58mm from 57mm was smart as well. 58mm has options galore.)
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Thank you!!! I’m …
We’re going to get more experimental in 2010 as we try out new products, etc. – Kat
Thank you!!! I’m glad you are still digging our videos
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Yes, I think it was …
Yes, I think it was coffee plus messing with a new machine. Once we’re able to tweak it and play with it more, I think we’ll get better results. But I think that most people will go through what we did so it’s good to give a first impression/experimentation take on it and then follow-up later with more info once we’ve had more experience with it. Since we’re going to be doing more new machines these days, we’ll likely do this two-part assessment in the future. – Kat
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
We have definitely …
We have definitely seen it working much better now in the store over the past few days, so think it was the PID programming. We’re going to address it in our follow-up in February-ish. – Kat
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Spro745… You cant …
Spro745… You cant judge the machines shot making capabilities, when the coffee used was Lavazza… ANY coffeegeek(including Kat and Gail!) know that the ONLY way to make good espresso, is to use Fresh Artisan Roasted coffee, ground only seconds before the shot.
SCG-Ill bet you my weekly coffee order(3lbs), that once you put Veltons Bonsai blend, or ANY FRESH coffee through the machine, the results will be, no decent, not good, but great.(once the PID is tuned, of course)
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Hey guys.. The PID …
Hey guys.. The PID symptoms you where describing(jumping up past your set point), and the Anemic steam power, lead me to one conclusion, plain and simple. —The PID needs to be programmed properly. Meaning, the “P”, the “I”, and the “D” are not in sync with each other. There should be an “AutoTune” function on the PID that you can get too by a certain combo of button pushing.
Its the same exact thing as the Pro, just with a PID, so preformance should be identical once the PID is in sync
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
hi Kat & Gail, …
hi Kat & Gail, SeattleCoffeeGear Happy Santa Season Time
your demo’s are always good fun, informative and down to the bottom honest. i cant wait till 2010 to see more, SCG rocks !!!!
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Same PID display as …
Same PID display as on my Izzo Alex Duetto
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Yeah – we will be …
Yeah – we will be doing this a lot because we’ve covered almost all the machines we have in stock, so most of these reviews will be on new guys coming onto the line. So we’ll have to play with them more, but thought a first pass/initial use was helpful because a lot of people will experience that. – Kat
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Well, I think if …
Well, I think if people don’t want to spend the loot or do it themselves, it can be a good option. And we’re still out on the shot — we might be able to dial it in better as we work with the machine more. Steaming is crap, however, so that wasn’t a good thing about the new version. There’s a market for every machine, just because it isn’t for you (or me!) doesn’t mean it isn’t perfect for someone else. – Kat
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Nice effort. Great …
Nice effort. Great initial evaluation, but you are right spending more time to know the machine better is the right step. Just like the Silvia I got from you, it took some time to learn her, and now I’m making very great shots.
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Nice looking …
Nice looking machine with a few decent features for home user newbs… but really all Ascaso did was polish their existing line of machines. The shot looks like s**t and the steaming is very anemic to put it mildly, more like dishwater. Ascaso is like Francis! Francis! in that the machines look OK to pull buyers in, but the form is way higher than what the function wilkl ever be. You can polish a turd but it’ll always be a turd. Why bother PID’ing a piece of s**t???
January 5th, 2010 at 4:20 am
im dissapointed.. …
im dissapointed.. you never mention me, in your movies.. so in your next video you need to mention the name ”kennie”. i dont care how you do, you just need to do it, or your coffee is going to taste bad.!