Re: For those lookin for a Bunn ES-1A...

I think the real Achilles heel in these machines is the electronics - the
mechanical/ electrical stuff is more or less repairable, but a dead circuit
board spells the end unless you can find a donor machine w/ say a cracked
boiler that can be salvaged for the electronic parts.


"Coffee Contact" <coffee@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:4708eec4$0$14850$9a566e8b@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Jack Denver" <nunuvyer@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:xfGdnadni7vyLZranZ2dnUVZ_umlnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
David is of course correct - I have no personal experience with these
machines but I respect the word of that poster (Terry M) - you can
search the archives for ES-1 and see what he had to say about them. It
was not favorable.

The machines are, as the others have pointed out, really products of the
Gaggia Spain company , maker of Futurmat, Italcrem/Visacrem, etc. (and
for decades un- affiliated with Gaggia of Italy - if anything the parts
resemble Faema more than Gaggia) It may be that these machines do not
stand up well to the long term rigors of full commercial service but are
adequate for home use.


The ES1-A is probably the best machine that Bunn sold and was one of
the first commercial espresso machine I owned. Since then I have had 4
others (taken in trade). I have repaired dozens of Bunnespress and
scrapped almost as many. There are still two in service locally at very
low volume locations. One of the 'Starship Enterprise' groupheads lives
on my desk as a paperweight.

The Bunn espresso project was a complete disaster. The machines were
sold by restaurant supply houses, usually installed with no softener by
technicians who knew nothing about espresso. When the machines broke the
customers were given no warranty because of 'scale damage'. After a very
short period of time Bunn dropped the line and quit stocking parts leaving
their customers 'hanging'.

The machines themselves are probably no worse than other low-end
inexpensive Spanish machines. The water and steam valves are tiny 'pin
and ball' type which fail very often (but are easily repaired) and are
connected to the boiler by a silicone tube (not Teflon). The check valve
is very lightweight, The electronic boxes failed much more frequently
than those in the Italian and French machines and were much more
expensive. The hi-temp cut outs seemed to be an afterthought, held onto
the boiler with a giant hose-clamp.

I have always suggested that rebuilding a small commercial espresso
machine is a worthwhile project for home espresso enthusiasts and have
helped many alties with their projects. If someone finds a lightly used
ES-1A needing no repairs they might be pleased with it for the home.
However looking at the long run I would advise choosing another machine as
a 'project', better to put parts and labour into a quality machine that
will survive long enough to become a 'classic'.

Terry M
coffeecontact@xxxxxxxxx



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