mjackson ♦ Hope,
The Expobar woudl be a good machine for your needs. I cant say what shape it is in or what it may need. I think you will see dramatic difference in the amount of time it will take to make your drinks. The best thing is to make sure it has always been used with soft water.

04-09-2013 7:50am |

Whole Latte Love Staff Thank you for your submission. It is quite an easy fix. If you are able to get liquid from the hot water wand this is a good sign. Steam and hot water and drawn from the same place in the machine. Remove the tip of the steam wand. You can do this by unscrewing it. There is a small white gasket between the tip and the wand so be careful not to lose this. Get a pipe cleaner and run it up the inside of the steam wand. There is most likely a blockage and it is usually right at the end of the wand. It is caused by milk build up. Make sure that you run the steam for a few seconds after every use to make sure the wand is clean and prevent future clogging.
Please feel free to call us at 1-888-411-5282 if you have any questions or need some more help.

11-12-2008 9:48pm |

Whole Latte Love Staff Decalcified water is softened water, and the best way to get it for use with your Expobar is to either use the water softener that came with the machine or purchase the Rancilio softener that we carry. Although Brita filtered water does have a better taste than hard water, it only filters out chlorine and odors, so it won’t do much to soften, or decalcify, your water. To learn more about our Rancilio water softener, please follow the link below.

04-23-2006 9:02am |

Whole Latte Love Staff Although an espresso machine can’t make traditional drip coffee, it can make 2 things that are very similar: cafe americano and cafe crema. An americano is simply a double shot of espresso with an added 6 to 8 oz of hot water. Although it sounds like it may taste watery, the concentrated flavor of the espresso blends with the water perfectly for a full-bodied flavor. The cafe crema, on the other hand, is 6 to 8 oz of water pressure brewed through grounds that are coarser than you would normally use to brew espresso. The coarser grind prevents over-extraction to produce a thick, rich coffee that tastes great. In fact, both of these options are so flavorful that most coffee drinkers drop the drip forever after their first taste. For more information on the types of drinks you can make with an espresso machine, follow the link below to our article on the subject.

04-13-2006 5:03pm |

Whole Latte Love Staff The 2 machines are very similar, and the largest difference between them is going to be their brewing and solenoid valve release controls. Since the Lever machine has an E61 brew group, it has a lever that must be put in the up position to begin brewing and then pulled down to stop. In addition, you must pull the lever all the way down to manually operate the solenoid valve. On the other hand, the Pulser simply has a rocker swtich that you press once to start brewing and again to stop. When you’ve stopped brewing, the Pulser automatically releases the solenoid valve so you don’t have to do it manually. The Lever also has a boiler pressure gauge on the front of the machine that lets you know when it’s ready to brew, versus the Pulsar’s indicator light. Besides that, the machines are nearly identical - they both have thermal siphoning group heads for excellent temperature stability and the same 1.8 liter heat exchanger boiler that make both machines a great choice for any home barista.

02-28-2006 11:32am |

Whole Latte Love Staff Although it’s not listed in the manual, running water through the brew group and empty portafilter before brewing is a great idea. This helps to ensure that all of the external components of your espresso machine are at the proper temperature for a great extraction (and you can dispense the water into your demitasse cup to pre-heat that at the same time!). We generally refer to this as a "blank shot", but it is also commonly known as a "cooling flush" - specifically when you’re running the blank shot after machine has been sitting on but idle for some time. If you’re pulling back-to-back shots, it’s not something you need to worry about. As stated, it’s simply a tool to ensure the portafilter and group head are at the proper temperature before brewing.

12-19-2005 12:51pm |

Whole Latte Love Staff The heat-up time for the Expobar is going to be about 15 minutes, whereas the Silvia and Classic average around 6 minutes. The time it takes a machine to heat up is directly related to how large its boiler is - the larger the boiler, the longer the heat-up time - which is why there’s such a disparity between the Silvia and the Expobar. Any of these machines will work well to produce the cappuccino you’re looking for, but if you’re really concerned with the heat-up time, the Silvia may be more suited for you than the Expobar.

Information like the heat-up time can be found for any of the espresso machines we carry by following the link below to our Compare-O-Matic.

12-15-2005 7:43am |

Whole Latte Love Staff You can fill the water tank nearly to the top, but I wouldn’t recommend filling it all the way to prevent spillage.

11-24-2005 5:18pm |

Whole Latte Love Staff We carry all Expobar parts and would be happy to send one to you. Simply call us at 888-411-5282 to place an order.

11-01-2005 6:05pm |

Whole Latte Love Staff This is normal, and probably means that the machine isn’t fully up to pressure yet, or that the condensation in the steam valve has not been released. When the machine is up to temperature, and you are ready to steam, We would recommend opening the steam wand and letting any water that may have accumulated in the wand or valve out. Once the water has been cleared out, you are ready to steam!

09-24-2005 1:14pm |