ECM Mechanika Max II Review

Hot on the heels of ECM’s recent update to their Technika VI, the new Mechanika Max II aims to simplify the concept of the smart heat exchanger, offering on-demand steam and stable brew temperatures. If you’re familiar with the original Mechanika Max, you’ll want to keep reading as some significant changes have been made to the machine, if not, we’re taking a look at how this machine threads the needle between steam power while keeping espresso extractions under control thanks to ECM’s new BTC or Brew Temperature Control system.

What’s New

As you'd expect from any good sequel, the ECM Mechanika Max II has several new features that shake things up from the original while aiming to improve brew temperature stability and user friendliness.

BTC System

The new BTC system is where the Mechanika Max II deviates most sharply from the original machine. Instead of using a system of dual temperature probes to tell the machine which temperature to prioritize (brew or steam) the Mechanika Max II instead uses a modified, electrically heated E61 brew group with a system of offsets, using the group as a means of control over brew temperatures. With this design, half of the thermosiphon path is plugged, with a small return line taking its place.

With the BTC system, brew temperatures can be set between 194 - 204°C in one degree increments. Compared to the original method of choosing which probe to use for determining temperature on the original Mechanika Max, the Max II reduces the number of modes and workflows. Instead of choosing which boiler to prioritize or setting reminders to flush, you just brew and the temperature displayed on the PID is what you get. So, if you were considering the Mechanika Max but thought it might be a bit too complicated for you, the Max II will be a definite improvement.

Another benefit of the new design is that the embedded cartridge heaters help the group reach brew-ready temperature even faster than before, taking roughly 12 minutes for the complete system of group, boiler and portafilter to heat up.

Simplified Steam Control

To some, this might be a bit of a controversial update, but ECM has simplified steam temperature control on the Mechanika Max II. Rather than having granular degree-by-degree control, the Max II instead has three preset temperatures, Low (124° C), Medium (127° C) and High (130° C). When I asked ECM CEO Michael Hauck about the decision, his explanation was twofold. On the one hand, having preset temperatures helps with offset calculation to an extent by limiting the range of temperatures to control for. More importantly though, the main reason for simplifying the selection is to make the machine easier for users to operate.

On the original Mechanika Max, steam temperature was adjusted within the programming menu, meaning that you had to press and hold the PID buttons and scroll through the menu before you could make a change to your settings. On the Max II, you simply press the right PID button to cycle through the three selections, with your current selection displayed for you on the screen.

Whether this simplification is indicative of a larger trend or not, several recent releases including the Gaggia Classic GT (which also features preset steam temperatures) or the new Arkel Coast and Tide machines (which use a pressure stat) have eschewed granular steam temperature control in favor of simply producing sufficient steam to froth milk.

The Design and Controls

If you liked the look of the original Mechanika Max then you’re in luck. From the outside, the Max II looks identical to the original. Only when you view the machine from the side will you be able to notice the the embedded cartridge heater behind the main body of the E61 group.

The Mechanika Max is narrow at just 10.8” wide, being compact but not crowded like Lelit MaraX3 or Profitec JUMP where the hot water wand is very tight to the brew lever. Internally the machine consolidates a significant amount of plumbing into a small space thanks to the vertical boiler.

Steam and hot water are dispensed from spring-loaded valves with chrome tipped joysticks that match the design of the brew lever and portafilters. The machine has two pressure gauges, one on each side of the group head with steam on the left and brew on the right. The OLED PID and buttons are located on the bottom left of the machine above the power switch and power light.

ECM produces the Mechanika Max II in two colors, Stainless Steel and Black, with additional wood customization options from Wiedemann available at Whole Latte Love including Blackened Oak, Olive Wood, Tiger Maple, and Walnut.

The OLED PID

The OLED which is now a universal design element among ECM and Profitec machines has left some divided on its size, with some in favor of how discreet it is and others wishing it was a bit larger. If you're not sold on the small buttons, it's worth pointing out that ECM has programmed several very useful shortcuts into the controller that make it much easier to change settings without having to access the main menu.

PID Shortcuts

• Eco Mode: Press and Hold the Left Navigation Button (3 seconds)
• Enable/Disable Pre-Infusion: Press and Hold the Right Navigation Button (3 seconds)
• Cycle Steam Temperature: Press the Right Navigation Button

To access the main programming menu, you can press and hold both the left and right navigation buttons under the PID display. When in the menu, the left button cycles through options, with the right button being used to make selections. When you select a function to modify, you'll need to wait several seconds to be returned to the previous menu, even if you don't make any changes.

In the menu you have access to the full suite of settings options including:

Brew Temperature, Steam Temperature, Pre-Infusion (enabling and programming), Eco Mode, Cleaning (backflush) Reminder, Reset Reminder, Advanced User Settings (enables additional functions), Filter Reminder, Timer Enable (for automatic on/off), Clock Set, Schedule Set (days and time of day), Tank Mode (reservoir vs plumbed operation), Temperature Unit (C or F), and Coffee Offset Correction

Some of these settings are self explanatory, while others I'll cover in more detail in the respective settings. If you're familiar with navigating espresso machine menus with buttons then the Mechanika Max II shouldn't pose much of a challenge for you, but if you're not, just remember that menu navigation is a one way street. If you scroll past a setting you wanted to change, you'll need to loop back around in the menu to get back to it.

Programming Specifics

To cover some basics if you're not familiar, he's a quick overview of how some of the aforementioned features actually work:

Cleaning Reminder

You program you desired number of shots in increments of 10 between 10 - 200 and the machine will alert you once that number has been reached as a reminder to backflush your machine.

Filter Reminder

You program the setting of your ECM water filter (A, B, or C) or a fixed volume of water up to 200 liters, after which the machine will remind you to change your water filter. The alert for the ECM filter varies based on the setting selected.

Schedule Set

Once you've programmed the date and time in your machine, you are able to set two unique On and Off times per day of the week. You don't need to fill out both times and can leave the second blank if desired.

Timer Enable

This function must be turned on in order for your scheduled on/off times to actually be used by the machine. Make sure that you have it enabled if you want the machine to power on using your schedule!

Brewing on the Max II

To be honest, I was most interested to test out the brewing performance on this machine given that the biggest change ECM made was to how it regulates brew temperature. That said, I also wanted the best of both worlds and set steam heating to "High" in order to see how the Max II fared from a stability standpoint when maximizing steam output. On average, my extractions were very close to my set temperature of 200° F.

Now, when it comes to that set temperature as well, the PID displays the temperature reported by the brew group temperature probe which is not the actual temperature of the brew water. I bring this up because occasionally the group would read 204° F when my set temperature was 200°.  But as you'll see from my results below, the Mechanika Max II does brew temperature very well.

Performance

In terms of brewing performance, the Mechanika Max II was incredibly stable, especially for a heat exchanger. With the PID set to 200° F, my average in-puck temperatures for 25 second extractions were all within less than 1° F of my target, with the average across 10 back to back shots being 199.7° F. Given that ECM changed the design of the machine from monitoring actual brew water temperature to instead using the group heating to control it instead, this new system is not only simpler, but also very stable.

It's worth noting that I did modify my group heating offset based on the conditions in our studio, and if you're interested in doing the same, group offset can be adjusted via the "advanced user settings" menu.

Pre-Infusion

The Mechanika Max II features the same pre-infusion programming as nearly all modern ECM and Profitec espresso machines. You are able to program a timed duration for both an active phase and a passive phase that take place before the extraction. Active runs the pump to saturate the puck with water while passive simply leaves the valve open.

ECM suggests only using passive pre-infusion if your machine is plumbed in as it allows for line pressure pre-infusion. However, if you're simply interested in adding a delay before brewing to allow water to soak in, you can still use the passive phase for that. Programming pre-infusion is done via the settings menu and the pre-infusion profile will execute automatically when you raise the brew lever.

Like I mentioned earlier, you can quickly enable or disable your pre-infusion profile by pressing and holding the right PID button for three seconds. For additional control over pre-infusion and flow rates, the ECM Mechanika Max II is also available with an ECM flow control device and our exclusive Wiedemann Flow Paddle.

Steaming on the Max II

With the new settings for steaming, I was curious to see how the Max II performed when at the highest setting which idles at roughly 1.75 bar. The steam wand is insulted with a no-burn lining and the stock steam tip is 2-holes. The wand is also compatible with ECM's set of 3, 4, and 5 hole tips as well as their Tornado tip.

Overall at max pressure I was able to produce a good roll in the pitcher quickly and produce latte art quality foam easily. At the end of the day, I can say that it really made no difference to me that I couldn't set an exact steam temperature and ultimately I think that most people will be able to find a setting that works for them and stick with it.

Performance

I performed our standard test of heating 142g/5oz of refrigerator temp milk to 140° F. I also measured the added water, reviewed recovery times, and even doubled my volume to 10oz to see how max power on the Max II handles larger volumes of milk.

Overall I found that steaming was incredibly consistent, clocking in around roughly 18 (18.3 average) seconds with an added water around 10%.

Recovery time after steaming varied based on how much water was in the boiler. If the volume was sufficient not to trigger the pump to refill it, full steam pressure recovered in just 8 seconds. When the pump ran to refill the boiler after steaming, recovery time was significantly higher at 50 seconds.

When I frothed 10oz of milk, the results were pretty impressive at just 33 seconds with only 8% added water. The reduction in water makes sense as condensation was purged form the machine.

Final Thoughts

The first Mechanika Max introduced a new way to think about heat exchanger machines, allowing users to prioritize brew temperature, but in a way that still required the "one or the other' compromise between brew stability or steam power. The Mechanika Max II's innovative system that controls brew temperature through group heating rather than boiler temp prioritization is proof that heat exchangers can be smarter and that for ECM at least, the compromise isn't necessary.

If you're someone who values luxury build quality and invests regularly into high end single origin coffees, but still enjoys milk beverages and maybe needs a little breathing room in the budget, the ECM Mechanika Max II certainly delivers.

Photography by Quinton Marchand

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