The pits in the top of the puck are not ideal, even without any proof, I suspect it might lead to channeling through the puck. I considered ordering the Ascaso #Kit 1, from the website mentioned in a previous post. The freight costs were a bit high, and I started to think about making my own - but finding a suitable piece of marine brass was proving to be a hassle. I ended up finding an incomplete kit from the local Ascaso importer, they didn't have the screw or screen, but they did have the brass adaptor, which was the bit that I really needed.
However, the adaptor wasn't quite what I was expecting from photos on the web. I had imagined it was a fairly straight disk, however, the one I have is quite different. The photo of the adaptor below shows the dispersion screen side, with a very deep channel around the outside and no obvious edge in which to locate the screen. If you are wondering, the stains are from my using the adaptor 'as is' (yep, I couldn't wait).
..., even to the extent of having the space where the original pod dispersion screen fitted, reflected in the machined brass. The next photo shows this. You can also see the groove where the pod o-ring fits. 
This is so far from the plain disk that I was expecting, it is essentially precision machined to completely fill the entire pod void, and seal it completely. Very nice. Of course this means it doesn't quite fit the FF! X3. The problem is, if you look at the following photo of the bare FF! X3 grouphead,...
This is so far from the plain disk that I was expecting, it is essentially precision machined to completely fill the entire pod void, and seal it completely. Very nice. Of course this means it doesn't quite fit the FF! X3. The problem is, if you look at the following photo of the bare FF! X3 grouphead,...
..., you can see that there is a ridge around the outside of the group head that prevents the adaptor from seating. The screens etc. are identical, which is no doubt due to the ESE pod standard, as is the shape of the pod void. I will have to have the outside edge of the adaptor machined to fit inside this ridge on the FF! X3. I suspect there will be a few other sections that need touching up to fit properly. It is a shame this hasn't turned out to be the 'plug and play' mod that I had hoped. You can also see 3 of the 4 jets in the photo above that make the pits in the top of the puck.
This is the Gaggia screen placed over the top and,...
..., I may as well machine a small locating groove in the outside edge similar to that in the Gaggia group head (below) to locate the Gaggia dispersion screen properly. I am sticking with the Gaggia dispersion screen as it is standard, easy to get and a good size.
One last comment, this mod reduces the amount of coffee you can get in the basket. Although, by how much, I can't tell for sure until I have had the machining done. Even without the machining, and with the adaptor not seating, I was just able to get 14g in the basket - but it was a bit tight. Hopefully the couple of mm that will be gained by the ridge recess will be enough to get a filled, leveled and tamped basket in. I like it like that.
did this adapter work without the machineing you did to it later on?
ReplyDeleteim in the same situation as you, cant find a handle for me x3 :/