DUAL BOILER WITH PID CONTROL - AMERICAN WALNUT VERSION
The Profitec Pro 600 came to market in mid 2018, it receives consistent five-star owner reviews and is a popular option, now available in Walnut wood..
The pro 600 is a dual boiler machine with PID temperature control of both boilers, the steam boiler is 1 liter, and the brew boiler is 0.75. It's reservoir fed with a vibration pump. The E61 group has Profitecs latest design with a single top nut and stainless steel mushroom valve. Brew pressure is externally adjustable behind the drip tray, and there's no internal moisture venting with components, like the steam boiler vacuum relief valve routed to empty into the drip tray.
It has an automatic shot timer and a bunch of new capabilities via the PID control. Low wear sprung valves on the steam and hot water taps, the same superior valves found on Profitecs Pro 700 plumbable dual boiler machine.
This machine shines in many ways but perhaps most impressive is the incredible steaming power in a very compact machine. Prosumer level domestic machines running steam boilers at near 2 bar of pressure with their pro 700 and the ECM synchronic, now that's true commercial level steaming. And they put that same power in the pro 600. To get an idea of just what that means here are some test results, it was under 20 seconds to steam 6 ounces of milk from about 6 degrees to our preferred finish temperature of a 60 degrees. That means if you start brewing and steaming at the same time you'll be finished frothing before your shot is finished. Following steaming it was about 30 seconds for the boiler to fully recover so the machine is ready to make the next drink well before you could grind for the next shot and refill your frothing pitcher. So back-to-back drinks no problem. All that steam runs through a stock two hole tip and I love the vigorous roll from that steam tip. It produces a very uniform and delicate micro foam for superb mouthfeel, and easy latte art if that's your thing.
As a dual boiler PID machine with e61 thermosiphon group brew, temperatures are very stable and accurate in testing with a skates device. Brew temps consistently match the temperature set on the PID. The pro 600 has some extended capabilities accessed via the PID control panel. First is a shot timer when the pump comes on the timer starts automatically, when you stop an extraction it stops and holds the time for about 5 seconds.
Now let's take a look at other functions, they're accessed by pushing the plus and minus buttons simultaneously, then press the minus button to cycle through the options. "T1" is brew temp, "T2" is steam temp, and it goes up to 130 celsius for that 2 bar of steaming pressure. "o2" turns this steam boiler off and on, "CLN" for clean sets a back flush reminder in number of brew cycles ranging from cycles anything from 0 to 200 in steps of 10, and eco sets a time in minutes for the machine to go into standby mode, which turns off the boilers.
The pro 600 comes with double and single spout portafilters and filter baskets and a back flush disc. Pull the drip tray back and there's a cutout for holding the back flush disc and an additional steam tip if you have one, that's a nice touch. Behind the drip tray the adjustment for the expansion valve is accessible, another nice touch! Now on a lot of machines you have to remove the outer case to get at the expansion valve. Changing the brew pressure is easy with a back flush disc in the portafilter and the pump on, turning adjust the brew pressure as seen on the pressure gauge. The drip tray rests on slides which prevent scratching of the frame rails.
Outside the machine there's a 2.8 liter water reservoir under a removable cup warming tray. Total machine height is 15 and 3/4 inches including the cup rail. The steam and hot water wands are none burn and exit from the side of the valves with an angle back toward the machine, the valves are sprung which reduces wear on the valve seats. You don't have to crank on them to open or close. They're really very easy to operate. The exterior of the machine is that mirror finish stainless with cutouts on the side panels revealing a modern matte black panel. For a matching grinder the profitec Pro T64 is a compact 64 millimeter flat burr grinder with complimentary styling the step less worm gear adjustment allows for super precise control of grind size. This is a strong 450 watt motor that powers through beans at more than 4 grams per second. It has two time grinding presets and a dosing funnel which accurately distributes fluffy grinds into your portfilter. https://www.homecoffeemachines.ie/products/profitec-pro-t64
Under the hood the pro 600 is thoughtfully engineered with quality components laid out to minimize exposure to heat. The pump runs very quiet with special rubber mounts to limit transfer of vibrations and keep the noise down. It's among the quietest vibration pump machines available. Not as smooth as a rotary pump of course but really about as good as you're going to get without going there. If you do want to go to a rotary pump and plumbable machine check out profitec pro 700. https://www.homecoffeemachines.ie/products/profitec-pro-700
Aside from the pump, direct plumbing, a much larger steam boiler, and the ability to do line pressure pre-infusion the specs are essentially the same as a 600 except its bigger and the exterior casework is more refined on the 700, and it's truly next level.
If you have any question please don't hesitate to email us: info@homecoffeemachines.ie
