De'Longhi 15 bar Pump Espresso Maker, EC702, Metal

I have used this machine almost every day for about two years now. 6+ shots of espresso every day. I love the simplicity of this machine. It does exactly what it’s supposed to do, and it does it well, and it does it reliably. It doesn’t take very long to warm up. Usually I turn it on as soon as I enter the kitchen, by the time I’ve refilled the water reservoir, pulled all the coffee gear out of the dishwasher, and set the milk frothing (I use a separate frother for convenience), the light is green and ready to go. The mechanism is straightforward: add espresso to the basket, use the built-in tamp to get as much espresso in there as I can, then put it in the machine and press the button. Beautiful delicious espresso every time.I have used the built-in milk steaming wand, and it does exactly what it should, but, as previously mentioned, I use a separate frother so the milk is done simultaneously while I pull the shots (three for me, and three for the spouse).It’s gotten to the point where I can now make the cappuccino so exactly how I like it that most coffee shops have lost their appeal because their coffee just doesn’t taste as good as mine. This machine is turning me into a coffee snob. I don’t care though. It’s worth it. I honestly don’t know why people buy those super expensive fancy machines when the ones like this do the same thing??? This one is possibly even better because it doesn’t have any finicky delicate inner workings.Some notes: do hand wash the thing the espresso goes in (don’t know what it’s called), and, don’t immerse the handle in water. It is hollow and it will fill with water and it doesn’t drain quickly. I always set it on its side after washing so any water can drain overnight. Dishwater sloshing out of the handle when trying to make espresso is a bit unappetizing.Also, don’t use the machine when the water reservoir is on empty (this one is probably obvious). It doesn’t like it. It takes a while for it to recover and forgive you for doing that. I now make it a habit to always add water when I turn it on just to be safe.Anyway. I love this machine. If something happens to this one, I would buy the exact same one again.

Basically all of the negative reviews they did not read the instructions well enough. This thing kicks ass for a 15 bar espresso/cappuccino machine for under (...). Perfect crema, nice steam, cleans easily. Sexy stainless. Of course it doesn't have auto on-off... IT IS AN ESPRESSO MACHINE! The timing is different every time as the water pumps through, and how will it know if you are making a short, a double or if you want to turn it off early? If you are too lazy to push a single button to start and stop the pump, get a "Mr. Coffee" and quit whining that your appliance doesn't tie your shoes for you... The steam nozzle only leaks if you don't close it. If you don't put the lever back to the closed position all the way, yes, then water sprays out. When it is not in steam mode and the valve is open it sprays water, thats what it is supposed to do (for tea, etc.). It is not that complicated a machine, but common sense is uncommon to most people. It heats up fast, makes a delicious cup of cappuccino or espresso and cleans up easily. The warming rack on the top is designed well also. It makes me happy to turn this thing on in the morning. It prefers finely ground espresso, not espresso ground for drip machines or stovetops. If you are a "pod" person, you should be ashamed and really don't need this machine. This machine is for brewing a real cup with fresh grounds.If you can work simple machinery and like espresso/cappuccino from freshly ground beans, get this machine and enjoy.If you are a bit lazy and prefer everything to be automatic and are the type to use "pods", do not get this machine.

After two years of making two to three shots per day, hot water began "raining" out of various holes in the top of the unit down onto the drip pan area. The unit still functioned and could make a decent cup, but there was obviously something not right inside the machine.The good news is you can find original DeLonghi parts for this machine on various web sites at reasonable prices - but beware of the shipping charges. I started with the easiest possible "fix" - replace the gasket between the grounds cup and the unit. The old gasket was showing some minor deterioration from being in constant contact with the heat of the hot water vessel and replacing it had NO effect on the problem - the water would still rain out of the unit when the pump ran.The next step was exploratory surgery to determine the location of the leak. This is where I was surprised by the construction of the unit. You need a torx driver with the security pin feature to remove three screws holding the unit together - or a long shank small-tip straight screwdriver - so much for the security feature. All other screws are standard cross-heads - some bite into sheet metal, others are biting into plastic - so you need to keep track of their locations. The sheet metal used is rather sturdy and the bends and curves in the metal add to the strength of the unit body. The wiring and connectors were neat and clean and the components were of better than expected quality. This is a well made machine. Except mine was leaking.Once the top was off the unit it was obvious where the water was leaking from. There is a small plastic tube connecting between the pump output valve and the heating tank. The water was leaking from where this tube was connected to the heating tank. This tube is held in place by a simple clip type compression fitting that requires a small O-ring between a ferrule on the tube and the connector housing on the tank (and also one on the valve). Pull the pins and the tube comes out of the fitting - the )-ring may not. The O-ring on the pump output valve was still in perfect shape. The O-ring on the heating tank, not so much. It was intact but crumbled as soon as I began to blot it dry. I had found not only the leak - but also the root cause. THe O-ring was obviously damaged by the heat of the tank - which is just below 212 deg. F for coffee, and over 212 deg F if you use the steam for frothing milk (I do not). Now the challenge was to locate a replacement O-ring.There seemed to be a shortage of the OEM DeLonghi O-ring from the on-line suppliers. All supplies were on back-order for nearly a month - and they all wanted over $6 to ship an O-ring that a postal scale would not even measure. So... off to the local hardware store. I found several O-rings that were close but not an exact match to the ones in the unit so I bought one of each, paid my $2 and went home to give them a try. I replace the O-rings on both ends of the tube, placed some silicone plumbers grease on them, reassembled the connections, and fired up the unit. NO MORE LEAK!After letting the unit cool down, I reassembled it, ran a good tank of water through it, and them made a cup of coffee.The lesson learned here is only turn on the machine when you are going to use it and turn it off immediately when you are finished using it. It heats up quickly and you can preheat your cup using hot tap water if that is important to you. While this machine is impressively constructed on the inside, it uses components that are subject to deterioration from the heat - at least mine was. DeLonghi may have addressed this issue by making changes in the composition of the O-rings to be more heat tolerant. However, from now on, mine will be turned on only to make a cup and then turned off immediately.