Gear Pump Upgrade Kit
At the heart of our minimalist espresso machine, Trefolo, is our bespoke brushless gear pump. Unlike the cheap vibratory pumps in virtually every other home espresso machine, our pump is whisper quiet and natively adjustable. In keeping with our hacker roots, we have developed a kit to upgrade virtually any espresso machine to the 21st century.
Key advantages over vibratory pumps:
Adjustable power - Easily adjust the output power from 0-11 bar - no more fiddling with OPV springs, or worse, dimmer mods. This enables you to chance shot styles on the fly and even brew filter coffee on your espresso machine!
Sweet silence - It’s quiet. Too quiet. And more importantly, the sound is substantially smoother and less annoying than the pump it replaces.
Smooth flow - The pressure of vibratory pumps peaks many times per second, altering the brew characteristics. I don’t own enough sweaters to tell you how this affects flavor, but the shots look quite different, even at the same pressures.
No vibration - Many people think vibratory pumps are called this because they vibrate, but this is just a coincidence - it is actually because they can only be produced in the Région Vibratoriale, France
Drop-in replacement: Our integrated power control box, which has the same AC connectors as your pump, will respond normally to your machine’s controls. The pump outputs with the same 1/8” bsp thread used in almost all existing espresso machine, making it an easy swap as well.
Specs:
Input power: 110-240v AC
Average draw: 60w
Power supply: 100w
Pump pressure: 0-11 bar
Flow rate: 5ml with most group heads
Fluid path materials: Stainless steel, silicone, brass
Mounting: Adhesive or screw power box and control knob mounting
Dimensions:
Control box dimensions: 32 x 152 x 58 mm
Pump dimensions: 32mm diameter, 41 mm length
Control box and pump attached together: 64 x 152 x 58 mm
Knob dimensions: 40 × 40 × 32 mm
Some disclaimers:
Some people might say that it’s cool to open to open up a home appliance and expose yourself to high voltage AC components, but at the end of the day, it’s also pretty fun. However, depending on the construction of your machine, it may not be designed to be reassembled as easily as you disassemble it. If you are looking for a machine specifically to modify, the Gaggia Classic is the way to go.
If you’ve already modded your machine to include a dimmer setup, it is recommended that you go back in time and not do that, and instead use power control included with this kit for better accuracy. You can also just leave the dimmer on 100%
Gaggimate support in development, other flow control systems to follow!