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Permalink Reply by Jeff Hoeppner on December 24, 2011 at 9:17am

We have two, one on either side of our machine, as well as the blender pitcher rinser. They are amazing. The trick with the blender pitcher rinser is getting enough pressure. Line pressure might not be enough, so installing a small RV pump or something might be good. The steam pitcher rinsers will easily have enough pressure. We have our chemex brew bar perpendicular to our espresso machine and we use the pitcher rinsers to rinse the chemexes after use. Works very well!

You can see the pitcher rinser poking out right by the machine here, and the chemex bar. At the price that they are right now, don't even think about it. Buy two!

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Permalink Reply by Dennis McQuoid on December 25, 2011 at 8:25am

A quick shot of steam from the steam wand and a wipe does a great job cleaning the outside of the pitcher.

Jay Caragay said:

The genesis of the pitcher rinser actually comes from the bar world where a similar system is used to rinse beer glasses.

I had the opportunity to work with one while steaming milk at the USBC Fourth Machine in Portland earlier this month. Espresso Parts had supplied their "mobile unit" consisting of the rinser mechanism being mounted in a 6" deep sixth pan which was mounted in a handy travel case.

It's quite simple to use, just place the pitcher upside down on the star and press down. The water showers upwards and rinses out the pitcher. It's quick and easy.

The problem with the system is that it only rinses out the interior of the pitcher. If you're like me and tend to drip a little down the sides, then nothing is going to clean that up and continual usage of the pitcher during a heavy rush without sink rinsing the exterior will result in continual buildup of milk and foam residue on the exterior of the pitchers.

While the rinser is good for narrow window cleaning of the pitcher, it is unable to address long-term exterior residue buildup and you will still need to utilize your regular sink to keep the pitcher exterior clean. But for short-term, quick rinses, it works brilliantly.

The installed models I've seen are flush mounted with a deep, perforated S/S tray to keep and allow your pitchers to drip dry. They look nice and should perform well.

However, another problem I encountered with the mobile unit, that may or may not be an issue with the installed version is milk foam drainage. With the mobile unit, I found that under heavy use, the residual milk foam in the pitcher would be transferred to the bottom of the mobile unit and begin to accumulate. After a while of heavy use, the accumulated milk foam had reached the top of the star and would then rim the rinsed pitcher with a ring of old milk foam. Not an ideal situation.

This condition occurred mainly due to one factor: the small diameter of the waste port. On the mobile unit, it simply is too small to handle a heavy rush of milk foam residue. While I didn't have the opportunity to inspect an installed version, I suspect that the installed version has a larger waste port diameter that will either eliminate or mitigate this problem.

Otherwise, it's a great device for rinsing pitchers in a pinch.

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Permalink Reply by Corvus Coffee on December 28, 2011 at 10:51am

These work great in my experience. Allow you to work more efficiently. 

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Permalink Reply by Steve on December 28, 2011 at 9:51pm

Simply put BUY IT!!! You'll never look back or regret it!!

Side note....In my state, it cannot replace a dump/wash sink. But it saves time and water and speeds up bar productivity in a high volume place. Customers think its cool as well.....

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Permalink Reply by Jay Caragay on December 29, 2011 at 3:47pm

We've been using one in the new Spro for nearly two years now.  Surprising how quickly time flies since the original posting of this topic.

Instead of the Espresso Parts, we opted to go directly to the source and get a Micromatic:

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=glass+r...

These were originally designed for beer use and were originally co-opted in the coffee biz by Shane Devereaux from Habit Coffee in Victoria, BC and the rest is history.

The Micromatic 15 3/4 inch has been a great unit with lots of space for placing rinsed pitchers for runoff.  The exterior milk is still a problem that is not addressed with these types of rinsers and we have to use the wash sink from time to time.

A great plus of the Micromatic is that it's designed for taps. Water, soda water or even beer taps can be mounted on the unit. It's great.

The downside of the Micromatic is the relative shallow depth of the rinser. Have a bit of extra milk leftover and decide to forcefully dump it in the unit? Then maybe a little bit will slosh up out of the tray.  The Espresso Parts version, mounted in a 4" or 6" deep hotel six pan has a bit of an advantage here.

One issue that I noted previously with the original Espresso Parts unit where the exit hole was too small, causing a milk foam backup, was eventually addressed with a larger orifice.  The Micromatic has an exit orifice that seemed a bit on the small side but we've never had an issue with milk/milk foam buildup in the rinser.

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Permalink Reply by russ on December 29, 2011 at 6:14pm

They are kick-ass. I just disconnected mine because I don't have a direct water source anymore so it kinda sucks - i didnt realize how dependent I become on the thing. they really are quite nice to have on your bar. I have the shallow one that is about 14 x 6.

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Permalink Reply by Troy on January 1, 2012 at 11:35pm

We installed one in our new espresso bar, originally to avoid putting another sink in an already tight space. This has been the best move ever, as it's so quick and economical.

Its correct that you will still need to clean the exterior of your pitchers somehow else, but this is a small price to pay.  It's also going to need a pitcher of water poured down to wash away the milk dregs occassionally.

You can see ours in the picture built into the small shelf behind me.

Go for it.

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Permalink Reply by Tim Noble on April 27, 2012 at 5:38pm

IMO, this rinser is a must-have for the bar next to the machine. it's indispensable. find the space and tie the drain into the air-gap drain for the espresso machine. the water line can be run from anywhere, assuming you can hide it under the bar.  

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Permalink Reply by Nick Leichtentritt on May 2, 2012 at 11:14am

I've seen these they are awesome!    I want to put one in my shop, is espresso parts the cheapest place to find one?  Anybody find them cheaper somewhere else?   Thanks!

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