Faema Special, Installed

I decided I couldn’t wait to set up the Faema Special in my kitchen now that it was painted and looking nice. To do this, it’ll need a 2-phase (240VAC) power source, a water source and a drain.

To power the machine, I’ve split the power for my kitchen range using a custom splitter that plugs into the range socket (known as NEMA 10-50R), with a socket for the range to plug into, and a smaller NEMA 5-20R socket for the espresso machine. I’ll take a picture of this device next time I crawl behind my stove. Theoretically if I had my oven (both top and bottom element) and all four burners on high, AND the espresso machine is heating and pumping, I might trip the breaker. Given that I rarely use more than one range burner at a time this is an unlikely scenario.

My water is pretty hard (at about 14 grains per gallon), so I was looking for something to reduce that and avoid scale, as well as filter it. I obtained a relatively inexpensive water softening and filtration system to hook it up with from Amazon (where else?). In case anyone’s interested I added the links below since that’s where I bought them, but they can be purchased from other sources. (I may receive a small commission if they’re used to purchase something). To hook it all up, I used some push-connect polyethylene tubing and a water pressure regulator. After installing this and testing my water at the other side of it, my water hardness has been reduced from 14gpg to about 4, which I think decent enough. I’ll monitor the scale build-up in the machine.
Pentek BFS-201 filter system
Pentek WS-10 water softener cartridge
Pentek EP-10 carbon block filter cartridge

PS: In case you’re wondering why I picked this system, I looked at several including a restaurant supply store disposable cartridge system as well as a small rechargeable system. Naturally, I made a spreadsheet (I’m an engineer…I can’t help it) and compared the value of each over the next 5 (and 10) years. The Pentek was the best value for me and the amount of espresso I make.

As for the drain, I’ve installed the machine right next to my sink, with a short hose from the drain just over the edge of the sink. You can see this sticking out in the picture. Soon, I’ll make a little 3D-printed cap that will make it flow directly down into the sink and reduce the amount that it sticks out to about 6mm (a quarter of an inch).