Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #34514 in Kitchen & Housewares
- Brand: Saeco
- Model: A-ID-SS
- Released on: 2010-05-01
- Dimensions: 15.00" h x
12.00" w x
15.50" l,
26.00 pounds
Features
- Saeco Brewing System allows you to choose the strenghth and consistancy of your coffee by turning a dial
- 3 programmable beverage settings and ceramic disc grinder
- Rapid Steam technology, you can easily froth milk to quickly turn an espresso into a cappuccino or latte
- Adjustable dispensing head that can accommodate large cups and be removed for easy cleaning
- Removable 68 oz water tank with Aqua Prima water filter
Philips Saeco RI9724/47 Incanto Deluxe Automatic Espresso Machine, Stainless Steel
Product Description
Part of the Incanto family of automatic machines, the Incanto Deluxe features innovative Saeco technologies including a LCD Digital Display, 3 programmable beverage settings and ceramic disc grinder. With the Saeco Brewing System, or SBS, the Deluxe makes it easier than ever before to customize and brew espresso at home; and thanks to the Rapid Steam® technology, you can easily froth milk to quickly turn an espresso into a cappuccino or latte. Its elegant finish and compact footprint make the Incanto Deluxe a perfect fit in any kitchen
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
38 of 44 people found the following review helpful.
By SD
I have owned 4 espresso machines before this one, 2 manual (De Longhi), and 1 fully automatic (Saeco Odea Go). So I have a pretty good idea about what a good espresso should look like and what an espresso machine can or cannot do.I got this Incanto Deluxe as a replacement for the Odea Go that died a sad death after 18 months of service (that's another review). On the positive side, the Incanto looks great, is very versatile and fully customizable. One can program almost anything from the temperature of the coffee, to the amount of coffee ground and the amount of water to be put through the ground coffee. The enclosure of the machine is metal (very rare nowadays when cheap plastic is ubiquitous) and the whole machine looks very high quality (unlike the Magnifica for instance which looks very plasticky) The features that convinced me to go for this machine also include: i) the ability to set the water hardness, ii) the automatic descaling cycle (the Odea Go descaling is a 45 min affair for which you have to be present) and iii) the ability to bypass the beans with pre-ground coffee (for decaf, etc.). One thing I didn't like in the exterior design was the pannarello (steam wand). On my old Odea Go, I could place a relatively tall glass (but still 250 ml) under the wand and steam the milk with one hand only (holding my 5-month old in the other arm). I could actually leave the glass on the tray, steam as necessary, then turn the steam off and pick up the glass, all with one hand only. On the Incanto, this is not possible. I can barely fit the same glass at an angle, I have to hold it there the entire time the steam is running and then I need the other hand in order to turn the steam off. So if you get this machine make sure you have both hands available or use short glasses. The other comment about the steam is that it appears to produce a _lot_ of froth to the point of having froth dribble on my hand and counter way before the milk is even warm.I read comments and reviews about this and other machines for several days before getting this. I read about problems that other people had with it (including the ventilation issue) and I also read about some people that were happy with it. However, I really liked the specifications and I figured it may be a matter of luck and I will try it anyway. However, rather than going for the lowest price on the internet, I decided to pay more but buy it from a store when I could return it if needed.I had no problems installing the machine when I got it out of the box. It requested to be ventilated which only involved opening the hot water knob. So much for the ventilation issue, I thought. However, about 2 days later after exactly 5 coffees made - as dutifully reported by the beautiful digital display - the machine ran out of water while steaming the milk for a cappuccino. The "ventilate" request was displayed and that was it! I tried to run hot water with no results. The machine also comes with a very cheap manual pump that looks like an accordion with a tube at one end. There are instructions on a leaflet (not in the manual) that tell you to fit the tube of the pump over the water valve of the machine and pump water into the system. This pump is a very sad joke. The diameter of the plastic tube does not match the diameter of the water valve so the pump would not fit in it, and it would not fit around it, either. The best one can do is to push the pump on the water valve really hard and try to pump. It's like holding a water hose against a flat surface and turning the water on. The water goes everywhere: walls, counter top, clothes, people, etc. After fighting with the manual pump for a while I gave up and called tech support. After about 20 minutes on hold, I managed to talk to a person. She had me reset the machine to the factory settings and brew 2-3 cups of coffee. Brewing the coffee worked which meant that the problem was with the hot water/steam circuit alone. She then said she would email me instructions on how to open the machine and adjust a "turbine". Overall, this person was very nice and competent. A few minutes later I got the email with a pdf attachment. I opened it and I started laughing really hard. They expect the consumer to really take apart the machine, find this "turbine" and actually modify it. However, being an engineer and loving to take things apart, I thought it might be fun to try it. After spending some time looking at the brew group from all sides, I figure that this turbine looked completely different on my machine than it looked in the instructions. Once I took it apart, I also figure out that this turbine is no turbine at all, it's just a valve actuated by a spring and sealed by an o-ring. The instructions stated "use removed screw to slightly widen the whole inside the turbine". This is when I gave up. If they said something like make the whole 1/10 inch or 2mm or something, anything that can be measured, I could have done it. However, telling me to make the whole "slightly" bigger is a joke. Dear people at Saeco: These things can be _designed_, you know?. One can actually figure out how big the whole needs to be _before_ building the machine, not after. And even if you are not able to do this and you go with a hit and miss approach, once you build it and figure out how big it should be, you should make sure your product leaves the factory with the correct size hole, not ask the customer to fix your design or production flaws!! Even if you get your components from China, check their specifications before assembling them.Anyway, I put the whole thing back together and I called Saeco again. This time I talked to somebody else. This person was not so nice and appeared more interested in trying to find flaws in my recounting of the events rather than helping me solve the problem. Eventually she said I have to send this to a repair center (paying for shipping myself) after I fill in a form and submit proof of purchase. I initially thought I would do this because I really liked the machine. However, on second thoughts, I figured that I do not trust this machine anymore. I think this is an older design and if they haven't fixed this issues after all the consumer complains on the internet, it's probably soon to be replaced by a new generation. I really do not want to fight and fix this over and over again until it goes out of warranty and then have to buy another coffee machine altogether. I will just take this back for a refund.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
By Peter Houghton
I have had this machine for 3 years now and it has always worked flawlessly. The ventilate issue that people reference above has never been an issue for my machine...it has asked to be ventilated twice (each time after a cleaning) and each time I just open the steam valve and its done. I have never had a more effortless, maintenance-free espresso machine and I've owned many. This is simply an awesome machine that I can't live without! We've made 2,700 espresso shots virtually maintenance free, so its more than paid for itself. Highly recommended!
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
By G. Moore
I have had this machine 18 + months without a single glitch.. I have had to decalcify it twice in that time. The last time I decalcified it I did not replace the water tank completely and it asked to ventilate it, I then noticed my error, seated the water tank, ventilated it and once again perfect coffee... (According to the machine it has made 2862 cups) Update: Coming up on 3yrs, now according to machine 5810 cups and still making perfect coffee.. Also after reading other reviews, I have never used the hand pump to ventilate the machine, I just open the hot water/steam valve per owners manual to ventilate the system.June 2012. Update 9810 cups & still making perfect coffee. It has more than paid for itself. (it is getting a little grubby inside, but I can live with that.)
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