This was the 2nd espresso machine which I bought and owned for a “long” time. I found this killer deal on craigslist. It was a year old Pro 500 which I got for $800 in January 2022.

The Pro 500 was my first heat exchanger machine. I had read a lot about them on /r/espresso . It had. PID and a 2L boiler (the size my car’s engine’s displacement at the time — i miss the GTI). I was excited to be able to brew and steam at the same time. The no burn steam arm was a very nice feature upgrade from the Rancilio Silvia.

I took the machine apart and it looked beautiful on the inside. It seemed very easy to work on for maintenance and repairs. I thought I would have this machine for many years to come. It was easy to descale and made delicious coffee.

I learned that HX machines require temperature surfing despite having a PID. The PID keeps the boiler at a consistent temperature but the group head temp varies a lot. My friend bought me a grouphead thermometer and that helped make more consistent coffee, however I had to flush water to get to the right temperature. I hated that. This was the biggest drawback for this machine, in my opinion. It kept me from using “good” water because I didn’t want to buy water only to then have to flush a bunch of it.

I decided that a dual boiler machine would be better suited to what I wanted. It would let me brew & steam at the same time but also allow me to turn off the steam boiler when not needed. There was no need to keep 2L of water boiling/steaming at all times. It would also eliminate the need to flush water since each boiler has its own PID.

Ultimately, I sold the Profitec Pro 500 in less than a year. I sold it in December 2022 for 1300. I hope it continues making great espresso for it’s new owner for a long time