This article contains our entire knowledge base for the Sanremo F18 multi boiler espresso machine, including an overall demonstration video, 5 how-to guide videos, and fully written up answers to your most common questions about the F18.
Use this article as homework during your research process, and come back here when you can’t seem to find the buttons, shortcuts or features that you’re looking for. In this Sanremo F18 User Guide, we’ll cover:
- Demonstration of the machine
- Settings menu and button shortcuts
- Coffee dose settings demo
- Pre-infusion mode and settings
- Temperature features and settings
- Daily backflush cleaning cycle
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The F18 fits right in the middle of Sanremo’s commercial espresso machine lineup, right above the Zoe and more feature rich than the F18 SB, and sitting just below the Racer and Opera.
The F18 is a multiboiler machine, meaning each group head has its own dedicated brew boiler for proper temperature stability even during periods of heavy usage and workload. Steaming milk requires a temperature of around 120 degrees, versus brewing espresso at around 90-94 degrees. Having separate boilers for each step in the process increases the stability and performance of the machine during heavy use.
Having multiple boilers also allows the user to set a number of varying temperatures, meaning you could have a lower temperature for a darker roast on one group head, and a higher temperature for a lighter roast on another.
The machine using volumetric based dosing, meaning that each shot button is set to a desired input volume e.g. 80ml which refers to the amount of water going through the puck of espresso, rather than the amount of liquid espresso in the cup. Each group head has four programmable shot buttons and a manual or purge brew button also.
In terms of physical features of the F18, you have an on/off dial on the left hand side, two cool-touch steam wands, quarter-turn steam dials, a hot water dispensing tap, a touch screen display, dedicated temperature/shot timer screens for each group head, a spacious drip tray and a heated cup warmer.
The large touch screen display is one of the main selling features of the F18. During normal use and brewing, from right to left the screen shows a live reading of the ambient brew pressure, steam temperature, water fill line and steam boiler pressure. Accessing the barista menu through the screen provides a number of settings and features including: Power on/off, toggle barista lights, heated cup warmer, automatic cleaning cycle, auto on/off timer, shot counters, system alarms, group head temperatures, pre-infusion mode, and coffee dose programs.
The F18 comes in both two and three group-head versions, and a number of colour options including Black, White and Black, and Black and Red. The F18 starts at around £11,000 for the standard two-group model, and you can learn more here.
Settings Menu and Button Shortcuts
In this video below we’re going to show you how to get into the two settings menus of the F18, and a number of button shortcuts that you may find helpful knowing on a daily basis.
How to Access the Settings Menu
Most of the functions of the F18 are found within the settings menu. To get into the settings menu, press and hold the 3-lined icon towards the bottom of the touch screen display.
F18 Button Shortcuts
Outside of the settings menu there’s a few more shortcuts you’ll want to know about. You can switch each group head off independently from the rest of the machine by holding the manual button and tapping button three, to turn it back on just repeat the same process.
Another shortcut lets you reprogram your shot doses: hold down the manual brew button on the left group head for a few seconds until the lights start flashing. You can now load your coffee into the portafilter and start a shot to record and save a new dose for any of the shot buttons. That’ll save across all group heads, simply wait 30 seconds for the lights to stop flashing and for the machine to exit that menu before brewing with your new dose.
Program Menu
In addition to the main settings menu there’s another password-protected program menu that lets you change the system language, adjust the date, time and day of the week, and enter into a cooling mode. To get here, switch the machine off via the software-power button on the touch screen (leaving the physical power dial set to 2). Now press the settings button that appears on the bottom right of the screen after a few seconds. The password for this menu, from the manufacturer, should be 3,3,3,3,3, and can be changed in this menu (though we recommend leaving it at the original password).
Coffee Dose Settings / Shot Programmes
The Sanremo F18 lets you program 4 coffee doses for each group head based on the volumetric measuring system. The machine is calibrated by how much water is pushed through the puck of coffee, and repeats this accurately every time you start the shot. There are two methods to adjust the dose settings on the F18.
Adjusting the Doses in Settings
If you want to change the dose settings without having to brew manually, or if you want to have different doses saved for each group head individually, you can adjust all shot volumes by heading into the settings menu.
To get into the menu, hold down the three line button, then go to the next screen to access the coffee shot menu. In here you can flick through all of the doses for all of your group heads individually and adjust all of these up or down by the millilitre using the plus and minus buttons.
It’s important to remember that the doses here are referring to the amount of water that the machine is sending through the puck of coffee rather than the amount of liquid espresso you’ll actually get in the cup. A good rule of thumb is that the puck of coffee itself will absorb about twice it’s weight in coffee, so if you’re using an 18 gram dose and 80ml of water, the puck will absorb around 36 grams so you’ll get a 44g shot of espresso.
Recording a Live Dose
Secondly, you can get the F18 to record and save the volume of a shot whilst performing a manual espresso brew, watch the video above for a live demonstration of what we mean. To access this mode, press and hold the manual / purge button on the left-most group head for a few seconds until the shot buttons start flashing. Using an external scale to measure your desired output of espresso, you can now press any of the shot buttons to record the brew volume onto that respective shot button and it will save across all group heads. Once programmed, wait 30 seconds for the lights to stop flashing and then continue brewing as normal.
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Pre-Infusion Settings
The F18 has fully-customisable pre-infusion, which pumps low-pressure water into the coffee puck before the pressure kicks in, helping promote an even extraction of coffee. Each shot button can be programmed to have it’s own individual pre-infusion mode, giving 8 different programs on the two-group model and 12 programs on the three-group.
Not only can pre-infusion be turned on / off in the settings, but it can also be adjusted from 0 to 25 seconds for each shot button at increments of 0.1 seconds.
Pre-infusion can be adjusted in the main barista settings menu by holding down the three-lined button on the touch screen display. Pre-infusion settings are found on the second screen of the settings under the middle right hand side button. In this menu you can turn on and off pre-infusion at each group head, and adjust all of your shot buttons with their own unique pre-infusion setting.
F18 Temperature Settings
The Sanremo F18 gives you complete control over the temperature for each individual group head within the settings menu. Because it’s a multiboiler machine with dedicated boilers for each group head and another separate steam boiler, you have the option to set different temperatures if you need a higher or lower temperature for brewing different coffees. Finally, you can also adjust the temperature setting of your heated cup warmer to be anywhere between 40 and 80 degrees.
To adjust your temperatures you just need to head into the settings menu by hitting the three lined icon, tap the arrow head to the second settings screen and hit the group head icon. This will show you the temperature of the first group head with plus and minus icons to adjust the temperature up and down by 0.1 of a degree. Tap the arrows at the top to scroll through the different group heads.
Once you’ve adjusted the temperature you should see it slowly adjust to the changes you made, and you can see a live read out of the temperature of each group head on their screens when you’re not brewing espresso.
Daily Backflush Cleaning Cycle
Starting an automatic backflush allows you to deep clean the inside of the group head to clear away any built up grounds or coffee oils, and should be performed at the end of every shift. Before starting, you’ll need to add a blank disk into your portafilter with a teaspoon of espresso machine cleaning powder.
The F18 has two built in modes for kickstarting an automatic cleaning cycle, both in the settings menu and through a shortcut with the shot buttons.
To start a cleaning cycle on just one of the group heads, hold down the manual / purge shot button and tap the third shot button. The cleaning cycle will begin immediately. Once cleaned, rinse the shower screen thoroughly and then turn off the group head, without shutting down the rest of the machine, by holding the manual button and tapping button three.
To start an automatic backflush for all of the group heads at once, head into the settings menu and press the icon that looks like a portafilter with two water droplets. Pressing this button will immediately start a cleaning cycle for all group heads.
You may be able to adjust the brew pressure of your F18 at the pump, rather than within the settings of the machine itself. Adjusting the valve at the pump will allow you to alter the brew pressure of your F18, though we recommend leaving this to your supplier.
The F18 does not allow the user to directly adjust steam temperature, though we have always found the F18 gives plenty of steam performance and have never felt the want to adjust steam tempearture.
Make sure your F18 is plugged in and switched on at the wall, and the power dial on the left of the machine is set to position 2. If one group head is switched off, you can switch it back on by holding the manual / purge shot button and tapping button three.
Extraction time is dependent on the ratio and grind size of your coffee, rather than the settings of the machine itself, and should be used as a guide to dial in your coffee. To slow down or speed up extraction time, grind your coffee finer or coarser, respectively.
How often you need to descale the F18 depends on the makeup of the water you are using and if you have a commercial water filter installed. Though, we still typically recommend a descale is still performed by your supply at least annually.
