Description
The De'Longhi EC155 is one of the longest serving budget pump espresso machines on the market and probably the most widely owned. The listing records a 15 bar pump, a removable tank listed at one litre, a cup warmer, a milk frother and a weight given as 3.03 kilograms, which is around 6.7 pounds. It is a semi-automatic machine: you supply ground coffee, tamp it yourself and press a switch.
Its position is worth stating plainly. The EC155 is the machine most people buy first, and it is the reference point against which almost every other budget pump machine gets compared. It is not the best machine in our espresso machines category and it does not claim to be. What it is, is a genuine pump machine with a genuine steam wand at a price where most competitors are steam pressure machines that cannot make espresso at all.
The 15 Bar Pump and the Dual Thermostat Design
The 15 bar figure is a pump maximum rather than a brewing pressure. Espresso extracts near 9 bar and the machine reduces the pump output through a relief valve or the basket itself, so a 15 bar rating and a 20 bar rating describe the same working pressure at the puck. What the rating does confirm is a vibratory pump rather than a steam boiler, and at this price that is the distinction that matters.
Earlier listing copy describes dual thermostats giving separate control of water and steam temperature. That is a genuine and slightly unusual design at this price if accurate, and it explains the claim of no waiting between brewing and frothing: with two thermostats the machine holds one temperature for brewing and switches to another for steam rather than heating a single circuit through a wide range. The figure is not in the structured specification, so treat it as a manufacturer claim. Published owner feedback consistently reports that the machine wants a medium grind rather than a very fine one, which is characteristic of budget pump machines with pressurised baskets.
Baskets, Grind and What the Machine Forgives
The EC155 ships with baskets designed to work with pre ground supermarket coffee, and the listing highlight about producing crema even with lower cost grounds is a description of a pressurised basket rather than of exceptional extraction. A pressurised basket has a restrictor behind the filter plate that generates back pressure regardless of how coarse the grind is, which produces a foam layer that looks like crema.
That is genuinely useful for someone with no grinder, and it is the reason this machine works out of the box for most buyers. It is also the reason it will not reward a grinder if you buy one: the basket masks the adjustments you make. Anyone intending to progress should plan on single wall baskets, and the listing does not state the portafilter diameter, which determines what will fit. Machines that are designed around the commercial format, such as the CASABREWS 4700Gense with its 58mm portafilter, state it plainly.
The Steam Wand and Milk
The wand on the EC155 is the sleeved type, which injects air into the milk automatically through a hole in the outer sleeve. That makes foam easily and forgivingly and it is why the listing highlight describes thick foam effortlessly. It also means the foam is bubbly rather than the flowing microfoam a latte or flat white needs, and latte art is not achievable with the sleeve fitted.
Some owners remove the sleeve to expose the bare wand underneath and gain control over texture at the cost of difficulty. That is a well established modification rather than something the manufacturer documents, and it is worth knowing before assuming the machine is limited to cappuccino foam. Either way, the wand needs purging and wiping immediately after use, because dried milk in a narrow steam channel is difficult to clear once set.
The Tank and Daily Handling
The tank is listed at one litre and is removable, which is a reasonable capacity at this price and enough for several drinks between refills. Earlier copy puts it at 35 ounces, which is the same figure in different units and is consistent rather than contradictory.
At around 6.7 pounds this is a light machine, and that is the honest constraint on daily use. A light machine slides on the counter when you twist a portafilter into the group, so a hand on the top becomes part of the routine. The cup warmer on the top surface is passive and, on a machine that heats on demand rather than idling hot, it does very little; running a blank shot of hot water into the cup preheats far more effectively and takes fifteen seconds.
Errors in the Listing Data
The dimensions read 12.2 inches deep, 19.3 inches wide and 15 inches high. The EC155 is a small machine, roughly 9.6 inches wide, so a 19.3 inch width is not credible. These are packaging measurements rather than the product, and planning counter space from them would waste most of a counter.
Two further fields are import artefacts: Capacity 1 Liters and Item Weight 3.03 Kilograms both appear with the field name duplicated as their own value. The weight is also given in kilograms while the rest of the listing uses imperial units, which is a conversion the import failed to normalise rather than an error in the number itself. The listing gives no wattage, no heat up time, no portafilter size and no model year beyond what the title carries.
What the Specifications Do Not Settle
The listing does not state the portafilter diameter, whether the supplied baskets are pressurised or single wall, the boiler or thermoblock architecture as a confirmed field, the wattage, the heat up time, the cup clearance, the auto shut off behaviour, or the warranty term. Earlier copy refers to a one year limited warranty, which is a claim rather than a confirmed field.
It also does not state whether the machine has a three way solenoid valve, which decides whether the used puck knocks out dry or has to be scraped out wet. On a machine used several times a day that is the difference most likely to be noticed. And there is no descale prompt documented, so descaling is on a schedule you set; in hard water areas a product from our cleaning and descaling section every couple of months is what keeps a small water circuit clear.
Who It Suits
This suits someone leaving drip or capsules who wants real pump espresso and a milk drink without spending much, and who is happy to use pre ground coffee. It is small, cheap, widely supported, and it has been in production long enough that parts, gaskets and baskets are easy to find. Published owner feedback reporting years of service is consistent with a design this simple.
It suits you poorly if you have bought or intend to buy a burr grinder, because the pressurised baskets will hide what the grinder does and the portafilter format is undocumented. It suits you poorly for several milk drinks in a row, since a small machine has limited steam. And anyone who wants coffee without a process should look at a bean to cup from our super automatic espresso machine section or a capsule machine such as the Nespresso Inissia instead.
