[greglepore]

Your Krupps machine has a thermoblock. It an aluminum block with a labyrinth path in it for the water to flow thru-the block is heated to a high temp, and water flowing thru it is heated. It has no storage capacity to speak of. Difficult machines to manipulate.
Next step up are the small Saeco/Starbucks/Spidem/yada machines that use small 100ml or so boilers. These have a small boiler that is auto fill. A startling number of the "non-high end but
above thermoblock" machines use this arrangement. Better machines have die cast pf's.

Next rung up gets you a larger boiler, often brass, with a heavy solid brass pf (chome plated) and a 3 way solenoid valve in the group. The machines are more temp stable, thus require less monkey biz, and are therefore more consistent. Downside is cost, maintainence and the fact that they prefer to be on for a good while (some, like 1/2 hr) before everything settles into temp.

150 water temp is way to low.

A poor man's upgrade at the moment would seem to be the Briel machines on ebay-whomever handles their returns has a bunch up, and the one with the stainless steel case has been going for around 80-100 bucks, I think, which is a pretty good deal-its a well thought of budget machine, even at its normal $275-350 retail. The lady that was doing the Spidem's (some as low as $35 -they're Saeco internals in a plastic housing) has run out, it seems.