which makes it even better, the only problem is the knob, it gets hard to turn after a few months

Clunky knob

The knob is extremely difficult to turn and I can imagine many people finding it impossible.

The knob broke after a month of use.

slow and weird control knob that feels like it could break at any time

The knob to turn power from off to brew and froth is hard for older folks and the frothier is not very strong.

After just a few short months of use the knob broke off.

Knob broke off in my hand after using it just a few weeks

For example, when you need to switch from "Steam" to "Off," the knob is hard to turn and your hand has to be completely dry in order to get any grip on it

and I was using Krups espresso machine ~ but the Krups machines would break (the knob that switches between Espresso/Steam is plastic and broke on all 4 Krups

This morning the knob broke off.

The cheap plastic knob doesn't turn well and steam comes out of the side of it

Can't get a good grip on them; the knob is very hard to turn and takes both hands.

Also the knob is hard to turn when it's in use

I am only giving four stars instead of five because although it worked beautifully, the knobs are a little hard to turn to move from espresso to steam

Lasted only few months, it makes a decent coffee for the price, but one day the knob to select brewing/steam just broke off unable to use it anymore

The knob for making an espresso twists to turn off & then further to steam milk... has been a problem for my boyfriend because he can’t tell which way is off!

**After about 3 months of once daily use, the knob on the side broke off

The knob, to turn it from coffee to steam, is hard as heck to turn

However, the knob on this Bella broke off and when I inspected it up close I saw that the inner part that holds the knob in place is a cheap piece of plastic

Having had two prior experiences with the Bella before (knowing the turn-knob would fail), I cautiously turned that knob ... and it still failed about a year later.

It could be the best espresso maker in the market but it has the worst knob

The knob which switches from brew to steam just broke off - the same thing happened to the last one which Amazon did replace

As one other reviewer wrote, the knob to turn the unit on/off or to a particular function was too difficult to turn.

True to form, the knob in my espresso maker just broke off

So the knob is the only downside right now

The knob broke after only four months of daily use

I am only giving four stars instead of five because although it worked beautifully, the knobs are a little hard to turn to move from espresso to steam

(I removed the defunct knob and replaced it with a screw-driver for a while), however, even a manual repair will only sustain the unit for another 3-4 months before other components begin to fail

Knob regulating steam froze up, making machine useless

It makes decent espresso and the steam/milk foamer worked perfectly for me; but it is hard to turn off very quickly due to the knob being hard to turn.

In this case, the knob broke off.

The knob to switch on off etc is too hokey mine already broke off and had to replace it with a new knob myself

See, when the pot is on and under pressure, the knob is hard to turn.

The knob to turn it to the on/brew, steam and off positions is WAY WAY too stiff and hard to use

Knob becomes very hard to turn when the temperature gets high

I returned this item because after about 3/4 uses the knob completely broke off which made the machine absolutely useless.

However, once the main knob/switch broke off -- which apparently happens to be a common defect for this product -- the espresso maker was unusable

Within 6 months the knob broke off

If used frequently, the plastic knob shaft fatigues and ultimately breaks

I had my doubt as many review said it had a flimsy knob,

The knob is difficult to turn sometimes requiring me to use a rubber gripper to get it turned on or off

The knob is kind of hard to turn, anyone with arthritis may have issues

The power button light is so light I have to have the kitchen dark to see it and the on/off knob so hard to turn, I'm afraid I'll think it's off when it's not

The knob and lid are more difficult to turn than they need to be because of their size and shape--style, I guess, over functionality

The knob became progressively more difficult to turn after each use until finally the plastic broke yesterday, in the middle of steaming milk creating a safety hazard

The knob and cap are not ergonomically friendly!