Pump Espresso maker - am I using it right?!

I've got a De'Longhi EC146.B pump espresso machine and I'd love a quick comment from someone who uses one of these very common little coffee makers... I've read the instructions that came with it but it'd be great if some seasoned users can comment on the questions below:

• There's a 'tamper' built in - how hard to you tamp the ground coffee? My pump seems to struggle to pass liquid through a well-tamped grind.
• Does the machine deliver a fixed amount of water? Mine seems to carry on pumping water through until well after it runs clear.

I know this isn't strictly DIY, but I just know that you guys out there will have lots of experience with coffee makers!

https://coffeeforums.co.uk/ Best site around, if this is a standard machine you time the shot and switch off after anything from 27 - 35 seconds this depends on the amount 5he basket holds, it should start to drip/pour after around 8 seconds, you don’t say if you grind your own beans or buy a bag of ground coffee

rather than turn it off, you can snatch the cup away when the output pales, and let it spill into the tray, or another substitute cup you quickly put in place.

If your machine has difficulty pumping through firmly tamped coffee, yet is running until the water goes pale, you are probably tamping too hard. usually the design is that the tamper just flattens the surface, and machines are often laid out so that's all you can do. A finer grind will extract more flavour, but also impedes the passage of water.

If you like a strong cup, then a two-cup dose may suit you better. I've set mine to two cups, maximum strength, minimum water, but it is a different model with more settings. I've also used a Krupps machine designed for German-sized cups rather than the 50ml cans often described as espresso cups. It has a much bigger container and I think produces 200ml.

Blimey - that coffee forum! Very informative