# Pid advice



## Mrboots2u

Hello I was looking for advice from anyone re good PID for a v3 silvia. There are tons on ebay starting at 99p , but no sure what I am looking for, if these are reputable or suitable ?

Cheers martin


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## The Systemic Kid

Auber are the bogs bollocks - not cheap but good reputation and customer support. The top of the range includes pre- infusion which, IMO, makes a big difference.


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## Mrboots2u

The Systemic Kid said:


> Auber are the bogs bollocks - not cheap but good reputation and customer support. The top of the range includes pre- infusion which, IMO, makes a big difference.


thanks , at £170 I may be delaying doing this for a while though. Do you reconadds to the resale value of the silvia if a decent pid like this is on . I fear that at some point down the line the upgrade bug will hit me .....


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## The Systemic Kid

Fitting a decent PID like an Auber will definitely increase the base value of your Silvia but you are unlikely to recoup the full cost of the PID after fit. I was in your position several months ago seriously considering an Aubers PID - started thinking about recouping the cost if I upgraded.


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## Savo

I don't see why a pid should cost a lot. Surely you can buy similar stuff for about £20 off eBay? I was going to have a go with my Gaggia but ended up changing machine instead.

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?5559-Gaggia-Classic-PID/page7

Sent from my GT-P5100 using Tapatalk 2


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## coffeechap

The ones on eBay are just not as good as the auberins ones but agreed they are a lot cheaper


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## Mrboots2u

I presume you upgraded looking at your set up now ?


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## The Systemic Kid

Mrboots2u said:


> I presume you upgraded looking at your set up now ?


Yep, decided to go for broke and got an LI. So, hopefully, no more upgradeitis!


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## Mrboots2u

coffeechap said:


> The ones on eBay are just not as good as the auberins ones but agreed they are a lot cheaper


Anything in the price bracket between £20 and £170 .......am always sceptical of cheap electronics on ebay from china .


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## painty

The Aubers are probably the same quality as the cheapy chinese ones, in fact probably made at the same factory, e.g.

















The difference with the Aubers is (almost) everything has been done for you to make it easy to install and run. You can buy true industrial-grade controllers for a good price on eBay, but there's a list of criteria you need to check through and confirm which is tricky and time-consuming.

The Aubers that use the RDT sensors are potentially better than thermocouples because they compensate for ambient temperature which means better accuracy if the controller is located in a warm part of the machine. They are also very short which gives better mounting options than longer industrial devices, though the ebay ones may be the shorter length too. The enclosures Auber sell are nice and you can buy them separately which I hope to do soon. You can buy them elsewhere (Hammond brand) but you'd need to cut your own DIN 1/32 slot in the front.

Preinfusion seems a bit gimmicky to me as it's just switching the pump on and off - something you can easily do with the switch, and timed pours are at odds with the modern weighing-out technique, so that doesn't justify the extra cost for me. Steam control is nice and probably a bit better than the click-stat, but necessary?

The single most important thing though would be to check a) whether the PID settings are set for a 240 V Silvia (I suspect not), and if not, b) does the controller have autotune/self-tune, or at least the ability to manually change the settings, otherwise it may be no better than the button thermostat. So I'd check that before buying one of those kits.


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## Mrboots2u

Thanks for the reply ,looking at aubers then , I am presuming there a lower grade models that do not have pre infusion for example, that may cost less?


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## painty

Yes, the basic kit is $152 and the steam + preinfusion is $235 so a fair bit more. Shipping to add to those prices as well.


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## coffeechap

I just bought some timers from auberins just ask them they are super helpful and provide a fully backed up service.


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## painty

What are the shipping costs like coffeechap?


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## Mrboots2u

Again that's brilliant advice from everyone thanks. I now have a better understanding of what they do , and the benefits .I think I will get used to my silvia as it is , and when paired with a suitable grinder from mr coffee chap , ill get used to techniques etc. I know what I am like tough the upgrade bug will hit me at some point in the future , and I think I would rather save my money towards the next set up in 6-8 months than modify for £150 upwards at the moment . That's of course unless my PPI claim comes in the all bets are off.......


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## coffeechap

painty said:


> Yes, the basic kit is $152 and the steam + preinfusion is $235 so a fair bit more. Shipping to add to those prices as well.


About $25 and faultless delivery, however I seized the opportunity to buy a few to save on postage, if you are interested I might approach them to see about a group discount on their products, but I guess it would depend on how many people on here wanted their products, might not be as simple as the torr group buy I did!


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## drude

coffeechap said:


> About $25 and faultless delivery, however I seized the opportunity to buy a few to save on postage, if you are interested I might approach them to see about a group discount on their products, but I guess it would depend on how many people on here wanted their products, might not be as simple as the torr group buy I did!


Did you have to pay import duty on your order?


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## coffeechap

No but I guess sometimes you do!


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## mike 100

coffeechap said:


> About $25 and faultless delivery, however I seized the opportunity to buy a few to save on postage, if you are interested I might approach them to see about a group discount on their products, but I guess it would depend on how many people on here wanted their products, might not be as simple as the torr group buy I did!


PID Group buy ..... interesting!


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## jeebsy

If it gets nabbed by customs they charge a handling fee (£8 last time I got hit) and vat.

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2


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## coffeechap

Agreed that is always the risk you take from the us


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## painty

I organised an LM basket group-buy from espressoparts once and we got hit for the handling + duty + VAT, but it still worked out good value in the end


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## coffeechap

The price they pay over there is usually so much better than over here on almost everything.....


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## glevum

I found everything now that comes stateside with parcelforce via customs at Coventry gets pulled for duty , fees vat etc.


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## painty

^^ Yes, definitely

[compulsory post filler - pls ignore]


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## coffeechap

glevum said:


> I found everything now that comes stateside with parcelforce via customs at Coventry gets pulled for duty , fees vat etc.


I must have got lucky with the timers then


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## painty

off topic, deleted


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## glevum

I was told everything that come prioty mail stateside always gets pulled, always use the cheap shipping method as UK customs know priroty mail is usually higher value items insured


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## coffeechap

Seems like a good little tip


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## soundklinik

glevum said:


> I was told everything that come prioty mail stateside always gets pulled, always use the cheap shipping method as UK customs know priroty mail is usually higher value items insured


 I never use DHL, UPS or like companies, because they bring your goods to customs and charge for it. You will end up paying duties and DHL's fees for them bringing it to customs...


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## Wando64

I realise I am reviving quite an old thread here, but did anything ever happened in relation to a group buy?

I am interested in an Auber PID for my Silvia and just before I place the order with Auber I thought I check just in case.

Any other fresh advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Stefano


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## Wando64

Never mind. I just bought it from Auber directly.


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## Wando64

Wow, this was the quickest delivery from the US ever (in my experience anyway). With the cheapest postage option it took just one week. Anyway, all installed now and it works a treat. The PID enclosure seems to get rather hot. Is this the same for others? Could it lead to problems?


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## Olliehulla

Hi Wando, yeah mine gets hot too but so far I've not experienced any issues, fitted it a few months back. The instructions say to leave a gap between the group head and the PID but it's tight under there and to stop it fouling the steam wand I had to mount it touching the group. Mine came quick too (from Auber) and I didn't get nabbed for duty either !

Have to say, fitting is not difficult and it has made a big difference to my enjoyment of the machine and coffee.


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## Wando64

Hi Ollie thanks for your answer. You are right, no much space under there. I did try not to get it to touch anything but it was mission impossible. Out of curiosity at what temperature do you keep yours? I am aware it vary from machine to machine and of course depending on coffee type but I just don't understand how can some keep it below 105C. My sweet spot for my current coffee (Rave Sumatran) seem to be 108C, however I am not convinced I am yet getting the best of it.


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