# PID fitted at last!!!



## Trevor

I've finally fitted my auber PID, only took me 4 hours!!! So glad I won't be doing that again, it was a f*@‡ing nightmare. My back is killing me now and I've lost a screw, when I was searching for a small screw I dropped in the machine, I had to take most of the machine apart to find it, after I found it, I lost one of the big screws, that hold on one of the many outside panels, I had to take off my Silvia, looking for the smaller one. At one point I did think this isn't going to end well, and I'd be looking for a new machine!!! I was thinking of the Fawlty Towers scene, when Basil gives his car a damn good thrashing too. But at the moment it's working and I'm going to do a very large & strong latte, I think I'll even make it a bit "Irish", I think I need it.

Can anyone tell me what is the ideal brewing temperature for espresso?

The already set value on my PID for brewing is set at 105 C, which I thought was too hot for coffee.

I thought it was 94/95 C?


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## Glenn

Don't forget there will be an offset in temperature between boiler and water coming out the group. This can be a few degrees so a reading of 105 may very well be in the right ballpark already.


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## Charliej

I think from dredging my silted up memory other members with the Auber PID have mentioned that they come set with a 10 degree offset.

What you can do is keep setting the temperature up until you get the water dancing on the group as you run water through it, this is then the boiling point of water for the area and height above sea level where you live, you can then work backwards via the offset when you know what your group will think is 100 degrees C. You really need a Scace to set it any more accurately.


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## Mrboots2u

Congrats on a the mod Trevor


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## Trevor

Charliej said:


> I think from dredging my silted up memory other members with the Auber PID have mentioned that they come set with a 10 degree offset.
> 
> What you can do is keep setting the temperature up until you get the water dancing on the group as you run water through it, this is then the boiling point of water for the area and height above sea level where you live, you can then work backwards via the offset when you know what your group will think is 100 degrees C. You really need a Scace to set it any more accurately.


thanks for your info, I don't even know what a scace is?

But I do think at the moment (not just mind over matter) my coffee is better for the pid!


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## Charliej

A Scace is a rather expensive device for measuring pressure and temperature at the group head very accurately, it simulates having coffee in the basket to this and has a thermocouple in the basket that needs connecting to a multimeter such as one of the Fluke models that will measure temperature. It's not the sort of thing that you need to buy really.


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## Wando64

I keep mine on 107.

To be precise i have switched on the extra decimal point and I keep it on 107.5 but you won't be able to do that unless you change the settings.

As others said there is quite a difference between the boiler temp and the temp on the puck.


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## Olliehulla

offset is 10 deg, required temp will depend on what beans you are using too don't forget. I usually drink Rave IJ or Sig and have mine set to 104 deg, works for my tastes.


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## Spazbarista

Well done. You should notice an enormous difference to the consistency of your shots


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## Milanski

I don't take notice of the numbers. I just experiment with every new bean I get, going up and down by 5 degrees at a time and then fine tuning as I get closer to the taste I'm looking for. I'm currently set at 90 for Rave's Jagong Village.


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## Wando64

Milanski said:


> I don't take notice of the numbers. I just experiment with every new bean I get, going up and down by 5 degrees at a time and then fine tuning as I get closer to the taste I'm looking for. I'm currently set at 90 for Rave's Jagong Village.


What I have found with my machine is that I should not stop having a routine just because there is a PID.

For example, before I make a coffee I fill the cup with the steam wand and I flush some water through the brewing head too.

The machine then goes back up to temp during the time I weight the beans, grind and tamp.

The PID only controls the temperature at the boiler not at the brewing head so my routine ensures everything is warmed equally (as much as possible) before extraction. The absence of an E61 head is the one thing that might make me upgrade at some point.

It works for me anyway.


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## Trevor

Having fitted my pid, it's been working fine, I think it's improved my coffee too. But tonight when I went to make my latte, I've noticed that the last digit, on the right hand side of the display has gone out. The other 2 digits are fine, still as bright and the pid itself is still working fine. It just makes it impossible to know what the temp is with just 2 digits. So I've just emailed Auber to let them know, now got to wait for there reply.

I don't seem to have much luck with my coffee equipment, first when my Silvia came it didn't work, so had to be sent back to Italy to be repaired. Then when I was in hospital 3 weeks ago, my pid was delivered and went missing, it took a week to track it down. Then it took me 4 hrs to fit, and I lost a screw that holds the outside panels on my Silvia. Now the display isn't working right.

I guess I shouldn't buy a lottery ticket at the moment with the luck I'm having, I'd win the jackpot and lose the ticket!


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## The Systemic Kid

You are having a run of bad luck - yeah - buy a lottery ticket


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## froggystyle

Give it to me to look after fella


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## Trevor

My pid problems still continue, I got a reply from auber, they think that a solder point on a resistor is loose, that's why I keep losing the last digit on the display. I have to send them a $50 deposit, so they can send me a new controller, then when I get the new controller, I send them the damaged controller, when they receive it they'll refund me the $50, they also said I'm responsible for the postage costs to send it back to the USA, which I don't think is right, I've said that in an email to them, so wait again for a reply.


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## Wando64

Hey Trevor, did you manage to solve your problem with Auber?

I just realised that there would have been a workaround to allow to use the PID in the meantime.

In mine (also Auber, but with the red LEDs) there is a setting to activate 1 decimal point.

If you do this in your it would move the whole number 1 digit to the left and the broken digit would be the one displaying 1/10 of a degree.


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## cracked_bean

Just finished fitting my custom pid today. Didn't take that long and I think it was around £40 in total. Just wanted to let people know if you have some time there are definetely inexpensive ways of adding them.

Although that being said I am now down one knuckle.


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## RazorliteX

Reading this thread has inspired me to order a PID too, though I'm going down the "we'll make it for you" route via Auber Instruments. Brilliant time to buy at the moment (in fact anything from the US) due to the healthy exchange rate.


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## Trevor

Wando64 said:


> Hey Trevor, did you manage to solve your problem with Auber?
> 
> I just realised that there would have been a workaround to allow to use the PID in the meantime.
> 
> In mine (also Auber, but with the red LEDs) there is a setting to activate 1 decimal point.
> 
> If you do this in your it would move the whole number 1 digit to the left and the broken digit would be the one displaying 1/10 of a degree.


Hi Wando,

just finished fitting my pid for the 2nd time and hopefully the last time too. I've now got to send the damaged pid back to auber to get my $50 deposit back. At least my pid is displaying all digits now and I hope it stays that way!

I hope, if there is a coffee god, I don't have any more equipment problems.

Now got my Silvia heating up, for a well deserved latte.


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## Neill

Trevor said:


> Hi Wando,
> 
> just finished fitting my pid for the 2nd time and hopefully the last time too. I've now got to send the damaged pid back to auber to get my $50 deposit back. At least my pid is displaying all digits now and I hope it stays that way!
> 
> I hope, if there is a coffee god, I don't have any more equipment problems.
> 
> Now got my Silvia heating up, for a well deserved latte.


That must be a new policy. My shot timer was faulty and they posted me a new one before even receiving mine back. I did of course return the faulty one.


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## RazorliteX

PID arrived today, two weeks after ordering so not too bad at all.

In contrast to your experience, I found the install rather pain free but i did spend about an hour today just going through the instructions. The only bit I ignored is when it tells you re-fit the backpanel as I knew it would be much easier to get the rest of the job done without having the back panel installed. The time to put it back on is when you need to lie the Sylvia back to install the wires into the PID controller.

Tip for screws - selotape them back into the holes so you never lose them and you can even screw them back in with the selotape on top and pull away the tape once done.

Took around 2 hours in total - so can't complain.


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