buzzmccowan Senior Member Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 182 Location: Dundas, Ontario Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Vibiemme DS home / LM GS3... Grinder: Mazzer Mini home / Anfim... Drip: Chemex Roaster: Diedrich IR12
Posted Sun Apr 3, 2005, 10:38am Subject: Internal PID install musings, Silvia: pressure gauge, LED water level indicator
Recently purchased a used Fuji PXR3 for my Silvia (thanks Atomic Dave). Pepe's internal front mounted installation always appealled to my aesthetic side: http://my.execpc.com/~n9zes/pepesilvia/pepesilvia.html Pepe's install was done on an older machine without a surface mounted Rancilio logo plate. The spacing of the screws for the plate are wider than the Fuji controller. If one were to install it in the same location, at least one hole would be left to the side of the controller. Murph suggested you could could use these holes to mount little lamps in conjuction with the Fuji's alarm output to display when the boiler is at correct brew and/or steam temp: http://www.murphyslawonline.com/silvia/#notes At first I considered mounting the controller directly below the logo plate. Pepe specifically mounted his where he did out of concern of high temperatures reaching the controller. My controller isn't configured for alarms, so I started thinking what other uses I could make of a hole. I was slack this week filling up my reservior and ruined one shot when Silvia ran dry mid pull. Here's what I'm thinking of doing...installing a liquid level switch to the bottom of the reservior and install a LED warning light in the hole next to the controller. There seems to be enough room to install the switch on the bottom of the reservior; There is about 3/4" clearance before the metal plate that covers the pump. Obviously I will have to leave the leads nice and long in order to remove the reservior for cleaning (some sort of quick disconnect would be nice). McMaster-Carr has a nice selection of switches: Click Here (www.mcmaster.com) I'm no expert in these sorts of matters but if I piggy back power from Silvia (like for the controller) it should be pretty straight forward. Will I need a solid state relay to connect the light and the switch? Any advice would be appreciated. While I'm at it I was also thinking of installing a panel mounted pressure gauge with a psi/bars scale: Click Here (www.alabamascale.com) Model 203L with 2" face and 0/300psi scale. This setup was inspired by Eastcape's setup: "PRESSURE GAUGE on MISS SILVIA?" If I wanted to be able to read both brew and steam pressure, where is the best/easiest place to attach this? I was thinking of "teeing" off the steam wand copper line. Would that work? Or is some other place advantageous? ...as an aside, when I describe the Silvia to people I've found myself saying it is the "Honda Civic of espresso machines". All this mods...when am I installing the straight pipe? Cheers, Kaelin
tom_b Senior Member Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Posts: 537 Location: Maui, Hawaii
Espresso: Rancilio Silvia/PID Grinder: Nuova Simonelli MCF Roaster: USPS/Popper
Posted Sun Apr 3, 2005, 12:08pm Subject: Re: Internal PID install Silvia: pressure gauge, LED water level indicator
Sounds like fun. I liked the indicator idea, but imagine plumbing silvia would be even better - have you considered it? Don't know about the ssr for the light or where to put T fitting for gauge. I don't mean to be negative, but I don't think a pressure gauge is all that useful on a silvia - it is better for machines using an adjustable pressurestat. Silvia's pressure relief valve is semi-adjustable, but after wrenching it loose and adding an extra gasket you can check it and forget it with a gauge attached to a PF.
It'd be great if you'd write up how you cut the hole for the PID, pepe's drill, cut & file sounded tough. I think you can get away with no insulation or ventilation, I've seen several reports of it done like that with no problems. tom:)
buzzmccowan Senior Member Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 182 Location: Dundas, Ontario Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Vibiemme DS home / LM GS3... Grinder: Mazzer Mini home / Anfim... Drip: Chemex Roaster: Diedrich IR12
Posted Sun Apr 3, 2005, 12:54pm Subject: Internal PID install musings, Silvia: pressure gauge, LED water level indicator
Hey Tom, I thought about plumbing it in but I have no water source on the side of the kitchen it is located. Did the pressure mod on Silvia already. Checked it with a gauge attached to my PF and the OPV now opens at 9.5 bars. Eastcape installed a Swagelok RL-3 pressure regulator on his Silvia. I know what you mean about the usefulness of the gauge. It might be somewhat useful for observing problems with grind and channeling...watching it while the shot is being pulled. I figure it is a pretty low cost mod.
Don't quite know how I'm going to butcher Silvia quite yet. A friend of mine's dad has a full machine shop about an hours drive away. Another guy who I know through the film industry here also has one (not sure if/how much he'd charge me). Certainly the easiest way to make the cut is with a greenlee cutout punch: Click Here (198.247.193.8) You need to use this punch and make two punches side by side to make a 22.2 mm x 45 mm hole. As for the pressure gauge, a more standard 2" round one will do. I'm not sure if the people I know have either of these punches but I'm sure I could find a shop with one without having to buy one. Not sure yet what I'll do about ventilation. I was thinking that I would still surround the controller with styrofoam and then see with a thermometer if it necessary to do any ventilation. Good to know that some people haven't needed it. Cheers, Kaelin
Hi, My PID install went well . . . "Pepe style". I cut the square hole with a "Dremel" type rotary tool that I have. I used a cut-off disk attachment and scribed an appropriate rectangle then cut the stainless steel. It turned out to be a nice fit, and it is the best looking PID placement. ( IMHO ). I have a picture here, not the greatest exposure... For now the two holes are filled with oval head screws.
buzzmccowan Senior Member Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 182 Location: Dundas, Ontario Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Vibiemme DS home / LM GS3... Grinder: Mazzer Mini home / Anfim... Drip: Chemex Roaster: Diedrich IR12
Posted Sun Apr 3, 2005, 6:01pm Subject: Internal PID install musings, Silvia: pressure gauge, LED water level indicator
Hey Emil, You are a very brave man, undoubtedly with a steady hand! Nicely done. I'm not so confident that I could use a dremel without screwing it up. Having said that, I did a nice job the other night cutting a slice out of the notch of a LM portafilter I bought to make it fit silvia properly. Did you insulate your PID? Cheers, Kaelin
I do recall a post by a guy who had one on a gaggia, who really liked it, seemed to have some of the benefit of a bottomless PF, i.e. when he saw 130psi he knew the shot would be good & his packing etc technique was correct. You could use a double gauge to show brew & steam. I'm sure the archives would show where to cut if no one answers here. The swagelok thing is too cool, although with Luca's picture, stripes & light mods the bar has surely been pushed up a bit on cool. I want a tatoo, or a small oil fresco for the side of my silvia :)
mmm_crema Said:
cut the square hole with a "Dremel" type rotary tool that I have. I used a cut-off disk attachment and scribed an appropriate rectangle then cut the stainless steel.
Posted Sun Apr 3, 2005, 9:41pm Subject: Re: Internal PID install musings, Silvia: pressure gauge, LED water level indica
I did insulate with firewall insulation, it consists of 1/2 " foam with reflective foil on each side. This works extremely well and was easy to install around the PID. I should have put together a photo play by play of the work, it really turned out well.
buzzmccowan Senior Member Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 182 Location: Dundas, Ontario Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Vibiemme DS home / LM GS3... Grinder: Mazzer Mini home / Anfim... Drip: Chemex Roaster: Diedrich IR12
Posted Tue Apr 5, 2005, 12:59pm Subject: Re: Internal PID install musings, Silvia: pressure gauge, LED water level indica
Emil, Well, my fellow crazy canuck, you inspired me. I didn't want to wait to find the right punches etc. so I went ahead and dremeled Silvia. Took about an hour with careful setup and 3 heavy duty cutoff disks. I used a T mounting bracket I had to use as a guide/safety (see pic below). I marked out my rectangle, and used a vice grip to hold the T bracket. Once acutoff disk was about 1/2 used up and had an appropriate diameter, I used it for cutting the narrower sides of the rectangle. The only damage I made was an almost imperceptable abrasion mark from the chuck of the dremel just above the cutout. Below is a pic of my install. I'm waiting for my back support bracket to arrive in the mail so the PID isn't sitting properly just yet. My light for the reservior indicator should fit in nicely to the hole to the left of the PID. Cheers, Kaelin
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
![mmm_crema: DSCF0006cr.jpg](javascript:ImagePopup("/images/15736/DSCF0006cr.jpg", 480, 640, "mmm_crema: DSCF0006cr.jpg");)
![buzzmccowan: IMG_2366.JPG](javascript:ImagePopup("/images/15787/IMG_2366.JPG", 575, 431, "buzzmccowan: IMG_2366.JPG");)
![buzzmccowan: IMG_2367.JPG](javascript:ImagePopup("/images/15788/IMG_2367.JPG", 520, 390, "buzzmccowan: IMG_2367.JPG");)
= No New Posts since last visit 