jony555 Senior Member Joined: 16 Jun 2007 Posts: 1 Location: canada Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sat Jun 16, 2007, 5:58am Subject: pressure gauge on silvia
i was wondering some people tought about doing the miss silvia pressure gauge add on but it semmed complicated and all with the bending of the copper tubing and all couldnt i just buy this kit http://www.chriscoffee.com/products/home/parts/gauges and add it on my miss silvia
snoboy Senior Member Joined: 4 Jun 2004 Posts: 452 Location: Rossland, BC Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: famous Silvia... now PID Grinder: modded Rocky SD Roaster: SC/CO
Posted Sat Jun 16, 2007, 1:10pm Subject: Re: pressure gauge on silvia
I don't think there is anywhere on the Silvia that you could simply add that guage. You need to tee into the system somewhere to add pressure guage. Most commonly I think people go into the Steam line on the Silvia.
inkstar Senior Member Joined: 26 Sep 2006 Posts: 55 Location: Atlanta Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: My Sweet Girl - Silvia Grinder: KA Proline - modified Vac Pot: Yama Drip: Pour over, Apress Roaster: rk drum, hot air
Posted Sat Jun 16, 2007, 7:29pm Subject: Re: pressure gauge on silvia
I've done it. You can tee in just after the pump with a Guest quick connect, or you can replace the whole shabang with copper. However, you still need a flex fitting on the pump. The problem I have is I just used cheap tubing that fails due to the pulses from the pump. I am awaiting high pressure ultraclean chem grade tubing that will handle it well. The setup is NOT perfect, but does help a great deal in being consistent. I suggest it, I love it!!!!! Oh, you need to use an oil filled gauge to dampen the pulse from the vibe pump. www.flickr.com/photos/inkstar <- see pix here
GabrielB Senior Member Joined: 27 Mar 2007 Posts: 232 Location: Chicago Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Maver Junior (HX), Silvia... Grinder: Wega Max (K6), Rocky Vac Pot: Bialetti Moka & Brikka Pot
Posted Sun Jun 17, 2007, 9:52am Subject: Re: pressure gauge on silvia
I'm a little confused on why we would need a "boiler" and "group head" gauge, at least for the Silvia. Since it's a single boiler, should it not matter where the gauge is tapped into the system? Maybe someone can help explain it a bit better, is the pressure not uniform from the group head all the way back to the pump?
I guess where I'm going is, shouldn't one gauge be suffice to show the system pressure during a pull (~9 bar), and the steam pressure when steaming, assuming it's tapped off the copper pipe going from the steam wand?
kh99 Senior Member Joined: 24 Mar 2007 Posts: 155 Location: Maine Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Silvia Grinder: Rocky Roaster: iRoast 2
Posted Sun Jun 17, 2007, 10:26am Subject: Re: pressure gauge on silvia
...and while you're at it - maybe someone could explain what a pressure gauge on a Silvia would tell me? I don't know much about it so I'm sure I'm missing something, but it seems to me that the pressure when pulling a shot is going to be set by the OPV, and while it might be interesting to see the pressure while steaming I don't know what use it really is.
inkstar Senior Member Joined: 26 Sep 2006 Posts: 55 Location: Atlanta Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: My Sweet Girl - Silvia Grinder: KA Proline - modified Vac Pot: Yama Drip: Pour over, Apress Roaster: rk drum, hot air
Posted Sun Jun 17, 2007, 3:52pm Subject: Re: pressure gauge on silvia
I guess where I'm going is, shouldn't one gauge be suffice to show the system pressure during a pull (~9 bar), and the steam pressure when steaming, assuming it's tapped off the copper pipe going from the steam wand?
Essentially yes, it's easier however to tap the teflon line coming from the pump. IMO. Plus, tapping the steam wand, if you're not careful can allow air into the gauge tube when u use the wand, and air screws up the reading of course.
Now, why would I put a pressure gauge on Silvia, well, there was a blank space on the front of the machine, what else should I put there? Seriously though, the question could be asked, why would you ever put a pressure gauge on any machine, they all have OPV's? The answer for me, is it lets me know what's going on with my grind. Volume of a shot vs time helps, but knowing a decently accurate pressure lets me know how my grind is affecting the shot. The long and short of it is, it's another piece of info that could possibly help your skills, and for me, it's helped tremendously! You may find it beneficial in another way. I don't use Silvia for steaming, so I don't know if that's helpful. But always remember, fancy mods and equipment are NO substitute for good barista skills!!!!!!!!
kh99 Senior Member Joined: 24 Mar 2007 Posts: 155 Location: Maine Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Silvia Grinder: Rocky Roaster: iRoast 2
Posted Sun Jun 17, 2007, 6:19pm Subject: Re: pressure gauge on silvia
Hmm...I see - I was thinking that, in the Silvia anyway, if the OPV was set to 9 bar for instance, that meant you were getting 9 bar whenever you pulled a shot, except maybe when the shot was very fast. So now I'm curious what pressure you normally see for a shot? In any case, I'm not personally thinking of that mod any time soon (although it would look very cool to fill that space).
BTW, thanks for not simply answering "it wouldn't tell *you* anything".
inkstar Senior Member Joined: 26 Sep 2006 Posts: 55 Location: Atlanta Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: My Sweet Girl - Silvia Grinder: KA Proline - modified Vac Pot: Yama Drip: Pour over, Apress Roaster: rk drum, hot air
Posted Sun Jun 17, 2007, 6:57pm Subject: Re: pressure gauge on silvia
The OPV is just that, Over Pressure Valve. It keeps your tubes from bursting. The pressure is regulated by the coffee, grind size, tamper, oil etc. I have mine set @ 10 bar, which may be stock, I'm not sure. So if I stop up the PF and pull a shot, my gauge reads 10bar. However, when I pull a 24 sec shot w/ 18gr of coffee @ 30lb tamp and yield 2.2oz, my gauge may read 9bar. This is only an example, but assuming this is the case, I now can vary one of these variables and see how the pressure, taste, and shot are affected and move on to the next step, which is change another variable. So lets say I want to hold 9bar so that it isn't a variable, but I want to change the grind size and the tamp weight. Well, I know that the pressure hasn't changed through the puck, but now I know how the grind size/tamp weight affects the taste. Please don't get me wrong, this is NOT a substitute for skill!!!!! The gauge only gives you more info on what's going on, and gives you the power to hold a variable constant. 8.5-9bar is only a definition, not a promise of excellent taste, we are all still learning what makes a perfect espresso, and having as much info about my shot as possible helps me. Plus, it looks really good on the front of Silvia, she's a lady, she needs something shiny!
kh99 Senior Member Joined: 24 Mar 2007 Posts: 155 Location: Maine Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Silvia Grinder: Rocky Roaster: iRoast 2
Posted Sun Jun 17, 2007, 7:50pm Subject: Re: pressure gauge on silvia
I see - I never gave much thought to pressure, I just thought it was pretty much a constant, with the OPV acting like a regulator. I guess I assumed there was some other reason for having a pressure gauge on a more expensive machine.
Posted Mon Jan 21, 2008, 1:45am Subject: Re: pressure gauge on silvia
I just PIDed my Silvia and ended up installing the controller in the front panel. Now that I have cut one hole in Silvia, I am ready to cut more. I love that pressure gauge mod, and I can't find much information on how to do it.
inkstar, would you be able to give me some kind of step by step? Your postings here give me some idea, but unfortunatley I am just an idiot equipped with a dremel tool. I only managed to get the PID in with one of Jim Galt's step by step kits (Jim rocks!). If I could have a little more instruction on exactly what to order and what to do, that would be incredibly appreciated. I have seen pics of lots of your mods. Nice work! You are quite the engineer!
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