Crew Review: Rancilio Silvia with Auber PID

We've finalized our testing and settled on this PID from Auber, which will be available shortly for individual sale or as an add-on (with installation) to a Silvia before it leaves our warehouse. Gail walks us through the functionality.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• rancilio silvia
• pid
• auber
• functionality
• review
• how-to
• demonstration

[mbarigian]

Hi again! Is it possible to completely bypass the PID, i.e. "turn it off," but still use the original switches for brewing? Does it have its own power switch or is it directly tied to the machine's supply? Thanks so much!

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@mbarigian No; the PID circumvents the existing electrical connections and you can't use it unless it's completely removed and rewired. - Kat

[knowOMR]

Question regarding temperature setting. Where are you measuring the brew temp? In some of the comments you say to set the PID temp 20 degrees above the desired brew temp, but then you also say you're seeing 185 degrees in the cup. Just to clarify, are you measuring at the brew head/group when seeing the approx. 20 degree temp difference, or only taking the temp of water in the cup?

Thanks

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@knowOMR Measuring at the head, which will lose some temp between the boiler and the brew head, then even more as it hits the cup. Espresso is not a flat temperature brew preparation; it will fluctuate throughout the extraction. - Kat

[knowOMR]

@SeattleCoffeeGear

Okay thanks. Yeah, I understand about the fluctuations and that's why I was looking for clarification.

Am I correct in my understanding that you don't need to pre-flush the brew head w/ a PID? I noticed Gale didn't...

thanks again...

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@knowOMR If it's warmed up all the way, then no; in general, no flushing is required on these machines once they are up to temp - Kat

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@tdragon64 I believe it does not work with the older models, but you'd need to contact Auber to know for sure. The older wand styles would definitely be inhibited by the location of the interface - Kat

[tdragon64]

I have an older Silvia, bought in 2001. Will this PID work with an older model? And the older steam wands dont articulate like the new ones. Will the PID be in the way of swinging the wand back under the machine , over the drip tray? Thanks.

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@MrKorszun We do, but only accessory items and not parts right now (which is how this is classified). If you go to our site, there is a section called 'International Customers' which lists all the stuff we can ship outside of the US right now. At the bottom is a request form; fill that out and our product manager will put it in the queue to look into whether or not we can ship them outside of the US - Kat

[MrKorszun]

Hi kat, hi Gail. Love your videos! I'm pretty much decided on buying a PID kit for my Silvia. She's almost 2 years old so I think the warranty is about to expire anyway. I like the look of the kit you guys sell and the video makes me feel so much more comfortable about doing such a mod - you guys are trustworthy. I do have a problem though, I live in the UK, do you ship international?