Alouette3 Posted July 23, 2018 Share Properly old school, but at R900 there is not much to loose. Should have it by the end of the week. A project to keep my hands busy at least. the nerd 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V12man Posted July 23, 2018 Share I spoiled myself a bit and bought a Rancilio Silvia (and a doserless Rocky grinder) a while back. Initially stated off with a "normal" little blade grinder and quickly found out it was not capable enough... I'm quite pleased with the setup thus far, any tips/advice from other Silvia/Rocky owners? What grind setting do you normally use?I would put a PID temp controller in that... makes a huge difference www.auberins.com have a few kits... take the most expensive one for the sylvia that has pre infusion and brew timers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grease_Monkey Posted July 23, 2018 Share I would put a PID temp controller in that... makes a huge difference www.auberins.com have a few kits... take the most expensive one for the sylvia that has pre infusion and brew timers.It's something I thought I would get soon after I bought mine, but with a bit of practice I don't think it's necessary, but I'm only making 2 cups at a time at most... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hansolo Posted July 23, 2018 Share I would put a PID temp controller in that... makes a huge difference www.auberins.com have a few kits... take the most expensive one for the sylvia that has pre infusion and brew timers. I understand that the PID does better temperature control but does it make that much of a difference? I've read up alot on forums and I've been quite happy with the coffee thusfar... I might consider a PID when the unit is out of warranty (and my finances have recovered a bit). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grease_Monkey Posted July 23, 2018 Share I understand that the PID does better temperature control but does it make that much of a difference? I've read up alot on forums and I've been quite happy with the coffee thusfar... I might consider a PID when the unit is out of warranty (and my finances have recovered a bit).It makes a big difference if you are making multiple coffees in a row and steaming milk - much better consistency. But like I mentioned, not necessary for me at the moment, although I wouldn't say no to a PID unit if I was given one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V12man Posted July 24, 2018 Share It's something I thought I would get soon after I bought mine, but with a bit of practice I don't think it's necessary, but I'm only making 2 cups at a time at most...You will understand when you do it... I used to have a machine with a similar sized boiler (200ml) and after adding in the PID it was a lot better - surprisingly the biggest benefit was being able to raise the steam temp up a bit over the standard thermostat - gave much improved steaming - as well as the thermal stability was improved - and it's easy to play with temperature changes of 1 or 2 degrees to see if you can get flavour improvements (and you can) Kind of a no brainer for the small machines in my opinion - they go from annoyingly unstable to fairly usable (and I am not a fan of sbdu machines) - but they still don't compare to good commercial standard machines which can steam 1 liter of milk fairly easily. The gold standard of machines imo is being able to deliver coffee for 8 - 10 guests and have them all drinking coffee at about the same time - NEVER going to happen with a sbdu machine - take at least 35 - 45 minutes to deliver 10 cappuchino's - maybe an hour. That said it will still be tricky even with a e61 based home use machine (but possible) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hansolo Posted July 24, 2018 Share You will understand when you do it... I used to have a machine with a similar sized boiler (200ml) and after adding in the PID it was a lot better - surprisingly the biggest benefit was being able to raise the steam temp up a bit over the standard thermostat - gave much improved steaming - as well as the thermal stability was improved - and it's easy to play with temperature changes of 1 or 2 degrees to see if you can get flavour improvements (and you can) Kind of a no brainer for the small machines in my opinion - they go from annoyingly unstable to fairly usable (and I am not a fan of sbdu machines) - but they still don't compare to good commercial standard machines which can steam 1 liter of milk fairly easily. The gold standard of machines imo is being able to deliver coffee for 8 - 10 guests and have them all drinking coffee at about the same time - NEVER going to happen with a sbdu machine - take at least 35 - 45 minutes to deliver 10 cappuchino's - maybe an hour. That said it will still be tricky even with a e61 based home use machine (but possible) Thanks, I rarely make more than one cup at a time but I can definitely see the benefits in PID when higher volumes is required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenironside Posted July 24, 2018 Share The gold standard of machines imo is being able to deliver coffee for 8 - 10 guests and have them all drinking coffee at about the same time - NEVER going to happen with a sbdu machine - take at least 35 - 45 minutes to deliver 10 cappuchino's - maybe an hour. That said it will still be tricky even with a e61 based home use machine (but possible)Â That's a really practical and interesting standard - with my Astoria CMA single group machine, I can deliver as fast as I can grind & pull the shot, interrupted by steaming & pouring. 10 cups would probably take around 20 min max. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grease_Monkey Posted July 24, 2018 Share You will understand when you do it... I used to have a machine with a similar sized boiler (200ml) and after adding in the PID it was a lot better - surprisingly the biggest benefit was being able to raise the steam temp up a bit over the standard thermostat - gave much improved steaming - as well as the thermal stability was improved - and it's easy to play with temperature changes of 1 or 2 degrees to see if you can get flavour improvements (and you can) Kind of a no brainer for the small machines in my opinion - they go from annoyingly unstable to fairly usable (and I am not a fan of sbdu machines) - but they still don't compare to good commercial standard machines which can steam 1 liter of milk fairly easily. The gold standard of machines imo is being able to deliver coffee for 8 - 10 guests and have them all drinking coffee at about the same time - NEVER going to happen with a sbdu machine - take at least 35 - 45 minutes to deliver 10 cappuchino's - maybe an hour. That said it will still be tricky even with a e61 based home use machine (but possible)I'll take your word for it - the machine needs to go in for a service soon, so might as well get one then. The multiple cup thing is what I hate about the Silvia. Even making coffee for just my wife and I has us drinking at different times if we both want a double. With 3 or 4 people over I don't even give them the option of a double otherwise I would be standing by the machine for 20mins! A La Marzoccho would solve that problem.... but then I'd have alot more serious problems to worry about haha HappyMartin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V12man Posted July 24, 2018 Share That's a really practical and interesting standard - with my Astoria CMA single group machine, I can deliver as fast as I can grind & pull the shot, interrupted by steaming & pouring. 10 cups would probably take around 20 min max.I usually entertain at home with about 8 - 10 people in total - so it has kind of come from that - and the frustration of being away from the group for extended periods. I cheat a LOT when doing big numbers of coffees on my single group.... no proper doubles.... but I use a triple basket so they are about 1.3 - 1.5 singles... and I have been known to supplement this by using my super auto in parallel... And a super fast grinder - 3.5 sec for 19g..... The other cheat is to use a big jug for steaming - saves a lot of time if you can steam for 4+ cups at the same time - especially if you can do it while brewing at the same time (volumetrics have saved me many times... ) That said - I prefer to use the 2 group I have at the office for lots of coffee - although the grinder is a tad slower. the nerd and HappyMartin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V12man Posted July 24, 2018 Share I'll take your word for it - the machine needs to go in for a service soon, so might as well get one then. The multiple cup thing is what I hate about the Silvia. Even making coffee for just my wife and I has us drinking at different times if we both want a double. With 3 or 4 people over I don't even give them the option of a double otherwise I would be standing by the machine for 20mins! A La Marzoccho would solve that problem.... but then I'd have alot more serious problems to worry about hahaThe auber instuments kits are so good you can easily do it yourself - easily.... good luck asking most SA coffee machine tech's to do an install... can't see that working well. Grease_Monkey 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V12man Posted July 24, 2018 Share Thanks, I rarely make more than one cup at a time but I can definitely see the benefits in PID when higher volumes is required.There are plenty of taste benefits - not just for multiple cups.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMartin Posted July 25, 2018 Share I'll take your word for it - the machine needs to go in for a service soon, so might as well get one then.The multiple cup thing is what I hate about the Silvia. Even making coffee for just my wife and I has us drinking at different times if we both want a double. With 3 or 4 people over I don't even give them the option of a double otherwise I would be standing by the machine for 20mins! A La Marzoccho would solve that problem.... but then I'd have alot more serious problems to worry about hahaI can vouch for the La Marzoccho. Trouble free and solid as a rock, and I have the baby of the breed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadenceblur Posted July 25, 2018 Share I can vouch for the La Marzoccho. Trouble free and solid as a rock, and I have the baby of the breed.have to agree there. HappyMartin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the nerd Posted July 25, 2018 Share one day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grease_Monkey Posted July 25, 2018 Share I can vouch for the La Marzoccho. Trouble free and solid as a rock, and I have the baby of the breed.Yeah, my dream machine that - just expensive! I'm sure it's worth every cent, I just don't have enough cents hahaha HappyMartin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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