This video shows the initial test of my La Pavoni Europiccola Pre-Millenum espresso machine, after attaching an Auber Instruments PID temperature controller to it. The PID controller is part # SYL-1512A and the RTD sensor part # PT100M4. It also uses a solid state relay (SSR) to switch the heating element of the boiler on and off. The controller and temperature sensor came from auberins.com Further information on this modification is detailed at the following link: www.home-barista.com If anyone has any questions, please feel free to post them in the comments section below.
Video Rating: 5 / 5
Monday, August 8, 2011
La Pavoni Europiccola manual lever espresso machine with Auber PID temperature controller RTD sensor
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I use a dual display auber for a reflow oven
ReplyDeletesounds awesome, I thought that you went to oversize relay so it doesn't get hot, but you probably just want to be sure? I don't own la pavoni yet so I don't know if the base get's hot, but if it does and you use the aluminum plate it will suck the heat from the machine, that would probably make it kind of a bad heatsink for relay, and it would make you wait longer to the machine to heat up. have you thought about this? but at least it should give a nice extra weight for the machine
ReplyDelete- I did go to a larger SSR, in order to provide an additional margin of safety. However, under full loading, it can still create some fair mount of heat potentially. It's not so much the overall heat, but the concentrated heat on the IC's that needs some place to go. Having it bolted to a large aluminum surface will accomplish that. It's not so much to reduce the heat, but rather to spread it out. In most instances, you can get by with almost no heatsink pretty much.
ReplyDelete- Yeah, I hear ya.. it's kinda like putting a small block chevy into your Ferrari. But, desperate times call for desperate measures! :) I believe the PID controller & the relay will both fit in there (just barely). However, I am going to fabricate a new base plate for it, out of aluminum (1/4" thick or so), which will act as a heatsink to keep the relay cool. But yes, I think everything will fit okay, even with the normal base. The machine does work amazing with the PID though! :-)
ReplyDeleteHi ray, I both hate and love this mod, you probably understand :D I also read what you wrote to home-barista, but I don't have account there yet so I can't comment there(gmail is blocked for registration). question: can you actually fit both of the units in the base of La pavoni? or do you need to build like extension to fit these under the la pavoni
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting
ReplyDelete- Glad you enjoyed it! Yeah, the PID controller's auto tune feature is really nice. I've been using it with the settings is found in this video and it's able to hold the temperature of the espresso machine to less than 1/2 a degree F. There is a damping constant (which you can set in one of the menus) also, which I'm told can help the controller fine tune itself faster in cases were PV and SV widen. Setup on the Auber PID was a lot easier than I expected it would be. Nearly PnP
ReplyDeletethis was actual an immensely useful video for me as im wiring a pid up shortly myself and was interested in seeing how the auto tune of a pid worked
ReplyDelete