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Permanently PIDing my Silvia

I originally PID'ed my Silvia quite a while ago. This was a temporary installation. allowing for easy removal should there be any problems whilst Silvia was in her warranty period. I later PID'd my brother's machine in a slightly more elegant fashion, but it's a permanent installation, since holes are drilled in Silvia. Now that my Silvia is outside warranty, and has also been usurped by an Izzo Vivi HX machine, I decided to give her a facelift before passing her on to the next espresso addict.

Waterpump jinxed by blogging

My waterpump failed the other day. The safety measures worked OK, the PC shutdown before the CPU melted or anything nasty. But, shit, what a hassle.

Liquid Cooling My PC

In the search for peace and quiet I decided to experiment with liquid cooling my PC.

I started with a PC mounted in a Lian-Li case, cooled by 4 80mm fans. It was loud and annoying. Using "Pyramid" thermal controllers didn't seem to help that much. I lined it with sound deadening matting from RS. That helped a bit, but the fan noise was still annoying.

Another PID'd Silvia

Just completed the PID modification to my brother's Silvia as a birthday present. I am quite pleased with the results, I think it is reasonably aesthetically pleasing without requiring extensive stainless steelworking.

Front View

Side View

The PID is a 1/32DIN standard version from TC Direct. The thermocouple was sourced from Rapid Electronics (since they have a glass fibre sleeved version). PTFE cable sleeving and the SSR were purchased from RS Components and the case is available from Maplin.

Cables are routed out of the Silvia and straight into the PID box through matching holes. Neat and tidy !

PID'd Silvia (UK)

The Rancilio Silvia has attracted a loyal following amongst self-proclaimed coffee geeks, it is about the cheapest espresso machine available that is still capable of making a half decent espresso. So good is the base machine, that a relatively simple modification can improve it's consistency and seriously challenge significiantly more expensive machines.

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