Hi folks. As a newbie descending into the quagmire of never-ending upgrades, I'd appreciate some help. I believe my Gaggia Dose is way too unpredictable in terms of temperature. Once in a while I get a great shot, but too often the shots are lacking. I'd like to improve the temp control. The surfing thing doesn't appeal to me. So I was thinking perhaps of getting a PID for the Gaggia, or maybe upgrade to a LeLit PL41TEM which intrigues me. Trouble is, I'm not sure about all this back-flushing stuff and more maintenance required. I just want to pull great shots, I don't want a total automatic (I do like the involvement in the process), but I'm not into modding and bench testing. Is the LeLit a full time job?

Note: in the US, 1st-line sells a PID variant of the Le'Lit called the PL41TQE

First off, the simple question. Back-flushing is quite easy and doesn't take very much time. If you are really not into maintenance, you could functionally get away with a back-flush once a month. I don't think anyone would say having a 3-way solenoid valve wasn't worthwhile.

innermusic wrote:Is the LeLit a full time job?

No. I think you would find it to be remarkably similar to your Gaggia. You would be able to pull shots just like you did before, but they would be better. I think Le'Lit makes a quality machine and I've been really happy with mine.

However, what I worry about with PIDs on small machines is temperature stability. With such a small boiler, the PID can only control the starting temperature of the shot, before new water rapidly cools everything down. Not that such a temperature profile is inherently terrible... but entry level HX machines are far more stable. And at $700, you are edging pretty close to the bottom tier HX machines in terms of price.

I'm not trying to say that you shouldn't get a PID controller, just that it won't guarantee great shots all the time.

Therefore, I think the espresso you get out of a PID'd Gaggia would be very close in quality (if not identical) to the Le'lit at a much lower price.

The following is just my opinion...
I don't think a $700 Le'lit is worth it. You're paying a lot for the looks and the stainless steel case. If I just wanted to improve predictability, I would add a PID to my current machine. That way I could save up for something much more forgiving and consistent in the future.

Thanks for the reply.
I'm also considering Ascaso Steel Uno with PID. Around the same price as the LeLit.