Owner experience with Bezzera Strega - Page 99

#981: Post by **another_jim** » May 16th, 2016, 4:18 pm

SuchBrewSoCoffee wrote:Do you guys have any suggestions where I can look for a vacuum relief valve with threads?

Can you get stuff from Oz? These guys are the one of the best.

#982: Post by **baldheadracing** » May 18th, 2016, 2:21 pm

ravco wrote:Thank you! want to put in a group-head-PID. Looks like I won't be able to avoid taking off the side-panels as well.

If you are planning on controlling the existing grouphead heaters using a sensor screwed into to the existing grouphead thermostat mounting location then I think that you should be able to do that from the top quite easily - depending on where you want to locate the PID controller, of course.

May 19th, 2016, 1:50 pm

Parts from Auber arrived at the local customs office today. Will pick them up tomorrow morning and give it a try. Want to stick the PID to the bottom of the chassis, so that I can access it from the side of the machine.

#984: Post by **Billys79** » May 20th, 2016, 2:59 am

Does anybody knows if backflush is nesessary for Strega and if it is how we do it?And what about descale?

May 20th, 2016, 3:12 am

No backflushing is possible on a lever machine. There's no 3-way valve for it, so it's not necessary.

Descaling the boiler is a different issue. It's the same as any HX machine in that respect.

#986: Post by **baldheadracing** » May 20th, 2016, 9:48 pm

ravco wrote:Parts from Auber arrived at the local customs office today. Will pick them up tomorrow morning and give it a try. Want to stick the PID to the bottom of the chassis, so that I can access it from the side of the machine.

You'd have to fish the wires. Just to clarify, the only reason not to take the sides off is to keep the warranty sticker intact.

#987: Post by **ravco** » May 21st, 2016, 2:46 pm

Well, I installed PID last night. First shots today at 90 C with my standard espresso blend. Tasted a bit woody, but the bitterness was greatly reduced. Will have to do a lot more testing. Ended up taking of the side-panels and breaking the warranty seal (have a year left

). Would have been a fiddle getting the wires out at the place I wanted otherwise. Used 20 gauge wire (recommended by Auber for the PID), except for the extension of the RTD-probe. Soldered the wires to the 5A SSR. SSR and PID in a medium box. Decided not to stick the box to the chassis but leave it on a loose cord so I can just pull it out from under the machine and push it back under again. Not much set-up for the PID, just type of temperature probe, target temperature and Celsius, then auto-tune. Turned on the machine with the panels off. Watching the anti-vacuum valve splutter water (that blubbering sound you hear before pressure starts building up) all over the boiler and wires was shocking. The next mod is going to be the anti-vacuum valve! Anyone know a source for the mod-valve in Europe?

#988: Post by **baldheadracing** » May 21st, 2016, 8:46 pm

I just used an IKEA Sockerkaka silicone baking cup to catch the water (http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/40256616/). They're also useful for holding 58mm baskets, as a lid for the Lido grinders, as gasket material, moving small amounts of beans around ...

May 22nd, 2016, 3:31 am

baldheadracing wrote:I just used an IKEA Sockerkaka silicone baking cup to catch the water (http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/40256616/). They're also useful for holding 58mm baskets, as a lid for the Lido grinders, as gasket material, moving small amounts of beans around ...
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What do you know.
Actually I think it is a good choice, comparing to 20-50$ for a barbed valved.

#990: Post by **ravco** » May 22nd, 2016, 4:12 am

baldheadracing wrote:I just used an IKEA Sockerkaka silicone baking cup to catch the water

Thanks. That is a very good alternative. Looks easy and cheap. I will give it a try. Probably doesn't catch up all the water, but most of it I expect.