Thermosiphon La Pavoni - Page 2

#11: Post by **aecletec** » February 16th, 2017, 7:52 am

Does the PID have an auto-tune or manual tune?

February 16th, 2017, 10:22 am

I've always assumed it was an auto-tune...time to read the manual.

#13: Post by **drgary** » February 16th, 2017, 11:18 am

That PID controller should be just fine once you tune it. Others here will have recommendations on the autotune routine. This might be a good place to start.

Coffee guy's oversimplified guide to setting your PID

February 16th, 2017, 3:29 pm

Ok... the auto-tune was turned off, now it's on! The machine is settling into temp changes right away now.

Thanks for the link Gary. It's time for some reading on pid controllers.

February 21st, 2017, 2:22 am

Case work:

The side panels are going to be wood...using cardboard to mock up the shape.

I've used this diamond plate for the top of a few machines now, I like the way it ties in visually with the drip tray grating.

Just enough space to grab the boiler cap and remove it for filling when the machine is not plumbed in.

March 5th, 2017, 5:23 pm

The final push!

Bead blasted and painted with high temp gloss black. Normally a powder coat would be in order, maybe later.

Almost all the parts ready...just the ones that have been put off because I've been losing steam on this project. It has taken 80+ hours which is much longer than I expected. In addition my mind has moved on to the next reiteration...

Poor planning on the frame build required the bottom plate to be a box shape instead of just a plate.

Constructed from an old espresso machine surround.

Perforated aluminum plate purchased on Craigslist for $10.

Drip tray.

Shroud to protect the pid controller. I marked the cutout upside down the first time. At least with metal one can weld it back together.

Coming together.

The feet were turned out of aluminum round stock using a taper attachment. I gave up on the original steam valve and used one from a La Pavoni.

The panel is cut at an angle both front and rear but it is really hard to photograph.

Galvanized sheet for the back panel. I made one for the front as well but ended up liking the painted one better. I'm not really wild about the black though. If I have the machine powder coated I'm thinking avocado.

The final product: Plumbed in, temp stable, pid controlled La Pavoni.

#17: Post by **drgary** » March 5th, 2017, 6:54 pm

Great Larry! Your own Eurobar/Cremina. So what's the "next iteration" you had in mind?

March 5th, 2017, 7:46 pm

Well... still undecided but I'm thinking about a water saturated group with a second boiler for steam would be cool. The downside is the requirement for line pressure reducing the portability. I also wanted to do some testing with the La Pavoni as an open boiler. I believe others have done this with mixed results but firsthand knowledge is best. Anyway, I'm just playing around trying to build a better mousetrap.

#19: Post by **Chert** » March 5th, 2017, 8:01 pm

The machine stays hot-just right and the project is COOL!

Thanks for sharing with us.

#20: Post by **drgary** » March 5th, 2017, 9:37 pm

perfectwheels wrote:Well... still undecided but I'm thinking about a water saturated group with a second boiler for steam would be cool. The downside is the requirement for line pressure reducing the portability. I also wanted to do some testing with the La Pavoni as an open boiler. I believe others have done this with mixed results but firsthand knowledge is best. Anyway, I'm just playing around trying to build a better mousetrap.

Maybe these are different machines. A painter doesn't just create one painting and scrape it off to recreate it (unless you really like the Etch A Sketch).