Silvia brew temp profiling - element on or off?

[snoboy]

So my crude measurements have convinced me that turning the steam switch on during the brew cycle of my PID'd SIlvia gives me a flatter temp profile. I stuck a naked bead TC at the dispersion screen screw and threaded the wire out over the lip of the PF.

I am wondering if anybody with better test gear (ie a Scace Device and or a logger) could confirm and quantify this.

It also seems to help get the steam temp up quicker when building milk drinks, which is a distinct advantage.

Any thoughts?

[erics]

Hello Snoboy -

What I see with the Thermofilter & Silvia is a 1.5 to 2.0 F rise in the last third of the shot. Send me your email and I'll send you an excel file of a simulated shot pulled during EspressoFest.

I have a switch in series with the heating element and I BELIEVE this shot was pulled with the element turned off but I may repeat that this AM just to be sure. The boiler temperature will control the grouphead temperature during idle but once you start to pull a shot, its the grouphead that really does the controlling.

BUT - if keeping the element on full time by means of the steam switch makes for a better shot (for you) - then . . .

Eric S.

[snoboy]

Eric -

Thanks for the offer, my email is {insert my home-barista username here} at gmail.com.

It would be very interesting to see a comparison of element on and element off shots. If the grouphead really does have that much influence, then perhaps it doesn't matter.

Does the Silvia you tested have PID control? If not I wonder if the rise at the end of the shot is due to the element cycling to full on, as I seem to remember that it does under control of the thermostat.

What I should probably do is make a few shots with the heat on, and a few with the heat off, and actually see if there is a taste difference.