Hopefully you kept all the original stuff. That "white brittle covering" is actually ceramic beads, a common insulator for early electrical appliances. Are you running it on 120, or 240V?

I asked over on the Monolith thread about extraction yields but got no reply. Anyone measured these with a Caravel. I did so a while ago and was extracting about 20% of the solids, that is 3g out of a 16g dose ended up in the cup. Now I read that this is a high yield - anyone tried this?

cuppajoe wrote:Hopefully you kept all the original stuff. That "white brittle covering" is actually ceramic beads, a common insulator for early electrical appliances. Are you running it on 120, or 240V?

I also like the ceramic look but decided to upgrade for a number of reasons including increasing wire gauge and wiring age. Used only CSA \ UL approved wiring. I've kept the original wiring.

I've completed my temperature controller. I plan on testing this weekend with regards to sensor placement. Ideally I don't want to immerse the sensor in water. I will use metal tape and place sensor on outside of kettle. Use my thermapen thermocouple to test water temp to see how accurate it is and set accordingly.
I plan on setting the VAM \ Caravel thermostat on high and using this power controller to turn on \ off the VAM \ Caravel within a set differential to achieve a tighter deadband than what the internal bimetal thermostat provides. My goal would be <4c. Anything under that is great.



The VAM \ Caravel plugs in the socket located at back of box and the STC-1000 cycles power on \ off to socket based on temp and differential.

I've seen these retail for about $80usd mostly used for cooling home brew keezers. My total hardware cost was just under $30cda.

Nice work!
GIven the probe won't be immersed, have you figured out the problem of keeping a consistent water level so the heat transfer is reliable?
Or will this not be a problem with the tighter deadband?

Testing this morning. Will try placing the sensor via metal tape on bottom of outside kettle and test temp variances in vs out. May change sensor type to thermocouple if possible to allow for quicker sensor response.

Observations:
*A bonus of the control box is the added on/off feature. VAM's do not have an on/off feature and have to be unplugged.
*The STC-1000 uses a slow NTC sensor vs a fast thermocouple or PT100 sensor. This makes them great for slow reacting systems such as Freezer and Kilns but not ideal for fast reacting systems such as espresso heating elements. Ideally a PID with a pt100 sensor is the better solution.

Will most likely sell this unit a build a PID with on/off and pt100 sensor.

May have figured out why VAM not coming to temp. It appears that a spot weld on the back of the kettle may have come off and causes the bi-metal to expand too much and early before temp is reached. Here is a picture pointing to where It seems the bi-metal has come loose from the kettle. Will either have spot welded or use drop of JB Weld at point.

I would confirm that it is indeed a spot weld. As far as I know the only attachment point is at the bottom of the bi-metal. You also want to avoid trying to bend the bi-metal as an adjustment.

I'm now a member of the club!

I just received my 1.0 Caravel today, purchased from Francesco Ceccarelli. David Garrett performed a little minor surgery. Francesco gladly paid David for the fix.
The machine is spotless, the boiler looks brand new. Francesco designated the machine as "very good." I'd say excellent.
I'll need a day or three to dial in both the Forte and KyM manual. I have a feeling the KyM will be the ticket. If I can sneak a few bucks from the wife, I may purchase one of those after market baskets. Thankfully this, and other threads (thanks peace cup and others) will guide me through the process. I've still got the Strega, but the quick glimpse of the larger machine Paul Pratt is building has me salivating. Does this EVER stop?

I joined the "lever brigade" many years ago, and it's been an interesting...and tasty journey ever since.

Cheers.

Nice, Rob! I remember reading your posts about the time when you had a loaner Caravel from Doug and Barb. That was a long time ago! Welcome back to the club.

Pete