Gaggia OWC - many mods

Equipment doesn't work? Troubleshooting? If you're handy, members can help.
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AndyPanda
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Joined: 13 years ago

#1: Post by AndyPanda »

Hello all. I have been away from the forum for many years and just coming back to see what's going on. :D

Ages ago I had picked up a Gaggia OWC (predecessor to the Classic) that has a larger boiler but several fatal flaws that prevented it from making decent espresso. I made several posts with pictures and videos of the various mods I was doing - and the mods improved things tremendously. But back then I had no experience with PID at all - and instead I was just mounting an inexpensive digital thermometer to the boiler so I could manually manage the temp swings and get fairly consistent shot temps.

The other day, I got interested again and pulled out the old OWC machines (I have three of them - yikes) and I noticed how inexpensive PID kits are these days. So I put a PID on the OWC and - WOW - once the PID self learned things it is so easy to get consistent shot temps now. The OWC has a much larger boiler than the Classic - so you don't have the drastic temp drop during the shot - and it recovers pretty quickly for a second/third shot since it's a much smaller portion of the boiler capacity that gets replaced with cold water during a shot.

Since I'm a total newbie to PID ... I searched the forum for info on how to tweak the parameters ... and searching returned just too much non-pertinent info so I'm hoping someone here can give me a quick "how to" or a list of ideal settings for PID parameters.

I have the Inkbird ITC100HV

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JR_Germantown
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Joined: 18 years ago

#2: Post by JR_Germantown »

I have three of those (2 in working condition), but never added a PID. I modded the brewhead where the water comes out, but that's it.

Jack

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AndyPanda (original poster)
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#3: Post by AndyPanda (original poster) »

There must be something seriously wrong with both of us. I have three as well.

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JR_Germantown
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#4: Post by JR_Germantown replying to AndyPanda »

Yeah, I know about you. ;) I'm pretty sure we've bumped into each other on an old coffee site whose name I won't say because its founder is (IMO) such a diva with regard to the trademark of his site's name. ;) And also on a newer forum that is just for Gaggias.

Jack

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drgary
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#5: Post by drgary »

Blaine,

Welcome back!

I think many people let the PID autotune, if you can find that setting in the manual.
Gary
LMWDP#308

What I WOULD do for a good cup of coffee!

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AndyPanda (original poster)
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Joined: 13 years ago

#6: Post by AndyPanda (original poster) »

I've been playing with autotune ... but I ended up taking one parameter at a time and changing it to see what it did. I'm starting to get more of a handle on it. And I've got the OWC handling the temps pretty well now.

Boku Supper Club
Posts: 78
Joined: 7 years ago

#7: Post by Boku Supper Club »

Hoping to keep this alive, as I just pick up an OWC and started tearing it down. I would like to start modding it, as well. OP, I've read some of your other threads and I'll be tackling those mods at some point. I need to find an o-ring for the boiler, though. I'd love to know how you wired up the PID.





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drgary
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#8: Post by drgary »

A discussion started about how to wire an OWC that also included a search for a schematic. I've split that topic to here:

How to Wire a Gaggia OWC?
Gary
LMWDP#308

What I WOULD do for a good cup of coffee!