Yikes! I don't even have the grinder yet! I will need to take it a little slower.

Whereabouts in MD are you?

Damascus (Montgomery County) and work in Germantown.

Modding both Silvia and Rocky are not really needed, but can aid you in the search for consistency. I myself bought used, and i paid the price. All the time i spent trying to dial in Rocky, and Miss Silvia, were a waste because the pump on Silvia was dying, and the burrs on the Rocky were old . I am now starting to get them dialed in, and seeing some sort of consistency.

If you are at all mechanically inclined, or even inclined to just tinker, the few little mods that i have done are EZ. Tape the top grinder threads, and taped the doser "sweepers" (not sure what these are called, but it helps to actually get the majority of the coffee gounds out of the doser) Of course buying a doserless would negate the need
Since i haven't yet PID'd Miss Silvia, but i did screw the exposed wire end of a digital thermometer that i picked up from Bed Bath & Beyond to the top of the boiler. What i did was I cut off the plastic "collar" and removed the actual thermocouple from the "spike" housing. I then screwed the exposed wire in between the two clips that hold the thermostats onto the top of the boiler. If anything it helps you understand what the temperature is at the top of the boiler.

PID is still the way to go, but you can still help the cause without spending any real $$.

Eric offered me awhile back to come see a PID'd Silvia in action. An offer i wanted to jump on, but my world got tossed upside down recently, and never took him up on his offer. I will either PID her, or i will upgrade to something better . It will happen, oh yes.... It will.

-Donovan

Wow. The difference in grind was immediately obvious! I know the Rocky is bottom of the line as far as espresso capable grinders is concerned, but it sure is way better than the Saeco I had! My first shot choked the machine...something the Saeco was incapable of no matter how hard I tamped.

Now to learn how to make halfway decent espresso...

Great Justin! It is easy to choke Silvia up with the Rocky on too fine of a setting. I think i am right around 5 or 6 up from the 0 point.

-Donovan