Alternative for PID

Need help with equipment usage or want to share your latest discovery?
Marcelnl
Posts: 3831
Joined: 10 years ago

#1: Post by Marcelnl »

Strolling on the net I found a reference to a module offered by a member of the German Kaffee-netz forum, easy kits to be used with ristretto or caffe firmware. From what I gathered a serious alternative for a PID as it appears more versatile and capable of pressure profiling. Not sure what the value and nothing for me, but I wanted to let others be able to evaluate for themselves.

https://www.kaffee-netz.de/threads/easy ... hme.98719/
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Headala
Posts: 917
Joined: 10 years ago

#2: Post by Headala replying to Marcelnl »

Similar idea to the meCoffee kit I used in my Silvia (meCoffee does not have pressure though). Both are internal boards, programmed with an external tablet, and based on ATMega CPU's. But dang the hardware for the Ristretto is sweet but expensive. 295 Euros for the full kit when it goes back on sale!

Marcelnl (original poster)
Posts: 3831
Joined: 10 years ago

#3: Post by Marcelnl (original poster) »

It"s German, so it'll be expensive but good (but double check the emissions) the price I saw was 145 euro per kit so not more than a brand PID or did I miss something?

There are two versions so it seems, one with pressure and all other frills and one more like a lazy mans PID
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Headala
Posts: 917
Joined: 10 years ago

#4: Post by Headala replying to Marcelnl »

It seems to me that the original price period is ended and now you have to buy the full kit? Not sure I'm understanding it correctly. Also, he mentioned in the thread that the boards are manufactured in China.

Marcelnl (original poster)
Posts: 3831
Joined: 10 years ago

#5: Post by Marcelnl (original poster) »

He offers the kits periodically so a nee opportunity will probably come along, kits are made in Germany but circuit boards and displays come from China. Anyway, I had only skimped through the text as I just read he won't ship outside the EU.
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mirceat
Posts: 27
Joined: 8 years ago

#6: Post by mirceat »

Recently I did a research and I was able to find just 2 commercial offers for Arduino-based controllers hidden mounted into the machine case: easy-Kit 2 and meCoffee.
I am assuming easy-Kit 2 (149€) targets mainly the German market, because it's offered only on the German Kaffee-Netz.de forum. I am not sure if the more expensive arturo kit is available indeed. The base price of 295.00€ makes the arturo kit unappealing anyway.
I went with the less featured, but more user friendly meCoffee (119€) and have installed it on my Gaggia Classic.
The prices for both kits are extremely competitive when compared to other PID kits and anybody should appreciate the original machine design is not altered at all (or almost, when mounting the optional OLED display for easy-Kit 2).
The vendor support is great for meCoffee and I am assuming the same for easy-Kit 2. Most installs have been done on Rancilio Silvia and Gaggia Classic, I guess. Therefore the vendor support might be limited to a few number of machine brands.

Headala
Posts: 917
Joined: 10 years ago

#7: Post by Headala replying to mirceat »

I'm also using the meCoffee on my Silvia and love it. Such a fantastic product and concept: more control and functionality than a normal PID but without the eyesore of an extra box/display sticking off of the machine. I'm excited about hopeful future updates and feature additions as well.

jonr
Posts: 610
Joined: 11 years ago

#8: Post by jonr »

The small boiler Gaggia Classic in particular benefits from algorithms smarter than PID. Even before cool water starts to flow into the boiler (during brew), additional heat should be added to compensate. Do it right and you can get flexible temperature profiling with rising, flat or slightly falling profiles (which is what I prefer). Do it the standard way and you are likely to get a large temperature drop during brew.

mirceat
Posts: 27
Joined: 8 years ago

#9: Post by mirceat »

Right, the small Gaggia Classic boiler makes it very manageable, therefore a good candidate for advanced thermal control.
I am able to get any boiler temperature profile I like through the specific PID settings from meBarista, the companion Android app for meCoffee. Even real time temperature profiling is possible, but not very practical IMO.

mirceat
Posts: 27
Joined: 8 years ago

#10: Post by mirceat »

And you know what I am amazed more and more on this programmable controller experience?
I have installed the companion meBarista v4.beta22 app on my tablet and I am waiting for a minor firmware version upgrade in order to make some feature work properly on Gaggia Classic.
I'm looking forward to some meBarista improvements and extensions as well. I am considering to upgrade the meCoffee box to its next version or to another box sporting better specs.
Does it sound familiar? Software and hardware upgrades for espresso machines like for computing devices? No more or less SBDU to HX or DB upgrades? No more consumer to prosumer upgrades? Would it be really possible at large scale? Don't know, but I am really living this amazing experience on an entry level espresso machine.

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