Help - PID Installation on Rancilio Silvia v4

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Ciaran82
Posts: 3
Joined: 6 years ago

#1: Post by Ciaran82 »

Hi,

I bought the PID kit https://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/pid-r ... sion-white for the Silvia.

However, the instructions online all seem to be for older machines. Where the videos on youtube say to place the solid state controller, there is now a box. Any advice on where to place the controller, so as to not short anything or have heat transfers issues?

In the pics below you can see the black box on the left where the controller should go, according to instructions/






Thanks,

Ciaran

jpatrickramos
Posts: 46
Joined: 7 years ago

#2: Post by jpatrickramos »

I would give the folks at SCG a call. Chances are they've got some instructions for you on that one!

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chuckcoffee
Posts: 297
Joined: 10 years ago

#3: Post by chuckcoffee »

Ciaran82

I found this location to the right of the group head worked for me. My Silvia (ver III) is relegated to travel service now but ran many years in this position with no issues. PID was a great addition both for stabilizing brew and having more consistent steam pressure. Its snug with about 1/16" clearance from the group head and just touching the nut where the steam wand enters the body. Not sure if any dim changed with ver IV.

Edit Note: I changed the steam knob on my ver 3 to the ver 2 knob as it was easier to turn


Ciaran82 (original poster)
Posts: 3
Joined: 6 years ago

#4: Post by Ciaran82 (original poster) »

jpatrickramos wrote:I would give the folks at SCG a call. Chances are they've got some instructions for you on that one!
Thanks for your reply- I just received an email back from their support team saying they "can't help due to liability issues". I was just referred back to the online videos- this seems kinda poor service to me

Ciaran82 (original poster)
Posts: 3
Joined: 6 years ago

#5: Post by Ciaran82 (original poster) »

chuckcoffee wrote:Ciaran82

I found this location to the right of the group head worked
Thanks- but it's the controller inside- where you connect the wires- that is what I'm having issues with. Did your machine look like mine on the inside?

jpatrickramos
Posts: 46
Joined: 7 years ago

#6: Post by jpatrickramos »

Ciaran82 wrote:Thanks for your reply- I just received an email back from their support team saying they "can't help due to liability issues". I was just referred back to the online videos- this seems kinda poor service to me
I am really surprised/disappointed by that.
Sorry you didn't have better luck with them.

dmw010
Posts: 315
Joined: 14 years ago

#7: Post by dmw010 »

Many years ago, I contacted Auber directly when I had trouble installing a PID. They were very helpful, so you might try that.

Long story "short": I made a mistake installing a PID in my first SBDU machine and shorted something out (pop and blue smoke). It was early days in my espresso journey, and I had no idea what to do. Auber actually had me ship the machine to them, and they fixed it for the cost of the part and installed the PID properly.

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chuckcoffee
Posts: 297
Joined: 10 years ago

#8: Post by chuckcoffee »

Yes seems odd on the response.

Here is where I put my relay. As you can see there is rust in and around on the frame. I think that is primarily from overspill when filling the water reservoir when it is sitting in position. I got away from that practice. This seems to match up with the location SCG used in this video.

Always double check you hookup connections. I recall that hooking all the wires to the controller was tricky.




Seattle Coffee Gear
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwwhesSL-T8