If you're on a budget, get the complete Swagelok adapter with fitted digital thermometer from Chris' Coffee for $85 or $90. It takes 10 min. to put it into your E61 and looks MUCH better than a TC with a wire hanging out from it. It will be as accurate as you need for the job. Michael

Hi

well I'm still looking for a lathe operator to make that thread converter for me, but I'm in contact with a friend who might be able to shape something up. Will see how it goes.

I was also thinking of using M6 threaded welding tips which are copper and already have a pretty nice shape and would probably fit pretty well. I will have to redrill them as they usually only have a 1.2mm dia hole max.

As for the thermometer Michael, why do you think it will be as accurate and fast as a TC coupled with a PID that has cold junction compensation and can display temperature with 0.1*C resolution? I seriously doubt it will be better and with used equipment I can get even below the 80-90$ budget, which is great news for me.

Cheers,
dsc.

Michael, 'mgwolf' wrote:It will be as accurate as you need for the job.

Whereupon 'dsc,' responding, wrote:. . . why do you think it will be as accurate and fast as a TC coupled with a PID . . . ?

Michael did not say it will be as accurate; he said it will be as accurate as you need for the job. Those are different standards.

The thermometers (mine) are based on either the Taylor 3516 digital (degrees F) or Taylor 9841 (degrees F or C - switchable). Both of these thermometers are currently "powered" by a 50K ohm thermistor. As received by me, the thermistors are inside a 0.151" OD tube, pretty close to the tip. When I am done with my modifications, the same thermistor is inside a 0.125" OD tube, very lightly forced into the tip, surrounded by Omegatherm 201 heat transfer grease.

The digital thermometers are "calibrated" in condensing steam and are tagged as such. They are surprisingly FAST. The time-constant for these little gizmos in condensing steam (going from room temperature to ~212F/100C is less than 1 second. The read rate of the thermometer is 1/s.

Now these numbers are not up to the standards of a similiarly sheathed type T thermocouple feeding a TYPICAL pid meter but you would be pleasantly surprised.

Hi

Richard you are correct, I shouldn't have stated that. But still I won't get 0.1*C and the response speed that I want with the thermistor thermometer.

Eric I believe you that the thermometer is fast, but not as fast as a TC and a good quality temp regulator/meter.

Just got a message from my friend that he will be able to produce that thread converter for me, so I should be able to complete the whole thing with just the basic elements, like the of-the-shelf TC adapter from Omega and some teflon tape.

Cheers,
dsc.

Eric also makes a thermocouple version, which is what I use in combination with a ScaceII for testing.

Hi

what about 'naked' TC's? non sheathed type, that could be placed in a drilled screw and fitted in place with silicone?

I was also thinking of using this:

http://www.omega.co.uk/ppt/pptsc.asp?re ... nav=tema02

But I'm not sure how to fit it, besides that silicone + screw idea.

I think those partially sealed, or unsheathed TC's are going to be even faster, which for my application is just the thing I'm looking for.

So anyone tried using 'naked' thermocouples? I would probably go for a type T TC's, as type J has iron, which will corrode over time. That teflon TC's is also a good idea as it will never corrode.

Cheers,
dsc.

Hi again,

well here it is, my version of a TC fitting:



and here it is installed on the group:



I went with a used controller in a din 32 case:



The whole thing works very good, although when I flush the controller shows temperature of around 100*C. I also discovered that the temperature "on the screw" is around 4-5*C higher than that on the group.

I still have to solve a problem with flow speed and side channeling but that's a whole different story:)

Cheers,
dsc.

dsc,

Your espresso machine looks like Andreja Premium.
Do you consider PID-ing it still (being HX and all) or will you just use the PID as a thermometer?

Peter
Netherlands
Europe

Hi Peter,

Yes it is an Andreja Premium. I will only use the controller as an indicator. In my opinion there's no sense in PIDing a HX machine. You could add an auto cooling flush mechanism, by sticking a TC in the HX and turning on the pump when it goes above a given level, but I don't think it's needed.

I might add a different solution to make the machine a bit more stable, but that's still only an idea.

Cheers,
dsc.