Coffee machine kits

 

A. General questions:

A.1. How to build a kit for my coffee machine?

You may buy some components to build a kit by yourself. The items you need are a SYL-1512A, an SSR, and a PT100 RTD sensor. The main challenge is where and how to mount the temperature sensor. There are several types of RTD sensors for coffee machine kits, and some are not even listed on our website. We also can make a specific sensor for you if you can figure out how to mount the sensor on the machine. You have to figure out the wiring and PID parameters by yourself. Here are the links for the components.
1 x PID temperature controller, e.g., SYL-1512A
1 x Solid state relay (SSR), 25A SSR 
1 x PT100 RTD sensor such as PT100M4 or RTDstat. (Other PT100 sensors such as PT100S or PT100MN are also available.) 
1 x metal box for the controller, SBOXS.

Although the controller SYL-1512A are not the same as the PID controllers in our coffee machine kits, which are specially designed and are not for sale as a single item, you can still achieve a significant improvement in the accuracy and the stability in regulating the boiler temperature. 

A.2. How to download the manual for coffee machine kits?

If you purchased your coffee machine kit through our website (auberins.com), you can download the instruction manual from our website. Please login to our website, go to your order history and find the download link in your order. The manual is available for download within 3 months of the purchasing date or for 9 times. If you didn't create an account when you purchased the kit, that's okay because your order history is associated with your email address. Here is how to create an account and access your order history.

1) Please go to the login page on our website. 
2) On the right side, in the Returning Customers box, click on "Forgot your password?". 
3) Enter the email address that you placed the order with and hit "Submit". 
4) Then an auto-generated temporary password will be sent to your email. You might want to check your spam folder if you don't receive it after a few minutes or can't find it in your inbox. 
5) Use the temporary password to log in. You can then go to your account and view your order details. The manual is available for download within 6 months of your purchasing date. 
6) Please remember to change the temporary password. 

Here is a PDF guide on how to download the manual for login-required kits.  

If you purchased the kit from our eBay store, there should be a USB flash drive in the package. The manuals can be found in the USB flash drive. 

If you purchased the kit from a vendor, please contact the vendor. You can also request the manual from us if you provide the receipt from the vendor and show us the model number of the kit. 

A.3. How to remove the PID controller from the coffee machine?

To remove the controller, cut the cable ties (not the wires) inside the espresso machine near the controller. That will allow the wires to move into the controller box. Next, remove the four screws in the front of the controller box. Carefully pull the controller forward with its front plate. Then remove the wires from the back terminals. To remove the stainless steel plate, press the four small prongs on the PID controller in and try pushing the controller forwards. Remember to remove the rubber gasket on the PID controller. Just send the controller back.

Please note: No need to remove the metal box from the espresso machine.
[PDF] How to remove the PID controller from the coffee machine kit. 

A.4. I got the pre-infusion kit. After the pre-infusion, the valve releases the pressure during the pause/dwell time (Td). Is it better to keep the valve activated (i.e., not releasing the pressure)? 

Please see our discussion here: [PDF] Discussion on Pre-infusion

A.5. Can I upgrade the regular kit for Rancilio Silvia (KIT-RSRTDNb or KIT-RSRTD) to a pre-infusion kit (KIT-RSPb)?

For Rancilio Silvia machines, the parts in pre-infusion kit KIT-RSPb are quite different from the parts in a regular kit (KIT-RSRTDNb and KIT-RSRTD). The PID controller, the solid state relay (SSR), almost all the wires are different. If you have a regular kit that has not been installed yet, it is easier to exchange the entire kit. If you have an old kit that has been installed and been used for a while, that means you'll have to purchase the PID controller, dual-channel SSR, and wires. 

A.6. Can I upgrade the regular kit for Gaggia Classic (KIT-GG) to a pre-infusion kit (KIT-GGP)?

For Gaggia Classic machines, the PID controller and the wires in the pre-infusion kit (KIT-GGP) are different from those in the regular kit (KIT-GG). If you have a regular kit that has not been installed yet, it is easier to exchange the entire kit. If you have an old kit that has been installed and used for a while, that means you'll have to purchase the PID controller and the wires.

A.7. Can I mount the PID controller inside of the espresso machine?

You can but we don't recommend it. Our offered kits are designed for the external mount. Drilling and cutting the (stainless steel) front panel is not easy for everyone, and the temperature inside the espresso machine is hot, which is not good for electronics. If you can find a good way to insulate the PID from the outside, it might work better. Based on the feedback, some customers successfully installed their PID kit inside of the machine.

B. Questions for specific espresso machines:

B.1 Can I install your PID kit on the Santos 75 espresso machine?

The KIT-RSPb (with screw sensor) and KIT-RSRTD can be installed on Santos 75 espresso machines (please see the image below), but the wiring is different. We don't provide an installation guide on this particular machine. Please contact us if you are interested. 

Image courtesy of Jean-pierre from France. 

B.2. I have an espresso machine with a heat exchanger type of boiler. Do you have a kit to control it?

Currently, we don't have a kit for heat exchanger (HX) machines yet, but you can assemble a basic kit with these parts:
1 x SYL-1512A,
1 x 25A AC SSR,
1 x SBOXS,
1 x PT100 RTD sensor.

Most of heat exchanger boilers rely on a pressure switch (pressure stat) to maintain the temperature in the boiler. The pressure switch measures the pressure in the boiler and turns the heater ON/OFF accordingly. The idea here is to replace the pressure switch with a PID controller, a temperature probe, and a solid-state relay. Most pressure switches made for HX boilers have 1/4" BSPP male thread. However, we don't carry 1/4" BSPP probes at this moment. So you can use a 1/4" NPT female to 1/4" BSPP male adapter and choose a PT100 probe with 1/4" NPT thread (such as PT100-L60NPT or PT100-L50NPT). 

You can also use the basic kit KIT-RSRTDNb and swap out the RTDstat in the kit with a liquid-tight probe mentioned above.

Please contact us if you have questions. 

B.3. Can I install a PID kit on the Rancilio Lucy espresso machine?
The KIT-RSPb (with RTDstat) and KIT-RSRTDNb can be installed on Rancilio Lucy espresso machines (please see the image below), but the color code in Lucy is slightly different. We have a supplementary installation note on installing KIT-RSPb on this particular machine. Please see the document below if you are interested. 
[PDF] Installation Note for Rancilio Lucy.

Image courtesy of Charles from Australia. 

B.4. Can I install a PID kit on an Isomac Venus espresso machine?

The Isomac Venus is quite similar to Rancilio Silvia in terms of its wiring. The basic kit (KIT-RSRTD) and the pre-infusion kit (KIT-RSPb) can be installed with some modifications on the Isomac Venus. We don't have an official installation guide. But we have put together an installation note based on the feedback from our customer Andrew from New Zealand.
[PDF] Installation Notes for Isomac Venus.

An Isomac Venus installed with KIT-RSPb. Image courtesy of Andrew from New Zealand.  

B.5. Can I install a PID kit on an ECM Casa V espresso machine?
Yes, the KIT-RSRTD (the basic kit with the PT100M4 screw sensor) and the KIT-RSPb (with the PT100M4 sensor) can be installed on ECM Casa V. 


An ECM Casa V was installed with KIT-RSRTD. Image courtesy of Chris from Utah, USA.  

B.6. Do you have a PID kit for Faema Family Espresso Machine?
We don't have an installation guide for Faema Family Espresso Machine. But you could use a basic kit with a PT100M4 screw sensor (KIT-RSRTD), or consider assembling a PID kit using an SYL-1512A, a PT100M4, an SSR, etc. Take a look at the beautifully retrofitted Faema Family Espresso Machines by Mugshot NYC.   

Feama Family Espresso Machine retrofitted by MugshotNYC (Image courtesy of Mugshot NYC).

 

C. Common troubleshooting guides:

C.1. What should I do if the thermal protection is triggered?

Please see the guide here: [PDF] Thermal protection triggered

C.2. The kit has been working fine for a while but now the temperature reading starts to jump up and down wildly, what's the problem?

You'll need a multimeter that can measure the resistance of the sensor to confirm whether the PT100 RTD sensor is working fine or not. If the sensor is fine, then it is probably the PID controller that is causing the problem. Please see the troubleshooting guide below. 

[PDF] Troubleshooting Guide for Temperature Reading Jumping Around

C.3. The pre-infusion button on the PID controller doesn't seem to activate the pump. 

After you press the pre-infusion/timer button on the controller, is the display counting up or down?

If not, the physical keypad on your controller could be bad. Please contact Auber support for a replacement part. 

If yes but there is still no action on your pump, please first verify that the pump is still working when you press the coffee button on the espresso machine. (For users who installed KIT-RSPb on Rancilio Silvia, you can use the Hot Water button to activate the pump due to the change of wiring.) If the pump still works, then the problem is most likely caused by the PID controller, errors in wiring the PID controller, or wrong settings. 

[PDF] Troubleshooting Guide for Pump-control in Pre-infusion kits.

C.4. The boiler in my espresso machine won't heat up. 

[PDF] Troubleshooting Guide for Gaggia Kit Not Heating Properly

[PDF] Troubleshooting Guide for Rancilio Kit Not Heating Properly (to be updated soon)

 

Last update: 4/13/2023