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PID my Saeco Via Venezia or not? hmm...

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  • PID my Saeco Via Venezia or not? hmm...

    Hi all,
    I cant decide on whether I should PID my Via Venezia. Would it be worth the $150 it will cost? Or should I just learn to temperature surf better? I know the VV has a rather small boiler, which is good as it heats up quickly, but temp fluctuations would obviously occur during the pour... Thoughts and opinions from anyone with a Saeco VV, or have upgraded thier single boiler machines with PIDs would be greatly appreciated
    Thanks in advance!

  • #2
    Re: PID my Saeco Via Venezia or not? hmm...

    $150 seems expensive. Is that for a kit, or including a professional to fit the parts?

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    • #3
      Re: PID my Saeco Via Venezia or not? hmm...

      Hiya who me,
      Yea thats just the kit... If you know of anyone (sponsors especially) who have a kit for the saeco cheaper itd be awesome to hear!!!

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      • #4
        Re: PID my Saeco Via Venezia or not? hmm...

        hi personsonly i woulnt bother with the pid kit , if you havent allready tried temp surfing the vv its worth trying first before commiting to a pid kit (its the manual ver lol), theres a you tube vid out there showing the steps , also try unscrewing the shower screen screw by 3/4 of a turn to stop the sprinkler head type spray effect it made a good difference in my brews to date (much nicer pucks and beter pours with my naked group)
        cheers
        fman ;D

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        • #5
          Re: PID my Saeco Via Venezia or not? hmm...

          fman, youre improving my barista skills literally in leaps and bounds!!! Yea, im getting about  1/5th crema in my shotglasses which isnt too bad i guess, ive seen vids of like 50/50 crema which is something im definately aiming for 
          Unscrewing the shower screen that tiny little bit has helped, makes the pucks nicer, your right)
             I cant help but wonder if a pid kit would help THAT much, everyone who has one says how amazing they are and how they wish they got one earlier.

             On a different note, did you make your naked portafilter yourself?...
          And any other nice tips with the running of this little beauty?   Thanks again to the both of you for your help

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          • #6
            Re: PID my Saeco Via Venezia or not? hmm...

            I put the parts together myself for total outlay of about au$40.

            Getting a kit may get you a better pid controller and thermocouple that fits your machine perfectly. You should definitely get clear instructions and hopefully assistance from the seller with getting it installed should you have problems.

            I dont recall ever seeing a post from someone that installed a pid that suggested it was not worthwhile.

            Take a look at this thread for my experience.
            http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1290915298

            There are plenty of others out there too.

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            • #7
              Re: PID my Saeco Via Venezia or not? hmm...

              hi glad some of it helped
              i guess the main mods for the vv are
              1: de pressirse the pf mod (remove springs and the plastic diaprahm)
              2: screen screw mod
              3: naked pf mod
              4: pid
              before going the pid at least try temp surfing first

              as to the naked group it was umm deconstructed from the group that came with the vv that greenman sent over. i took every thing off/out , left with brass part only, then used a matching hole saw to cut out the floor out of the pf , then removed 3 of the 4 screw points with a bench grinder an got the surface flat leaving one part of the wall to drill and tap a hole to screw a handle into the pf.(i used some stainless rod from a disued spit roaster) , then some fine grit paper to polish and smooth surfaces. I will make a wood handle along the line.
              cheers
              fman

              as to the pid the kit is cool, but u can save a wack by getting the stuff of ebay and getting a sparky to wire it up and tag it safe incase of a resale down the track

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              • #8
                Re: PID my Saeco Via Venezia or not? hmm...

                I have had two via Venezias and while they are a reasonable machine, i would probably not recommend it as a worthy candidate for the pid treatment. I would suggest you should probably upgrade to something like a rancilio silvia rather than pid the venezia. I also have a silvia and have compared both machines with the same grinder and bean and have to say that even with the de-presurrised basket, the best shots out of the venezia were of lower quality than the worst shots out of the silvia.
                From my basic understanding of the pid, it should make your best results repeatable due to consistent water temperature, but wont make your best shots much better.
                I have been tempted to PID the silvia because every so often the stars align and you get an amazing shot out of it, and i get tired of temperature surfing.

                Maybe instead of a pid for the venezia, you could get a digital temperature gauge and probe (Ebay $20) and save the pennies for an upgrade later on.

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