{"id":1433,"date":"2019-10-29T15:59:35","date_gmt":"2019-10-29T15:59:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/?page_id=1433"},"modified":"2021-07-28T21:25:45","modified_gmt":"2021-07-28T21:25:45","slug":"coffee-machine-non-electronic-mods","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/hobbies\/pimping-my-coffee-machine\/coffee-machine-non-electronic-mods\/","title":{"rendered":"Non-electronic Mods"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here are ways to improve the machine without adding a PID controller:<\/p>\n<p>First off, ditch the outer plastic sheath on the\u00a0pannarello frother. That whole assembly is for people who do not know how to steam milk<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_1433_1('footnote_plugin_reference_1433_1_1');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_1433_1('footnote_plugin_reference_1433_1_1');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_1433_1_1\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">1<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1433_1_1\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">And who have better things to do with their lives than learn how.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1433_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1433_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>. It produces a foam of sorts, but nothing like the glorious micro-foam you&#8217;ll get in a good coffee shop. Just use the inner plastic bit, which has a lovely fine nozzle you can float just on or under the milk surface. With the <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/2009\/08\/latte-art\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">right jug and a little practice<\/a> you&#8217;ll be frothing beautiful milk.<\/p>\n<p>Second, and more adventurous, ditch the entire steam wand. Replace it with a\u00a0Rancilio Silvia wand. These are longer (better reach into the jug) and have a larger and well-formed injection nozzle. They also fit both the Gaggia Classic and the Gaggia Baby ranges. (Google for instructions &#8211; with the Baby, it&#8217;s a matter of pulling the wand out of the black plastic ball assembly with brute force &#8211; it&#8217;s just held in with a small plastic clip.) These wands are always available on ebay. Here, however, you hit a problem. The Gaggia boiler does not produce enough steam pressure most of the time for this wand to work because a) the thermostat keeps the temperature below 135\u00b0C most of the time and b) the boiler rapidly begins to run dry and steam pressure drops off. So if you want this wand, you need a decent <a href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/hobbies\/pimping-my-coffee-machine\/pid-controller-rev-1\/\">electronic controller<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Third, and really wonderfully life-transforming, remove the silly little rubber sleeve from the Silvia wand and buy some Teflon tubing with 6mm internal diameter, unscrew the nozzle, shove the sleeving onto the wand and replace the nozzle. Teflon is amazing:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It can handle high temperatures: way higher than the temperature of the steam.<\/li>\n<li>It doesn&#8217;t conduct heat well: so no more burning yourself on the metal wand. And, also, less heat loss from the steam as it passes through the wand.<\/li>\n<li>Nothing sticks to Teflon<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_1433_1('footnote_plugin_reference_1433_1_2');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_1433_1('footnote_plugin_reference_1433_1_2');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_1433_1_2\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">2<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1433_1_2\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">So how <em>do<\/em> they get it to stick to saucepans?<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1433_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1433_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>: burnt-on milk is the bane of frother wands &#8211; my wand doesn&#8217;t get hot enough and the milk wouldn&#8217;t stick if it did.<\/li>\n<li>It has a very low coefficient of friction: so with enough elbow grease you <em>can<\/em>\u00a0shove it past the bends and all the way up to the top of the wand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Voila:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/silviawandteflon.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-865\" src=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/silviawandteflon.jpg\" alt=\"silviawandteflon\" width=\"500\" height=\"502\" srcset=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/silviawandteflon.jpg 500w, http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/silviawandteflon-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/silviawandteflon-298x300.jpg 298w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Fourth, increase the heat conduction between the boiler shell and the brew head. Full details <a title=\"Improving Gaggia brew head temperature\" href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/improving-gaggia-brew-head-temperature\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Fifth, if you are very brave and adventurous and careful and probably only after you&#8217;ve also done the Arduino mods, <a title=\"Doubling Gaggia Heating Power\" href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/doubling-gaggia-heating-power\/\">double the boiler power<\/a>. It gets the machine up to temperature so much quicker and also steams the milk more quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, put some heat insulation around the boiler. This means faster warm up (especially for the second<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_1433_1('footnote_plugin_reference_1433_1_3');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_1433_1('footnote_plugin_reference_1433_1_3');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_1433_1_3\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">3<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1433_1_3\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">or third\u00a0or fourth, fifth, etc.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1433_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1433_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> cup of the day), lower electricity usage and better steam. Better steam because, with the Silvia wand and full steam flow, the full machine&#8217;s 1300W cannot heat the boiler as far as 140\u00b0C, which I take to be a reasonable upper bound for safe operating temperature<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_1433_1('footnote_plugin_reference_1433_1_4');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_1433_1('footnote_plugin_reference_1433_1_4');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_1433_1_4\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">4<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1433_1_4\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Well, a bit more than that actually, but not too much more.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1433_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1433_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>. Insulation helps a little with this. (Although if you double the boiler power this point becomes extremely moot.)<\/p>\n<p>The key thing you want in heat insulation is low thermal conductivity and the ability to withstand well over\u00a0140\u00b0C without melting or bursting into flame (bear in mind that the hottest exposed parts of the heating elements will be higher than the water\/steam temperature). I used some wool carpet offcuts because firefighters wear wool explicitly for its amazing high temperature properties<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_1433_1('footnote_plugin_reference_1433_1_5');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_1433_1('footnote_plugin_reference_1433_1_5');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_1433_1_5\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">5<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1433_1_5\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">If you really want to impress visitors with your pimped kitchen appliances, why not cover the entire machine in sheepskin?<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1433_1_5').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1433_1_5', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/gaggiaheatinsultation.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-891\" src=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/gaggiaheatinsultation.jpg\" alt=\"gaggiaheatinsultation\" width=\"500\" height=\"412\" srcset=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/gaggiaheatinsultation.jpg 1500w, http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/gaggiaheatinsultation-300x247.jpg 300w, http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/gaggiaheatinsultation-1024x843.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/gaggiaheatinsultation-364x300.jpg 364w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Oh, and if you&#8217;re worried about losing the cup warmer on the top of the machine, just run some water into the cups before brewing.<\/p>\n<p>[Update: the heat was eventually too much for the carpet which disintegrated after several years. I keep pondering the idea of making something out of silicone.]<\/p>\n<p>Return to <a href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/hobbies\/pimping-my-coffee-machine\/\">main coffee machine page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"speaker-mute footnotes_reference_container\"> <div class=\"footnote_container_prepare\"><p><span role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_reference_container_label pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_1433_1();\">&#x202F;<\/span><span role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button\" style=\"display: none;\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_1433_1();\">[<a id=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_1433_1\">+<\/a>]<\/span><\/p><\/div> <div id=\"footnote_references_container_1433_1\" style=\"\"><table class=\"footnotes_table footnote-reference-container\"><caption class=\"accessibility\">References<\/caption> <tbody> \r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_1433_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_1433_1_1');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_1433_1_1\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>1<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">And who have better things to do with their lives than learn how.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_1433_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_1433_1_2');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_1433_1_2\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>2<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">So how <em>do<\/em> they get it to stick to saucepans?<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_1433_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_1433_1_3');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_1433_1_3\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>3<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">or third\u00a0or fourth, fifth, etc.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_1433_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_1433_1_4');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_1433_1_4\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>4<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Well, a bit more than that actually, but not too much more.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_1433_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_1433_1_5');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_1433_1_5\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>5<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">If you really want to impress visitors with your pimped kitchen appliances, why not cover the entire machine in sheepskin?<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n <\/tbody> <\/table> <\/div><\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> function footnote_expand_reference_container_1433_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_1433_1').show(); jQuery('#footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_1433_1').text('\u2212'); } function footnote_collapse_reference_container_1433_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_1433_1').hide(); jQuery('#footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_1433_1').text('+'); } function footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_1433_1() { if (jQuery('#footnote_references_container_1433_1').is(':hidden')) { footnote_expand_reference_container_1433_1(); } else { footnote_collapse_reference_container_1433_1(); } } function footnote_moveToReference_1433_1(p_str_TargetID) { footnote_expand_reference_container_1433_1(); var l_obj_Target = jQuery('#' + p_str_TargetID); if (l_obj_Target.length) { jQuery( 'html, body' ).delay( 0 ); jQuery('html, body').animate({ scrollTop: l_obj_Target.offset().top - window.innerHeight * 0.2 }, 380); } } function footnote_moveToAnchor_1433_1(p_str_TargetID) { footnote_expand_reference_container_1433_1(); var l_obj_Target = jQuery('#' + p_str_TargetID); if (l_obj_Target.length) { jQuery( 'html, body' ).delay( 0 ); jQuery('html, body').animate({ scrollTop: l_obj_Target.offset().top - window.innerHeight * 0.2 }, 380); } }<\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here are ways to improve the machine without adding a PID controller: First off, ditch the outer plastic sheath on the\u00a0pannarello frother. That whole assembly is for people who do not know how to steam milk1And who have better things &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/hobbies\/pimping-my-coffee-machine\/coffee-machine-non-electronic-mods\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":854,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1433"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1433"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1754,"href":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1433\/revisions\/1754"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}