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To be honest a PID won't resolve the issue. Fundamentally the boiler is too small. Each shot you pull is taking a significant volume of water out and it cools too much. A PID can't accommodate this inconsistency - all it does is a more accurate tempeature surf. When I had a Silvia with the auber PID the temp would drop by approx 10 degrees over the course of one shot being pulled. You can imagine what subsequent shots would do.
I've had a Rancillio Silvia/ Baratza vario combo for a long while now, happy enough but there's still one thing that bugs me.
I can pull fairly consistent shots (one at a time) no problem. I use a simple temperature surfing method of waiting for the boiler light to come on, grinding the beans, tamping etc wait for the boiler to light to go out, flush for a few secs, insert the portafilter into the group head and pull the shot. I can get tasty shots in or around the 23 second mark.
The problem arises when I go to pull multiple shots in a row, if i'm having people over for instance. First shot fine, second runs a bit too quick, third or fourth is a gusher.
Grind is the same, dose is the same and the tamp pressure is the same so I imagine it's a temperature issue. Has anybody had the same problem? Is there anything I can do without resorting to PIDing the Silvia?