Great video! Very cool results. I agree the a PID is not going to be useful here, since the temp changes are so slow. Taking a page from the Flair 58’s book, having a few power levels that are fixed might be the answer. They could be dialed in to get you temps in various windows you want for different roast levels
Thanks! you make a good point with your suggestion. Until now, I've used this mod with the same mindset as other preheat methods. But what I haven't taken advantage of (and the biggest benefit of the mod) is temp stability. Because I can continue applying heat, you can essentially keep it at whatever temp you want throughout the final prep and shot pull. I think I might be able to do one better than the 58, since I can see what temp the cylinder is at. My plan is to have the cylinder and brew water at the same temp, so that when I fill the chamber there is no change. With that I can dial in temps for specific recipes/beans. I'll try to show that in the next update.
I'm finally back to making videos 😅. Can't promise when this will drop, but it's high on the list. I have some ideas for improvement that I plan to incorporate. Will likely have to split it into a few videos.
I've seen a video of an "induction gun". Would be interesting to implement that idea here: a coil you can slide over on top of the metal group head, to induce a current to heat in the steel, and possibly even induce current in the dosing basket and gasket too. I'm trying to look at an alternatives to buying the 58. I like the 58mm portafilter and basket, and the preheat, because I don't like the extra step of having to boil water separately to heat up the grouphead and portafilter. But it's hard to justify spending 500+ dollars when my Pro already works really well.
If I didn't already have the Pro 2, I would opt for the 58. Working on this mod gave me a healthy appreciation for what Flair was able to incorporate with the 58 at that price. Definitely think it's worth every penny. But yeah, adding your own electric preheat to the Pro 2 also has it's advantages. I'm still trying to work it out, but I think I have much better control of the brewing temp. I try to sync the cylinder and brew water to the same temp. For the most part I can target the brew temp to a certain degree and keep it stable. I don't think it's as easy to do with the 58. Your idea seems interesting. Probably a much more efficient heat transfer than the film I'm using. Wish you luck with it. Would be cool to see that's for sure. At this point I'm contemplating building my own lever machine 😁. Might use some parts of the flair (e.g. group head) as a first version. Maybe I'll also look into an induction gun. Hope you don't mind me taking inspiration. Might be quite a while before I take this on though.
Great idea! I just don't like the aesthetics, I saw a guy preheating the Aram, using a heating element inside the chamber, and using it to heat the chamber and the water inside directly. That way you don't have to mod the chamber at all. I will try that way as soon as I get my pro2, I also hesitant between the pro2 and the 58x cause I can't get the 58 locally and importing will costs a lot more.
I'd say it takes about 6 to 8 minutes to reach 100ºC. I'll try and post more accurate time measurements in part 2. Note that with this system, you don't need to get it that hot. You can either do something like 80ºC temp in the cylinder with 100ºC water (which will settle around mid to high 80s), or if you have a temp control kettle, have both right at the temp you desire (e.g. 88ºC).
I used this PI film: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076PD7TXW Basically I needed two of them in order to cover the diameter of the cylinder. So I have two rows of two PI film. They're rated for 12W, so I'm using a 48W power supply: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H493GHX I originally had a 60W PS which made the preheat faster. I moved to the 48W to prevent burning out the PI film. It's seems kind of slow though (~10 min preheat).
@@davidmaurice1294 But that seems like the same times reported by the Flair 58, some say even 20 minutes with it -- so not sounding too bad. Very impressed with your experimentation and your set up looks better than the cheap black plastic brick of the 58.
Great video! Very cool results. I agree the a PID is not going to be useful here, since the temp changes are so slow. Taking a page from the Flair 58’s book, having a few power levels that are fixed might be the answer. They could be dialed in to get you temps in various windows you want for different roast levels
Thanks! you make a good point with your suggestion. Until now, I've used this mod with the same mindset as other preheat methods. But what I haven't taken advantage of (and the biggest benefit of the mod) is temp stability. Because I can continue applying heat, you can essentially keep it at whatever temp you want throughout the final prep and shot pull.
I think I might be able to do one better than the 58, since I can see what temp the cylinder is at. My plan is to have the cylinder and brew water at the same temp, so that when I fill the chamber there is no change. With that I can dial in temps for specific recipes/beans. I'll try to show that in the next update.
I’ve just got my pro 2, and found this video. This is a great idea, when will you upload part 2 to this video?
I'm finally back to making videos 😅. Can't promise when this will drop, but it's high on the list. I have some ideas for improvement that I plan to incorporate. Will likely have to split it into a few videos.
Awesome video! can you make a video showing how you made the mod?
Great stuff.
I've seen a video of an "induction gun". Would be interesting to implement that idea here: a coil you can slide over on top of the metal group head, to induce a current to heat in the steel, and possibly even induce current in the dosing basket and gasket too.
I'm trying to look at an alternatives to buying the 58. I like the 58mm portafilter and basket, and the preheat, because I don't like the extra step of having to boil water separately to heat up the grouphead and portafilter. But it's hard to justify spending 500+ dollars when my Pro already works really well.
If I didn't already have the Pro 2, I would opt for the 58. Working on this mod gave me a healthy appreciation for what Flair was able to incorporate with the 58 at that price. Definitely think it's worth every penny.
But yeah, adding your own electric preheat to the Pro 2 also has it's advantages. I'm still trying to work it out, but I think I have much better control of the brewing temp. I try to sync the cylinder and brew water to the same temp. For the most part I can target the brew temp to a certain degree and keep it stable. I don't think it's as easy to do with the 58.
Your idea seems interesting. Probably a much more efficient heat transfer than the film I'm using. Wish you luck with it. Would be cool to see that's for sure. At this point I'm contemplating building my own lever machine 😁. Might use some parts of the flair (e.g. group head) as a first version. Maybe I'll also look into an induction gun. Hope you don't mind me taking inspiration. Might be quite a while before I take this on though.
Great idea! I just don't like the aesthetics, I saw a guy preheating the Aram, using a heating element inside the chamber, and using it to heat the chamber and the water inside directly. That way you don't have to mod the chamber at all. I will try that way as soon as I get my pro2, I also hesitant between the pro2 and the 58x cause I can't get the 58 locally and importing will costs a lot more.
I think I saw someone do that with the Pro 2 using something like this: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M0Q84BR
how long does it take only with the electric system to reach 100ºC?
I'd say it takes about 6 to 8 minutes to reach 100ºC. I'll try and post more accurate time measurements in part 2. Note that with this system, you don't need to get it that hot. You can either do something like 80ºC temp in the cylinder with 100ºC water (which will settle around mid to high 80s), or if you have a temp control kettle, have both right at the temp you desire (e.g. 88ºC).
Hi! What size of a PI film are you using?
I used this PI film: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076PD7TXW
Basically I needed two of them in order to cover the diameter of the cylinder. So I have two rows of two PI film. They're rated for 12W, so I'm using a 48W power supply: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H493GHX
I originally had a 60W PS which made the preheat faster. I moved to the 48W to prevent burning out the PI film. It's seems kind of slow though (~10 min preheat).
@@davidmaurice1294 But that seems like the same times reported by the Flair 58, some say even 20 minutes with it -- so not sounding too bad. Very impressed with your experimentation and your set up looks better than the cheap black plastic brick of the 58.
what would be the ideal size for the PI film?