Showerthought: maybe those fancy PID controllers aren't worth the hype

Last month I finally caved and bought a $15 analog temperature controller from a surplus shop in Denver instead of the $100 digital PID everyone raves about on here. I wired it to my old Gaggia espresso machine in about 30 minutes, and honestly? My shots taste exactly the same as before. Has anyone else tried the cheap route and found it works fine for basic temp stability?

2 comments

2 Comments

morgan.nancy1mo agoMost Upvoted

My friend Mike swears by the expensive PID he put on his Silvia, but I read a forum post where a guy tested both and the cheap controller held temp within 2 degrees, which most people can't even tell. For home use, that kind of accuracy is more than enough unless you're pulling shots for a competition or something. I think the expensive ones are mostly for people who like tweaking numbers more than the coffee itself.

brian_kelly911mo ago

That surplus shop find is exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about. I've noticed this pattern everywhere - people get obsessed with the expensive version of something way before the cheap option actually stops working for them. My buddy spent $400 on a fancy bicycle pump when a $15 one does the exact same thing, just slower.