I decided to pimp up my Rancilio Silvia by installing an Ito microprocessor, loaded with the Leva firmware. If you’ve not heard of it Leva supports temperature sensors, pressure sensors, flow meters and Bluetooth LE scales to measure and control temperature, pressure, volume, flow rate and weight. This lets you do pressure profiling, dose by weight etc. You can also see a plot of the data on your phone or computer (like a Decent). For my household, where I’m the only coffee drinker, a single boiler machine works perfectly. The delay to get steam is minimal, and it’s more energy efficient as I’m only heating one small boiler (300ml). Details on the firmware can be found here: http://projectcaffe.bplaced.net/index.html The equipment can be purchased here (note, due to Brexit you need to use a forwarding company such as MailboxDE to get it into the UK): https://www.softwareandcircuits.com/division/circuits/products/ito/index.html I intend to document my build and experiences here in the hope that some people find it interesting. The intent is to give a flavour of what’s involved, not a step by step guide. The installation instructions that come with it are very thorough (found in the firmware download on the caffe site). Water and mains electricity can be a bad mix, so ensure you understand what you’re doing (or get help from someone who does) before attempting similar.

The first step was to make the plumbing changes. This is done first so that you can pressure check everything to ensure there are no leaks. My machine currently has a PID installed (which will be replaced by this) and it’s got the gigar automatic switch off module (which will be removed). Machine in current setup with the back removed is below. The control box and solid state relay have been unscrewed to make space for the plumbing. These will be moved/removed as part of the project. [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/lF9b4vT.jpeg] **Install the flow meter** This goes before the pump and measures how much water is fed into the machine. This has several advantages: * If operating below OPV pressure it can be used to control dosing * It can be used to trigger maintenance and cleaning, such as when to descale, when you need to change your filter, when you should chemically back flush * It can be used for feed forward heating control. I.e. start heating the boiler before the temp drops because it knows cold water is coming into the boiler * It can stop the pump automatically if the tank is empty. Installation was pretty easy, it just involved pushing onto some tubing. The flow meter is the small white plastic thing in the bottom right. [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/DqOa65g.jpeg]

**Install the pressure sensor** This is required for pressure profiling. By tracking pressure in real-time, and controlling the power to the pump, the machine has full control over the pressure. The change involved removing the pipe from the pump to boiler, and replacing with a membrane regulator (the black thing attached to the pump, reduces noise and water hammer, plus makes the fitting easier) and teeing off some piping for the sensor. [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/FcnIw0J.jpeg] [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/MNvElIR.jpeg] I also removed the insulation from around the boiler. This is advised to improve temperature control, as the PID can only heat increasing cooling reduces the time to correct any small overshoots. I then tested it with the machine open (being very careful not to touch any electrical parts, as once plugged in and on they have mains electricity in) and checked I didn’t have any leaks. Everything was dry, so I reassembled the machine. I don’t want to be without coffee and this is my only machine, so where possible I’m trying to minimise the time it’s out of commission. Next step is the wiring. I’ve got a busy weekend, so this probably won’t happen until Sunday night or one night next week.

Wow! Kudos to you for your ambition and skill.

@"tompoland"#p4647 Thanks. Luckily the firmware is already done. I’m happy with the hardware and wiring, but computer programming is not in my current skill set.

Great project, following with interest. I'll be starting my Silvia V5 project in a few weeks and this thread may make me change my plans.

@"Norvin"#p4653 The only really annoying thing with Leva is how long the parts take. I think it's a one man operation. He opens orders for a couple of days once every 3 months. He then sources all the parts over the next few months and sends them out. I ordered my kit in October, and it only arrived this week. To be fair it got to the mail forwarder in December, but I was away for Christmas and didn't want it left on the drive. There are similar projects done with raspberry pi or Arduino, but this seemed them most complete. It's the pressure profiling that I'm most interested in playing around with.

I always smile when I see other people doing this sort of thing. My skill sets stop after 5 seconds of thinking about it! Will be very interesting to hear your before and after thoughts! Are you able to disclose the cost for the parts matey?

Great work, following with interest. How big a difference did the membrane regulator make to pump noise?

@"dfk41"#p4662 No problem, it’s not the cheapest upgrade. The all bells and whistles Ito kit was 257.55 EUR, forwarding to the UK was 23.44 EUR, and then import duty/tax was £60.33. There were a few other bits I needed which I ordered from Germany (this was also a trial run for the forwarding) which cost 30.20 EUR plus 13.45 EUR for forwarding. So in total at today’s exchange rate it was £331.55. So not cheap, but I enjoy these sorts of projects. The installation is part of the hobby. Electronics projects always add up fairly rapidly to be honest. Hopefully, by doing it myself it gives the machine a longer life too, as I can change/repair anything that goes wrong. A SBDU machine is perfect for my needs. I especially like that I don’t really have to worry about water, as I live in Oxfordshire, so the water is hard. I use a Britta filter, and descale every couple of months, but the Silvia is so simple that I can take everything apart if needed. Parts are reasonably priced, and even if I have some issues it’ll probably still be cheaper than the running costs of a solution such as an Osmio, or the electricity from distilling. @"DavecUK"#p4663 It made it a fair bit quieter, but also changed the pitch to more of a buzz. I wouldn’t bother for sound alone, but I’m not that bothered by the sound of a vibe pump. The only negative I’ve found so far though is that it’s had a big impact on the flow rate. It’s dropped it to \~200ml/min. I need to check this isn’t due to something I’ve done, but I’ve seen others report similar. I’m not sure it matters as that should be plenty for espresso use. It does mean it can take a few secs to fill any air gaps in the boiler, but the Ito shot timer can be set to start counting from a specific minimum pressure, to remove this variable from the counting.

Poor mans decent espresso - Ito/Leva

hornbyben

CoyoteOldMan I definitely been there even when I’ve weighed it out manually, but then realised I might have had a moment.

Petre

hornbyben I want to use a similar membrane regulator in one of my projects, I found it on ebay (jura branded). I am a bit confused about the parts needed at the output tho, do you know what kind of hair pin, nut, seal and diameter of teflon tube fits in there so I can search them on ebay?

Cheers

hornbyben

Petre I found everything other than the 625 o-ring. The tube is cut so you might need another if your length is longer.

Message your details to the email in my signature and I’m happy to post them to you.

hornbyben

Below are all the bits that I got, be warned though I didn’t see any benefit. I got really slow flow and in the end I removed it. I could have just got a faulty membrane as there are reports of this, but as it came from Germany I didn’t think I’d be able to easily (or cheaply) return.

The order was from https://www.kaffeestudio.de/

Let me check in the loft as I might still have some of the bits left, which I’d be happy to send you for free if you’re uk based.

Petre

how kind! yes, will email you about this.

SethPlate

@hornbyben Hi, Ben.

I am also planning to install an ito controller + leva! firmware on my Brasilia Lady and I was wondering, what pressure sensor did you use for your project? Could you also share where did you buy it from?

hornbyben

SethPlate hi Seth. I got everything from the same place I ordered the ito from (https://www.softwareandcircuits.com/division/circuits/onlineshop/articles/ito-kit/buy.php). I then used mailboxde.com as a forwarder as he wouldn’t ship outside the EU.

From memory the only bits I ordered separately was the membrane regulator, which in the end was rubbish and I didn’t use.

SethPlate

hornbyben

I have ordered the this kit from Dietmar: https://www.softwareandcircuits.com/division/circuits/onlineshop/articles/ito-kit/buy.php

And it does not contain pressure sensor. He said I should buy it separately from somewhere else and gave me this list of suggested sensors:

https://www.softwareandcircuits.com/division/circuits/onlineshop/articles/ito/help_pressuretransducers.html

My pump is Ulka EX5, 48W, 220V (I think you have similar or oven the same on your Silvia). I am a bit puzzled, because those sensors range widely in price from about 45 euro to more than 236 euro. Any idea what sensor should I choose?

hornbyben

SethPlate my best guess is I got a cheap Chinese one as it was part of the kit, but I got it late 2021, so before the quality issues. I’d definitely not spend 236 euro.

SethPlate

hornbyben Thanks. I will choose something more cost effective in this case.

zakariael

Hi @hornbyben Thank you for the amazing build log. I’m starting my ito/leva mod and I learned so much from you posts.

I have a question, do you happen to have the file to create the laser cut in the panel for the display? I can’t seem to find it anywhere…

hornbyben

zakariael good luck with the build. I still love mine.

If you get stuck and want any advice just drop me a note. I’m not that active here, but if you tag me then I’ll get an email notification and am happy to help.

SethPlate

@zakariael

Here you can find the link with the CAD files for Rancilio Silvia:

http://projectcaffe.bplaced.net/pictures.html

Here is the link itself:

http://projectcaffe.bplaced.net/files/cad.rar

zakariael

SethPlate Thank you, the website was not working earlier. I got them thank you.

hornbyben

In the end I couldn’t find anyone in the uk who could do it for a reasonable cost, so I went carefully with a dremel and the made a 3D printed trim, as I have a 3D printer

zakariael

hornbyben Thank you for offering. I was wondering if I could ask you some questions. As i don’t have the wiring diagram of my machine I traced back the connections in the hardware intallation manual and compared them to mine and it was identical to my silvia so I followed that. However, I’d like to check using a multimeter, how do you suggest using the multimeter to check for the phases. I’m a software engineer so hardware is not my strongest suit if im being honest …

SethPlate

I also confirm. The ito controller + Leva! firmware is really great and can turn a simple espresso machine into an exceptional one for a fraction of the cost of the similar new equipment. I especially love the flow control function, because it makes a big difference and compensates for small errors in the grind size.

nikitas

Thanks a lot @hornbyben for the detailed writeup!

Can I ask how did you connect the pump to the boiler when you decided to remove and not use at all the (faulty) membrane regulator? Did you need extra connecting parts for that?

Also regarding laser cutting a cover as per the CAD file, it can be done online here for ~~around £50~~ £35 + £6 delivery, for a 1.5mm thick 304 2B stainless steel.

hornbyben

nikitas I definitely did it with what I had. From memory I could make it stretch. If I get time tomorrow I’ll take the back off and take a photo

nikitas

Perhaps with something ~~like this? Update this seems to be for 4×6mm PFTE tubing instead of 4×2mm used in the leva! hardware manual.~~ that?

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