Nicholas, I was going to ask about the cost since my replacement (which I also did successfully this weekend) was only a $60 part and a straight Gicar for Gicar swap out. All in it only took me about 15 minutes, the hardest part was removing the old unit since the plastic had gotten so brittle the housing literally shattered when I was removing the screws case screws. Hope you're able to get a refund!
m On Saturday, October 14, 2017 at 5:32:20 PM UTC-7, Nicholas Majka wrote: > > So to follow up with everyone- received the PID upgrade kit from WLL after > their recommended course of action was to replace the PID and was told my > PID needed an upgrade kit. > > Opened up the machine and took out the PID, trying to follow WLL's upgrade > manual.. Step 1 note the wiring diagram on your existing AKO PID..wait why > is this AKO looking completely different from the one in the diagram? Oh > it's because it's ALSO a Gicar! > > Yes, apparently my brewtus expobar III shipped with a gicar, not an AKO. > > Good news is it made the fix a snap. Unscrew the 4 wires and disconnect > the boiler probe, replace with new PID, put wires back in, and ready to > go! Immediately turned on and brew kettle started warming up no problem. > > Bad news: since WLL was convinced I would need a total upgrade kit I paid > $200+ for PID, wiring, new temp probe, and solid state relay, when it seems > all I needed was a new PID (60$) > > Will hopefully be able to return the rest of the kit for a refund! > > So in summary, a PID replacement is really easy, and if you have a brewtus > III even with a red screen, you might have a gicar already and not need a > whole new upgrade kit. > > Left it on overnight for stability testing and made 3 shots today, no > issues. > > Thanks for everyone's help on this- first time on the groups and amazing > the institutional knowledge and willingness to share! > > > > > On Tuesday, October 10, 2017 at 6:04:32 AM UTC-4, Nicholas Majka wrote: >> >> Hi All, >> >> Have a Brewtus III with rotary pump for about 10 years. Only issues have >> been cracked copper fitting, replaced vacuum relief valve, and replaced a >> failed pressurestat. >> >> Over the past few months, the PID would flicker and show '104' >> (firmware?) on screen while flashing but still able to pull shots and >> steam. >> >> Yesterday the PID was flashing very rapidly (maybe 3-5x per second) and >> when I went to pull a shot the water was room temperature. Steam/water >> dispenser were fine. >> >> I don't have electrical testing equipment but followed the WLL >> troubleshooting video, checked for loose wires and noticed the light on the >> SSR is NOT illuminated. >> >> Now when I turn the machine off and then back on, there is no PID reading >> for several minutes until the steam boiler gets warm, then the PID starts >> to light up (still flickering). The brew boiler is still not heating, and >> dispenses room temperature water even after several hours of being on. >> >> Any thoughts? Bad PID? SSR? >> >> Thanks for all your help! >> >> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Brewtus" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/brewtus. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
