Elegant Hacker

Power and Switch Wiring WARNING!  You are dealing with 120V electricity when connecting the 5V power supply to the Gaggia power switch.   The connection to the Steam switch is also 120V.   Be very careful when connecting these and please take all precautions.  (Unplug the Gaggia power cable before working on the 120V wiring).   Build at your own risk!!! First we discuss how to power the Arduino Nano.   There are a number of ways to power Arduino.  (USB power, Vin power, and 5V directly).  Since I needed a power supplies for steam switch detection for the build, I opted to purchase a set of 5V power supplies that can do both jobs.   The first power Supply is to provide power to the Arduino.   Please see diagram below.    5V Power Supply #1 This is used to power the Arduino and it gets the power from the power switch from the Gaggia Classic.   Use the 22 gauge wire from Amazon.   We are only using 5V*2A = 10W of power. ...

 OK, the fun parts starts.    What You Need to Be Willing to Do Open up your Gaggia and remove and insert a few connectors (This instruction will be based on the new version of Gaggia Classic Pro 2019+ with the new wiring and new professional steam wand) Very little soldering but still some Need to flash Arduino firmware to a new Arduino Nano Every board.  (You don't have to write the software but need to know how to download and flash it) Have a 3D printer, find a friend who does, or pay someone to print this for you The Enclosure Hope you know someone with a 3D printer or alternatively you can pay someone to print this for you via Thingiverse.    Here is the link to the Thingiverse STL file download location ( https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4972335 )  You will need to print, 1 x bottom bottom 1 x box top 2 x end panel 1 x OLED Enclosure Put it together like building a Lego.   Hot glue the OLED enclosure to the end of the enclosure.  ...

Gaggia Classic Pro Elegant Hack Part 1 - Intro A month ago, I decided to give the world of espresso a try.   I have always been a coffee drinker and owned Jura automated coffee machines for almost 15 years.  A few years ago, I decided to dive into the world of home made coffee roasting machines.  (I digress, this maybe a topic of future Elegant Hacker blog).  Thanks to the Google Youtube recommendation engine, somehow I started watching James Hoffmann's number of very good espresso videos.   James's quirky but entertaining way of the science and the art of espresso drew me closer to this time wasting hobby. (but tremendously enjoyable)   This got me thinking that I need to own a manual espresso machines where I can hone my skills as a barista.    Naturally after considerable researching, I decided to buy a Gaggia Classic Pro to start my journey.   Here are my reasons for deciding on a Gaggia Classic Pro, Build with solid construction. ...