Fracino Romano PID Review: Per-Group Temperature Control for Coffee Shops

Last updated: August 2026

In 30 seconds:

• The Romano PID2 is Fracino’s temperature-control machine: each group head holds its own brew temperature, set on a digital display.
• Two groups, 14 litre boiler, 4kW on a 20A supply, 70kg. From £4,870.
• Best for a busy coffee shop that cares about consistency — speciality beans, light roasts, repeat customers who notice.
• It plumbs in. You need a 15mm cold water supply and a waste pipe. This is not a machine you plug in and wheel about.
• Biggest mistake: buying it for a trailer or a van. The Romano is mains-electric only.

Not sure how many groups you actually need? Work it out first with our guide to what size coffee machine your shop needs.

Why PID matters. Espresso is fussy about water temperature. A few degrees either way changes the taste in the cup. A PID is a small controller that holds the temperature steady instead of letting it swing.

Why per-group? On the Romano PID2 each group is set separately. So you can run your house blend on one group and a lighter single origin on the other, at different temperatures, at the same time.

Why the 14 litre boiler? Steam power. A big boiler recovers fast when two baristas are texturing milk back to back. It also gives you 60 to 80 litres of hot water an hour for tea and americanos.

Honest summary. The Romano PID2 is a proper coffee-shop machine, not a starter machine. The mistake we see most is people buying it for mobile work. It needs plumbing, a 20A supply and a solid counter to take 70kg. If you are trading off-grid, this is the wrong machine and we will tell you so before you order.

Fracino Romano PID2 — quick specs

• Model: Romano PID2 (FR2E-R chassis with per-group PID control)
• Groups: 2
• Output: 240 cups per hour semi-automatic, up to 400 automatic
• Boiler: 14 litres
• Element: 4kW on 20A (a 2.85kW / 13A option is available)
• Hot water: 60 to 80 litres per hour
• Size (H x W x D): 565 x 800 x 550mm
• Weight: 70kg
• Water: plumb-in only — 15mm cold supply, not tank-fed
• Power source: mains electric only — no LPG option on this model
• Price: from £4,870

Best for

A settled coffee shop doing 150 cups a day or more, where the coffee itself is the selling point. If a customer would notice a sour shot, the Romano earns its money.

What it does well

• Holds brew temperature steady through a rush, so shot after shot tastes the same.
• Lets you run two different beans at two different temperatures.
• Recovers steam pressure quickly on a 14 litre boiler.
• Keeps up with tea and americano orders without robbing the steam wands.
• Gives you a digital readout, so temperature is a number you set — not a guess.

Don’t buy it for

• Vans, trailers and events. It is mains-electric and plumb-in. There is no LPG version of the Romano.
• A site with only a 13A socket free. The standard build wants a dedicated 20A supply.
• A shop under 100 cups a day. You are paying for headroom you will not use.
• A counter that cannot take the weight. 70kg plus water is a lot on a thin worktop.
• Someone who wants to move it. Once it is plumbed in, it stays put.

Trade-off

You pay roughly £2,000 more than a standard two group machine for the temperature control. If your beans are commodity blends served with milk and syrup, most customers will never taste the difference. If you sell speciality coffee, they will.

Romano PID2 or Contempo 2 Group?

These are the two machines shops most often weigh up. Both are two group and plumb-in. The chassis figures are close. The difference is the temperature control.

If volume is the job and taste nuance is not, the Fracino Contempo 2 Group does the same work for a lot less money.

What you need before it arrives

• A 15mm cold water supply with a 3/4 inch isolator valve.
• A waste standpipe of at least 1.5 inches, within a metre and directly below the machine.
• A dedicated 20A electrical supply for the standard 4kW element.
• A water filter or softener. Change it every two months.
• Around 15 minutes warm-up time from cold each morning.

Water is the thing that kills these machines

Limescale is the number one cause of expensive repairs on UK espresso machines. Hard water furs up the boiler and the elements. A filter costs far less than a boiler.

Set a calendar reminder for the two-month filter change. It is the cheapest insurance you will buy.

Warranty — read this before you order

Fracino warranty on machines of this class is back-to-base. That means the machine goes to the Fracino workshop for warranty work. There is no engineer visit to your shop.

Collection and return is your cost. Budget around £95 to collect and £115 to return, so roughly £210 for the round trip. You can also drop the machine to the workshop yourself and pay nothing for collection.

None of that is a reason to avoid the machine. It is a reason to plan for a few days without it. Our full breakdown is in the Fracino servicing and warranty guide.

Pair it with the right grinder

A PID machine with a poor grinder is wasted money. Temperature control only shows up in the cup once the grind is consistent. Match it with a decent on-demand grinder — see our coffee grinder guide for coffee shops.

If you need LPG instead

Some people land on the Romano looking for a propane espresso machine. The Romano does not offer that. For off-grid and mobile work the machine you want is the dual-fuel Fracino CON2ELPG, which runs on LPG or mains electric. Propane only — never butane, which stops vaporising in cold weather and will leave you without steam on a winter morning.

What it costs to run

The element is the main draw. At 4kW it is not running flat out all day — it heats, then cycles to hold temperature. A busy shop typically sees the machine drawing hard for the first 15 minutes, then in short bursts.

• Warm-up: about 15 minutes from cold, every morning.
• Filter or softener: replace every two months.
• Group seals: a consumable. Plan on replacing them yearly in a busy shop.
• Annual service: sensible on a machine at this price, and it protects resale value.

Leave the machine on through the day rather than switching it off between rushes. Reheating a 14 litre boiler from cold costs more than holding it warm.

Who actually buys one

In our experience it is rarely a first machine. The typical Romano buyer already runs a shop, has outgrown a tank-fed single group, and has started buying better beans.

They have usually hit the same wall: the first three shots of a rush taste different from the last three. That is a temperature problem, and it is exactly what the PID fixes.

The other common buyer is a shop adding a second bean. Once you sell a house blend and a single origin, running both at one fixed temperature is a compromise. Per-group control removes it.

Our verdict

The Romano PID2 is the right machine when consistency is the product. Speciality roasters, light roasts, competition-minded baristas, shops with regulars who order the same drink every day.

It is the wrong machine for anyone trading off-grid, or anyone whose customers order two-pump vanilla lattes and would not notice a degree either way. Be honest about which shop you run.

You can see current pricing and stock on the Fracino Romano PID2 product page, or compare it against the rest of the range in our electric coffee machines buying guide.

Frequently asked questions

What does PID actually do on a coffee machine?

A PID is a controller that holds the brew water at a set temperature. Without one, the temperature drifts up and down as the element cycles. That drift changes the taste of the shot. The PID keeps it steady, and shows you the number on a display.

Is the Fracino Romano available as an LPG or propane machine?

No. The Romano PID2 is mains-electric and plumb-in only. If you need propane for mobile or off-grid trading, the dual-fuel Fracino CON2ELPG is the machine built for that job. Mobile catering runs on propane, not butane.

How many cups an hour can a Romano PID2 make?

Around 240 cups an hour semi-automatic, and up to 400 an hour on the automatic version. In practice your barista and your grinder set the real ceiling, not the machine.

Does the Romano PID2 need a special electrical supply?

The standard build is 4kW and wants a dedicated 20A supply. A 2.85kW / 13A element is available if your site cannot provide 20A, but you lose some recovery speed. Get an electrician to confirm before you order.

What is the difference between the Romano PID2 and the PID3?

Groups and capacity. The PID2 is two group with a 14 litre boiler on 4kW. The PID3 is three group with a 20 litre boiler on 7.5kW, and it is 1045mm wide instead of 800mm.

How often should I change the water filter?

Every two months. Hard water is the main cause of boiler and element failure in UK coffee shops, and a filter costs a fraction of a repair.

Can I get the Romano on a payment plan?

Leasing is available through an external provider rather than in-house. Details are on our leasing page. It is a common route for shops fitting out with a machine, grinder and water treatment together.