I was banging on about this a while ago and the lads on kaffe netz gave it a pop but did not take it far enough.
Behind that cat you can just see a Quickmill 0820 with a pid in an illy can. I had to drill the block 4 times to get the a location for the tc that related to the water temp. Threw away the steam wand and replaced with a brass preinfusion chamber coupled to the block. It's basic to add a pot to the vibe pump so you can pressure profile. It heats up in less than 5 min, yep, the group too.
At first I thought I loved this machine because it's mine and a friend found it in a garbage pile. Having worked a Mirage and a Linea for a year, it's safe to say that a thermoblock system is just a dry hx and has the potential to match any other system but using a tenth of the juice.
I did all our UKBC blend work on it, transfered fine. Which is not saying much...