Rancilio Silvia

[garybt3]

Dave,
That post has to be up there in the top 10 list, category of 'Most Words Used in a Single Post, GCBC Forum.
No wonder that your goat sports a cape! 

Well written post BTW!

Gary

[dbcoffee]

Nice review!!!


I've had mine now for one year and still love it.  However, the lag time between pulling shots and steaming milk is becoming a bit redundant.  I also like pull shots for sipping, so I bought the PID kit for the sylvia early on and that has helped.   It's also fun to play with the temperature while tuning into certain espressos.  Oh, and the recovery time in between pulling shots is a lot smoother.  What I want or need to do now is dial in on the boiler pressure...   

In all this is a fun machine.  Some days she is very moody...

[BoldJava]

Nice review!!!

Gracie.

... Some days she is very moody...

Your Czarina or the Silvia?

BJava <grins>

[BoldJava]

STaylor said:

- Cleaning solution in the blind, lock into grouphead.

- Pull blank shot for 10secs, stop, wait 10secs, stop, pull 10 secs, stop, wait 10 secs, etc. This sequence should be done approx 8-10 times...

I do this sequence once a week typically, I pull approx 50+ shots a week on my BII. I've been doing this sequence for several years both commercially and personally.

FWIW

I used Shaun's lengthy blank pulls to backflush Ms Silvia this weekend.  Immediately thereafter, tested it and the same coffee, same grind, same tamp (conceivably) brought back 4.5 oz in 23 seconds rather than the standard 2 oz.  Tried it again.  And again.  Every time, close to 5 oz with the same coffee, same tamp, same grind.

I was sure I had blown the 3-way valve.  Called Chris Coffee Service and walked thru the troubleshooting.  He patiently listened.  Asked a ton of questions and said, "We can look at it for you if you want, but you didn't harm it.  9/10 times, what you are describing is in the grind and tamp.

I hung up, sure he didn't know what he was talking about.  Back to the MACAP.  Looked at the dial (2.1 is my magic beginning place with espresso grinds).  Correctly set at 2.1 ("...that guy is a jerk..." I am thinking).  Turned grinder on, empty of beans.  Checked my zero spot, just a hair above 1.0.  So, set it at 1.7 to humor the guy.   Tamped to 30#.  Pull the 18 grams for 23 seconds.  Whoa,  1.6 ounces!

Try again at 1.8 grinder setting.  Perfect 2 oz Anesi/Zimbabwe espresso for my capp.

That guy at Chris Coffee really is quite brilliant and I unable to account for that radical of a drop in the numbers on the MACAP.  Required a 20% reduction in the setting towards zero point but I can't argue with the results.  The way I look at it, between shipping both ways, $75 to open the machine, etc., I have $200 to spend on coffee toys.

B|Happy

[mp]

I hung up, sure he didn't know what he was talking about.  Back to the MACAP.  Looked at the dial (2.1 is my magic beginning place with espresso grinds).  Correctly set at 2.1 ("...that guy is a jerk..." I am thinking).  Turned grinder on, empty of beans.  Checked my zero spot, just a hair above 1.0.  So, set it at 1.7 to humor the guy.   Tamped to 30#.  Pull the 18 grams for 23 seconds.  Whoa,  1.6 ounces!

Try again at 1.8 grinder setting.  Perfect 2 oz Anesi/Zimbabwe espresso for my capp.
B|Happy

Interesting B|J ... what do you attribute having to have a different setting on your grinder to?

 

[peter]

Interesting B|J ... what do you attribute having to have a different setting on your grinder to?

 

From B|Java'a post above yours;

and I am unable to account for that radical of a drop in the numbers on the MACAP.

[ButtWhiskers]

That guy at Chris Coffee really is quite brilliant and I unable to account for that radical of a drop in the numbers on the MACAP.  Required a 20% reduction in the setting towards zero point but I can't argue with the results. 

If your expansion valve was gummed up with espresso fines and tar, that is a very predictable response.  When there is a bunch of gunk in the expansion valve, the pressure on your grouphead will be low.  When you got the gunk removed with the blind portafilter and detergent, the pressure within your extraction system (between the pump, grouphead, and expansion valve) increased, so the grind you were previously using was much too coarse, allowing a faster flow than you were expecting.

If you have a regular (non-naked) basket, you can remove the spout and attach a liquid-filled pressure gauge, which will hopefully show your head pressure during a pull at about 9.5 bar (okay, that value will be debated until the end of time by baristas, but it is the one that I use).   The pressure that you see is the setting your expansion valve opens at.   If your expansion valve is adjustable, you can dial it in to the pressure you want.

Remember, none of your dialed-in settings are permanent!  Your MACAP will give you a different grind at 2.1 when the burrs are brand new than it will when they are ancient.  As your expansion valve becomes worn or the spring becomes stretched it will need to be adjusted or replaced to maintain the same pressure. 

[mp]

To pull 50 shots of espresso it would take me probably about 4 weeks.  What I do however is every time I use the Tea ll I flush and flush water simulating a pull w/o coffee grinds until no grind shows up in the portafilter.  Then I shut off the machine and fill with 4 parts R/O water a 1 part soft water.  Every two or three months I do a backflush to get all the other gunk my simulated pulls doesn't take care of.

Thanks BW ... I should probably consider replacing the Burrs on the La Cimbali Jr at one point.  I have never done that before and everything is working very well right now. Hmm ... maybe later on.

[BoldJava]

...

If your expansion valve was gummed up with espresso fines and tar, that is a very predictable response. 

If you have a regular (non-naked) basket, you can remove the spout and attach a liquid-filled pressure gauge...

Remember, none of your dialed-in settings are permanent!  ...

Thank you.  Very helpful.

B|Java

[BoldJava]

As I have posted elsewhere, the LeftCoastMagician (aka M|Bailey) fixed me up with a PID on Ms Silivia.  Wonderful shots -- no comparison to the hit and miss routine I was getting with temp surfing.

At the end, I maintained that the shots seemed inconsistent despite my temp surfing and using 45 seconds post boiler light going off.  Lo and behold a gent posted over at CG:

"... Prior to a PID, I installed a cheap Type K thermocouple to the boiler and connected it to a Extech Multimeter to read brew temperature in real-time. . . I noticed significant temperature variances after the brew light would go off based on how warmed up my machine was..."

Phew, I wasn't nuts.  Or at least on this count.

B|Java

[BoldJava]

Good pictorial post over at H-B on disassembling the Silvia to get at the solenoid when you are experiencing some leaks:

http://memweb.newsguy.com/~jenkins/silvia/index.html

Thanks Randy.

B|Java