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Saeco Via Venezia Panarello - replace with a Steam Wand!

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  • #31
    Sorry to be a bother - I did get those seals, and installed them as per the instructions, but they're heaps looser than the original seals (and why my original seal got wrecked - it was so tight getting it out that it went sideways and got bent). Has anyone else had trouble with the 800ES seals not fitting the VV properly? Any ideas where I can get actual VV seals?

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    • #32
      Last time I checked the local supplier of Saeco parts was South Side Electronics as per the first link. May be expensive though. The 2nd link is for an overseas supplier. The Starbucks Barista is a rebadged Saeco Via Venezia for the US market. Could be the outside diameter of the Breville 800ES seals are smaller the the Via Venezia. Its possible I may have used the Starbucks seals that came with the Starbucks wand I originaly tried and not the Breville. Apologies if this was the case which sounds likely after reading your post.

      Electrical Appliances | Online Electronics Store Australia | Appliance Repairs | Electronic Component | Online Electronic Components Shopping | Philips & Hitachi Spare Parts Distributor | Factory Seconds Appliance | Southside Electronics Melbourne, S

      http://espressocare.com/Qstore/Qstore.cgi
      Last edited by CafeLotta; 18 July 2013, 06:44 PM.

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      • #33
        i second southside electronics, i use them for saeco parts for work and for my machines (that is until i become an agent for saeco which is hopefully within the next month or two) and their prices are great. when i did up my via venezia, the part costs that southside offered were less than pretty much anywhere else.
        i needed to get parts for a saeco talea touch plus, big automatic thing, and they were also pretty cheap, way cheaper than i expected.

        the best thing to do it give them a call, speak to spare parts and they can email you the exploded view of the machine. that way you can just use the part numbers on the exploded view, copy them into southside's catalogue search and it'll find them and display the cost. take note, when it says "on backorder" it just means there's none in stock and they need to order them in.

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        • #34
          Thought it might be worthwhile including some information here on an alternate shower screen for the Saeco Via Venezia. The later machines came with a pod ready screen which had fewer holes in them to suit the pod diameter. There was/is an alternative screen that has greater coverage over the filter basket if like most people, you never use pods. The photos below show the difference. I didn't get around to hunting one down but it might be worth a try if you're keen. The standard pod screen is on the left, the alternate screen on the right. If you're trying to Google it, try searching "Starbucks Barista" as this is a rebadged 110V version for the USA.


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          • #35
            Thanks to the great info in this thread I purchased a Breville wand for my recently acquired VV. It arrived in the post today and I cant wait to try it out tomorrow morning!

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            • #36
              Hi, ive just recently bought a VV, and plan to buy the breville wand, just wondering if their is a guide out on how to retrofit it, since ive never done anything like this before, and dont want to mess it up.
              Thank you

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              • #37
                Originally posted by deanjdr88 View Post
                Hi, ive just recently bought a VV, and plan to buy the breville wand, just wondering if their is a guide out on how to retrofit it, since ive never done anything like this before, and dont want to mess it up.
                Thank you
                This thread is pretty much a guide lawl. You can see in cafelotta's photo near the start of the thread, looking up into the underside of the group and steam arm, that there's a large nut surrounding the steam arm. Grab a spanner, loosen off the nut and take it all the way off. Try to be gentle as 2 white cup washers will come out too.
                Take washers off, take panarello wand out of the nut, put Breville wand in place (remembering to place the lower cup washer beneath the ball joint), place upper cup washer on ball joint then screw it all back into the machine. Be careful not to overtighten it, just tight enough that the wand maintains it's position without drooping.

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                • #38
                  I bought a VV on Gumtree for $80 a couple of weeks ago and have since upgraded with the Breville 800es steam arm. The new steam arm is a huge improvement on the Pannarello.

                  My next purchase will need to be a proper grinder and I have now ordered the bottomless portafilter and non-pressurised portafilter from Seattle Coffee Gear as per CafeLotta's advice. If you order online from overseas (even using PayPal and BongoUS) it might be a good idea to call their sales helpline to confirm the transaction as sometime overseas orders are flagged as a fraud risk, purely based on the Credit Card address distance from Seattle! That happened to me and they fixed it as soon as I called them.

                  I get a buzz out of simple, inexpensive modifications to entry level equipment that make them work as the original designers/engineers probably intended (before the marketing department insisted they dumb them down for the domestic user). I fully intend to upgrade to an E61 machine in the next year or so but I like having a cheap machine to perfect my technique on in the meantime.

                  Glad I found this forum. Keep up the good work.

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                  • #39
                    Originally posted by tayal01 View Post
                    I bought a VV on Gumtree for $80 a couple of weeks ago and have since upgraded with the Breville 800es steam arm. The new steam arm is a huge improvement on the Pannarello.


                    I get a buzz out of simple, inexpensive modifications to entry level equipment that make them work as the original designers/engineers probably intended (before the marketing department insisted they dumb them down for the domestic user).
                    .
                    I completely agree with you there! I have become obsessed with playing around with cheaper machines and modding them up. sometimes I buy broken ones just to fix hahaha

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                    • #40
                      Definitely! Good harmless fun. And even better if the "significant other" enjoys coffee!

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                      • #41
                        thanks for all this info. managed to grab one of the steamwands for $18 delivered and makes a big difference!

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                        • #42
                          Hi all,

                          I know this is a very late post , however have come across this thread and I was convinced me to purchase the Breville steam wand everyone has been talking about for my Saeco Via Venezia.

                          My husband installed it for me last night and tried it out this morning. First thing I found was that it only heated the milk up, however looking back on this thread it is probably my technique. The second thing I noticed is when I placed the steam wand into the milk it literally screamed at me, it was so loud and piercing I thought something was wrong.


                          Has anyone else had this issue? Could it be the bolt is screwed on too tightly after installing the new wand?

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                          • #43
                            Originally posted by amie87 View Post
                            Hi all,

                            I know this is a very late post , however have come across this thread and I was convinced me to purchase the Breville steam wand everyone has been talking about for my Saeco Via Venezia.

                            My husband installed it for me last night and tried it out this morning. First thing I found was that it only heated the milk up, however looking back on this thread it is probably my technique. The second thing I noticed is when I placed the steam wand into the milk it literally screamed at me, it was so loud and piercing I thought something was wrong.


                            Has anyone else had this issue? Could it be the bolt is screwed on too tightly after installing the new wand?
                            I'm almost certain that is a technique issue. You need to read some tutorials about proper milk texturing technique and maybe check out a few You Tube clips as well. There's heaps of info out there.

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                            • #44
                              You should initially get a small spray of watery steam as it purges from the wand and then powerful steam. After around 10 seconds, the boiler will be losing steam but the steam thermostat hasn't switched back on yet so the pressure will drop. This will cause the screaming noise.

                              Don't attempt to froth or spin the milk at this stage, wait until the pressure starts to build up again as this means the heating element has switched back on and the boiler is producing steam.
                              You will audibly hear the pitch change and the milk will start to move faster. This is the final stage where you will be finishing the milk.

                              You will need to practice as the technique is vastly different from the standard panarello wand. Watch some youtube videos on steaming milk and that should serve as a basic guide for you to work with.
                              I've done the Breville wand mod for many of my customer's machines and they're all happy with it, it just takes time to learn and a whole different skillset.

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                              • #45
                                Hi,
                                I installed the Breville wand for the micro foam effect about a year and a half ago. It is definitely a technique as it has taken a little while to perfect. I've found the position of the wand needs to be facing towards the porta filter and when holding the jug have the spout facing at the front, this helps to position the wand on the lip of the jug. The screaming happens but changes as the pressure and milk change and heat up. The pressure tends to drop and slows, but it then builds up the second time this is when you need to slowly lower the jug so the end of the wand is just below the surface to start the main frothing process, then you just slowly turn the steam off. BTW I like to put alot of cream in my coffee in the milk mix, usually 60% cream, this makes the coffee nice and thick as we all know now that fat is actually good for you. Hope this helps.

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