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Pleas tell me how to slow down my Silvia?

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  • Pleas tell me how to slow down my Silvia?

    Hi Guys

    Im new to coffee making and having a ball learning all things coffee. I recently bought a 2008 silvia and k3 Compak Touch and have produced what i consider, great coffees. But i have been inconsistent and i would like to try and isolate where i am going wrong.

    I try and turn my machine on atleast 40 mins or more before i make my coffee. And i always run a cup of hot water through the pipes before i start.

    My grind settings are set around the 42 mark. I only put in as much as i need and if there are any more beans in the shoot when i am finished (4 or 5), i have been making sure that i grind them into the bin upon the next shot a few hours later.

    I have a double basket and i fill it quite full, so that when placing the handle, it is quite firm.

    I grind half the amount in the group handle and then tamp quite firmly. Then i grind the rest, and then give it another firm tamp or two.

    And when i turn the brew switch on, i do not get the slow 25/27 second extraction people talk about. I get some good crema, but i would say that the shot is complete after 8 seconds. I like it strong, so will often let it go longer, which i kinda know i should not do, but i need to know how to slow Miss Siliva down in the extraction process.

    Can anyone suggest anything to help? I did ask the business who i bought all my equipment from but he doesnt seem to want to advise :-?

    Cheers
    Huggs

  • #2
    Re: Pleas tell me how to slow down my Silvia?

    Are the beans fresh?

    Assuming fresh beans, Id start by grinding it finer until the machine chokes and then backing off the grind from there until you get the correct flow....assuming dosage and tamp remain consistent.

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    • #3
      Re: Pleas tell me how to slow down my Silvia?

      Hi Huggs
      Are you using fresh beans, stale beans will just gush.
      Is the tamper a good fit, your not using that bendy undersize plastic thing are you, of course your not.
      I grind half the amount in the group handle and then tamp quite firmly. Then i grind the rest, and then give it another firm tamp or two.
      I wouldnt do this it could cause lateral chanelling between the layers, I suggest the WDT technique would be a good place to start.
      i fill it quite full, so that when placing the handle, it is quite firm.
      Dose so top of puck is a bit below the shower screen.
      Im sure others will chime in with more help

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Pleas tell me how to slow down my Silvia?

        Hi Huggs,

        I concur with what Steve wrote above. Make sure that the beans are fresh, i.e., roasted about a week or two ago.

        You may also get better results by *not* tamping with the group handle half full. I have read that doing this may make channelling more likely.

        Simply tapping half-way and tamping firmly at the end should do the job.

        Good luck

        Daniel

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        • #5
          Re: Pleas tell me how to slow down my Silvia?

          1) fresh beans are a must
          2) are you tamping at 15kg? get the bathroom scales out to check
          3) grind the full amount before tamping. tap it on the bench to settle, but dont tamp until the end.
          4) try moving the grounds around in the basket a bit with a pin to even it out before tamping
          5) try a finer grind
          6) are you using a silvia basket? the double one isnt too bad, but might be worth changing later on

          If I had to guess, Id say stale beans and a coarse grind is your issue. Dont worry too much about it being exactly 27 seconds or anything like that. ive had great shots that go for 20 (OK, so I like ristrettos), and some good shots have gone for well over 30. but 8 seconds is way too quick to be extracting much of the oils. as already stated, grind fine enough to choke the machine up, then back it off a bit. small adjustments only though. If nothing works, maybe take it somewhere to have the pressure checked, but Id be trying everything else first.

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          • #6
            Re: Pleas tell me how to slow down my Silvia?

            Great advice guys. Thanks alot.

            As far as i am aware, the beans are fresh. I opened up the 2nd bag 6 days ago, and the beans are kept in an air tight container. Although it is opened up on a daily basis for my coffee in the morning and arvo.

            Instead of the silvia basket, I bought the synesso double basket.

            I tried turning the grind settings down more, but my grind started to clump into small balls. That scared me off going down even further. Are small clumps ok? If i go past that setting will the clumps dissappear? What do you mean "until it chokes"?

            I did buy a heavy silver tamper that fits the synesso basket perfectly. It is not a Pullman, but looks everybit the same.

            Thanks for your advice.
            H.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Pleas tell me how to slow down my Silvia?

              I tried turning the grind settings down more, but my grind started to clump into small balls
              This is where what is known as the WDT comes into play, basically a brisk stir with a pin, straightened paper clip or similat to break up the balls.

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              • #8
                Re: Pleas tell me how to slow down my Silvia?

                Originally posted by 746B61706D636F6770020 link=1246923157/6#6 date=1246932667
                This is where what is known as the WDT comes into play, basically a brisk stir with a pin, straightened paper clip or similat to break up the balls.
                cool...so i shoudnt be worried about the clumping...and im heading in the right direction?

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Pleas tell me how to slow down my Silvia?

                  Originally posted by 163D273C260A1D203232302121550 link=1246923157/5#5 date=1246932221
                  Great advice guys. Thanks alot.

                  As far as i am aware, the beans are fresh. I opened up the 2nd bag 6 days ago,
                  what type of beans and where are they from? opened a bag could mean they have been ion a shelf for a long time?

                  i stir my grind clumps with a bamboo skewer in my grind bowl / cup prior to putting in basket, then "tap tap" then fill some more then TAMP

                  choking* is either (or both) grinding so fine and tamping so hard no coffee is extracted when pump is run.
                  *may not be good for the pump for long periods

                  try tamping the same pressure and making the grind finer first maybe

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Pleas tell me how to slow down my Silvia?

                    Hi Huggs,
                    "until it chokes" means that no liquid comes out, or maybe just a few drops. Then start backing off on your grind (go coarser) until you get the ideal 25 to 30ml in about 27 secs. You might go through the odd few coffee beans to get there.
                    As for freshly roasted coffee beans, do you actually know when they were roasted? Unless there is a roasted date stamp on the pack then freshness is somewhat doubtful.

                    All the best with it.

                    Cheers,
                    Alan

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Pleas tell me how to slow down my Silvia?

                      Originally posted by 3722393D233229500 link=1246923157/9#9 date=1246935635
                      "until it chokes" means that no liquid comes out, or maybe just a few drops.
                      ahhhhhhhh.... ok i see what you mean.

                      Ive just turned my machine on, so i will give your suggestions a go.

                      My beans where part of the package from one of the sponsors. I did not pay too much attention to what I received ( 2 x 250g bags ). I cant remember what they where called, but it had a freshness valve on them. I guess i wont make that mistake again..

                      Originally posted by 3D313835353C500 link=1246923157/8#8 date=1246935607
                      try tamping the same pressure and making the grind finer first maybe
                      Good suggestion. Will try that next.

                      Thanks for your help guys. Will report back with the grindings...i mean findings!
                      H.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Pleas tell me how to slow down my Silvia?

                        YEEEEEHAAAAAAARRRRR!!

                        A bl00dy fantastic....strong coffee. wow.... Thanks guys. It was the grind settings (which you obviously knew).

                        I took the settings down to around 32, but i came accross some minor issues.

                        First.. When i took turned the grind down from 42 to 32, coffee grind was coming out, then it it seemed to not spit out any coffee. The burrs were still going around, i looked up into the shoot and it did not seem like it was clumping at the mouth of the spout. I got a little worried and thought i had broken it, so i turned the settings up to 40 again and a big batch came out. What could it have been doing?

                        Secondly, a little water was dripping outside of the basket and into the cup when i was brewing. Is this what you meant by choking it? Does that mean i need to not tamp as hard next time?

                        Thanks people. Im very happy. Just gotta get consistent now.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Pleas tell me how to slow down my Silvia?

                          Choking the machine is when the coffee is too finely ground and the water from the group cannot be pushed through the coffee sufficiently.

                          Excellent news on the coffee, now you can adjust the grind to get the right flow.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Pleas tell me how to slow down my Silvia?

                            Originally posted by 23081209133F28150707051414600 link=1246923157/11#11 date=1246942016

                            First.. When i took turned the grind down from 42 to 32, coffee grind was coming out, then it it seemed to not spit out any coffee. The burrs were still going around, i looked up into the shoot and it did not seem like it was clumping at the mouth of the spout.  I got a little worried and thought i had broken it, so i turned the settings up to 40 again and a big batch came out.  What could it have been doing?

                            Secondly, a little water was dripping outside of the basket and into the cup when i was brewing.  Is this what you meant by choking it?  Does that mean i need to not tamp as hard next time?

                            Thanks people. Im very happy. Just gotta get consistent now.

                            if you were only grinding what you needed for that shot it might have just got a little stuck? the finer grinds may have been clumping and not wanting to come out the shoot? not sure on that?
                            then the next bit of grind pushed it out?
                            i know my grinds sometime push out my dodgy "no doser" mod, its a bit of rubber tube off my juicer  ,

                            2nd ???? no water should leak out of the group handle unless from the spout
                            how far are you locking in the group handle?, if you over fill do you think it is sealing poorly?
                            as others have said the tamped coffee puck should just "touch" the group head nut on the shower screen?

                            the handle of the group handle should point 90 deg to the machine
                            straight out at you

                            if you fill a basket then tamp (as normal) place it on the group head as normal but then remove it and look at the "puck" is there a mark from the nut, has it disturbed it much ( big disturbance  is bad)

                            sounds like your on your way but  

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Pleas tell me how to slow down my Silvia?

                              measure about 8mm from the base of the tamper and make a little mark on the side of it. this is about how far down the tamper should be going into the basket.
                              the water coming out (usually) means you havent locked it in enough. I get that when i put too much coffee in the basket and cant get the tamper 8mm down.
                              As for the grind, youve had some success on 40, so try 39. see if you can notice any difference? then try 38, 37, 36 etc until you find the perfect setting. On this point, different beans need different grinds. Ive got some ethiopian at the moment that I need to turn my grind collar about half an inch around to get the right result. It will take some time, but then again it makes it that much better when you get it right  ;D

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