Gaggia Steam Wand Replacement Mod

[czarmike]

Re: Gaggia Steam Wand Replacement Mod

I wanted to clarify one step thats left out of the instructions. As stated my others, the Silvia wands tip must be sanded down to get a proper fit in some Gaggias. I used 220 grit sandpaper, and spent about 20 minutes (ouch!!) sanding to get the wand to fit and still be movable. I sanded down both areas of the picture below (red and yellow).

Could someone please clarify if both areas need to be sanded, or just one? This will save me some time when I do the mod to my Espresso.

[czarmike]

$10 Steam Wand

Great Infusions is currently selling Silvia wands for $10 + shipping ($7 to my door).
mod edit- commercial link removed

I completed the mod on my Gaggia Coffee, and will be doing it to a Gaggia Espresso tomorrow. I havent tested it for frothing yet, but it seems to fit like a glove. Ill try to remember to post some pics.

edit: I forgot the rule about posting to commercial sites, without a direct link its hard to find Great Infusions "Rancilio Espresso Parts" page, so you may need to call your order in. I have no affiliation with them, I just found theirs to be the best price out there.

[conanthelib]

Re: Gaggia Steam Wand Replacement Mod

Got the job done today, amazed how easy it was and realy glad its done. If anyone wants to help me with steaming/ frothing milk, feel free.

[conanthelib]

Re: Gaggia Steam Wand Replacement Mod

Wet as ever Mate came round today to have a look at job and hopes to get back tommorow with right tools. Cant wait as can only create hot milk at moment. At first it wasnt too bad but i reckon ive broke the brown thing somehow.

No worries though the world of real coffee is awsome. I love the Gaggia classic but what drug was the guy on who come up with the idea of "crap brown plastic devise"? Gods teeth, the man wants shooting.

[flynnaus]

Re: Gaggia Steam Wand Replacement Mod

Welcome Conan the Librarian

Hows things in ol Blighty?

I hope its more than luck that will get you there but I also hope you will soon be steaming milk and pouring latte art like a professional

Cheers
Steve

[conanthelib]

Re: Gaggia Steam Wand Replacement Mod

Hoping to fit new wand myself in next few days. Wish me good luck.

[flynnaus]

Re: Gaggia Steam Wand Replacement Mod

Has anyone with a new Gaggia Baby (Twin in my case) found a way to install a Silvia wand in the swivel joint or replace the swivel joint with an optional threaded joint?  I would like to extend my wand a bit and Silvias capabilities sound really interesting.

No, I dont think the Silvia wand mod would work on the Gaggia Baby. On my old one, the steam wand mount was completely different. See my previous posting about 7 posts higher.

A better possibility is the mod DP did on his Kitchen Aid using a Wega steam wand. The Kitchen Aid is Gaggia made afaik and has a similar wand to the Gaggia Baby.See this thread. You would need to create a new mounting point for the Wega wand if you decided to go down that road.

Having no luck stretching milk without the pannarello frother attachment , I tried seeing if I could get decent microfoam using the pannarello .I was receiving some fair results by immersing the wand deep into the milk towards the side to get some whirlpooling and leave it there. The milk would rise above the pannarello tube and close off the air intake stopping any further stretching. If possible immerse the wand a little deeper to stop further stretching. On a 400ml jug, I would tilt the jug slightly to get depth but 600ml jugs were easier. Good enough for cappuccino but still too thick for latte art.

[hobb3]

Re: Gaggia Steam Wand Replacement Mod

Has anyone with a new Gaggia Baby (Twin in my case) found a way to install a Silvia wand in the swivel joint or replace the swivel joint with an optional threaded joint? I would like to extend my wand a bit and Silvias capabilities sound really interesting.

[Cortado]

Re: Gaggia Steam Wand Replacement Mod

Thanks for the good idea and instructions. I came over this by total coincidence, and Im happy I did!

I fixed our Gaggia Classic yesterday, easy and fun to do. Great result!
I got the Silvia steam wand from temperato.no, 154 NOK (ca. 30 USD) here in Norway.

:exclamation Dont use sandpaper, use a file (carefully, by hand) on the connection end of the new wand.
    - You can use the wrench you already have at hand, to compare the diameter of the Gaggia and Silvia wand, dont stop filing until its even.
    - (More than you would think, has to be filed off).
    - At last, with the same wrench you can even out and "polish" the brass you now have at the connnection end.

The O-ring, I let the old one sit since this fits better. Keep the new Silvia O-rings for later, if replacement is needed.

[cantoccino]

Re: Gaggia Steam Wand Replacement Mod

Hi,

Im an Aussie living in Hong Kong (new to the forum) and bought a coffee machine out of desperation because the coffee here is pathetic. Most people go to Starbucks or the other major chains, Pacific Coffee and Cova for a good coffee. I found a couple of places that serve decent coffee, but it would take 30-40 mins to get there. So I ended up with a KitchenAid Artisan machine to cure the cravings.

I improved after taking a brief local barista course, but havent mastered microfoam yet. I took the advice of Shadow745 (thanks) from one of the KitchenAid discussions and removed the plastic frothing attachment which made a bit of a difference, but seems to only be effective in a small milk jug. So a longer arm, with a more professional frothing arm sounds great.

From my very limited understanding, KitchenAid machines is a Gaggia machine in disguise. So I was wondering if the conversion can be done on the KitchenAid Aritisan machine too.

And after looking through the espressoparts.com website, they have a Rancilio Silvia Articulating Steam Wand Conversion Kit. Does anyone out there know if this would suit my machine, and if it would be easy to change. Or would I completely stuff up my machine if I attempted any amateur engineering manoeuvers?

[jonathad]

Re: Gaggia Steam Wand Replacement Mod

After much procrastination I finally ordered a wand from Renzo. No regrets whatsoever. The adapter supplied made it a breeze to fit. I highly recommend making this mod. My poor old Classic is about 7 years old now and I think Ive squeezed a couple more years out of her. Next step is seeing if I can hook into the mains so I never have to refill the tank.

Thank you Renzo!

[Crema_Crem_Crem]

Re: Gaggia Steam Wand Replacement Mod

The 10 seconds is only a figure I decided to use just so it gives the steam a bit of time to kick in before the light comes on. Maybe 12-15 secs may work as well as long as the light does not come on. I guess if you waited 0 secs it would work but some get concerned if they turn the steam on and nothing much happens.

Im finding it to be more like 15-20 seconds if starting with the boiler at brew temp.  At 10 seconds I was either getting nothing or just a little gurgle.  However, if I hit the steam switch, let the boiler reach full steam temp, and then let it cycle again, the 10 seconds is sufficient.  I assume this is because the boiler is already heated up to steam range.  So with this method, you would hit the steam switch, wait for the light to come on, then wait for the light to go OFF to start the 10 second count.  You get strong steam right from the start.  (it is during the second heat-up period, while the light is off, that I do the short purge to clear the wand.)

The reason I even  tried this method is because Ive been using my second-cycle steam method since I got my Classic over two years ago.  I found it improved the steam pressure and longevity, which helped me to get the most out of the panarello wand.  So when I recently did the Sylvia wand mod and read of the 10-second trick,  I adapted it from my second-cycle method.

After a bit more experimentation Ive found my best results as follows:
1. hit the steam switch
2. after 20 seconds, purge the wand (just a quick 2-second blast)
3. start steaming at 35 seconds

Im getting strong steam right off and all the way through the process with fantastic results in the pitcher. I keep the pitcher in the freezer and take it out just seconds before I start the process.

Re: Gaggia Steam Wand Replacement Mod

b*gg*r! >

[flynnaus]

Re: Gaggia Steam Wand Replacement Mod

In addition to the above, I decided I would have to answer my own question and it appears that a Silvia steam wand mod wont work for my Gaggia Baby machine, or any Gaggia with a ball-jointed steam wand.
Unless someone has further suggestions I will have to get using the Gaggia steam wand. I checked Coffee Parts in the hope that I could replace the ball joint with  the steam valve attachment from a Gaggia Class or Silvia but it doesnt seem possible. The steam valve on my Gaggia sit son top of the boiler with a hose connected to the ball joint

Here is a picture:

[flynnaus]

Re: Gaggia Steam Wand Replacement Mod

Well my setup is almost complete: I have a new Gaggia Baby Class, I have bought all the home barista accessories including a good  tamper. Yesterday I sacrificed the money I was putting aside for a new guitar and invested in a Mazzer Mini (manual doser) from Di Bartoli - a very worthwhile investment with instant results - a good crema on my second attempt.

The only thing missing from the equation is a decent steam wand. Ive tried it with the panarello - good if you like a coffee meringue. I took the plastic tube of the panarello and just tried it with the plastic section that the tube fits on. I couldnt get the milk to stretch. I admit I didnt persevere with this very long and removed the complete panarello assembly and tried it with the naked tube with much better results.

However after watching a couple of youtube vids on milk stretching I think a proper wand is the way to go. Im already sweet talking the treasurer (my wife) about the benefits of one of the nice machines I saw at Di Bartolis (next year perhaps), but:

1)Is there a special technique using the naked Gaggia Baby wand? OR

2) Will the Silvia wand fit a Gaggia Baby? Renzo from Di Bartoli suggested as the Gaggia Baby wand has a swivel joint (rather than just a rotating one), a Silvia wand mightnt fit but I saw another site that suggests the mod can be done

http://www.espressotec.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=641

Any one tried this mod?

Thanks
Steve