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Sunbeam EM6910 vs Rancilio Silvia vs ???

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  • #16
    Re: Sunbeam EM6910 vs Rancilio Silvia vs ???

    Originally posted by 534F56494554200 link=1309126725/12#12 date=1309175245
    you wont have a pond around your machine after a couple of cups.

    What do you mean by this? :-?

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    • #17
      Re: Sunbeam EM6910 vs Rancilio Silvia vs ???

      Originally posted by 6C6A7D766C6B7371180 link=1309126725/15#15 date=1309220722
      Originally posted by 534F56494554200 link=1309126725/12#12 date=1309175245
      you wont have a pond around your machine after a couple of cups.

      What do you mean by this? :-?

      that silvias drip dray is less then ideal, a few shots pulled results in a flooded bench. having used both a silvia which i owned for 3 years and a 6910 i currently own i can honestly say the silvia was never able to produce as good as a shot as i have with the 6910

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      • #18
        Re: Sunbeam EM6910 vs Rancilio Silvia vs ???

        Originally posted by 4E435E5E4549141A152C0 link=1309126725/16#16 date=1309224693
        that silvias drip dray is less then ideal, a few shots pulled results in a flooded bench.

        Did you try putting a cup under the spouts? ;D

        Sounds like operator error to me

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        • #19
          Re: Sunbeam EM6910 vs Rancilio Silvia vs ???

          No, the Silvia tray is so very small.  You need steady hands when emptying the thing, something coffee drinkers dont have 

          Saying that the machine once mastered will make you a fantastic coffee.

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          • #20
            Re: Sunbeam EM6910 vs Rancilio Silvia vs ???

            I like what ive read, I can buy an EM6910 a little easier now... a lot easier to find a cheap 2nd hand 6910 than a silvia too! ... or should i save for the BES900?... hmmm
            nah ill never be able to spend that much on a coffee machine.

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            • #21
              Re: Sunbeam EM6910 vs Rancilio Silvia vs ???

              gmeddy, I would never buy a second hand EM6910. The reliabilty problems seem to kick in around the 1 year old mark. The main issue is the steam pump failing, and new ones are like rocking horse poo.

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              • #22
                I've been browsing the forums trying to find whether a 2nd hand EM6910 is worth buying. So far this is the first time I have heard what people have actually had an issue with. I have a recent thread where I queried the type and availability of a pump for a cheap Grimac (advert on Gumtree with a broken pump - missed out on it) so I'm wondering, for the EM6910, what type of pump it has if it is going to be a hassle. I know what rocking horse poo means but, for example, although I could not find Grimac pump info, members here knew the type and availability of them.

                Owner says it's hardly been used, about 2 years old, but may need to have anti-calcium cartridge changed - not sure what that is but I figure given that all the water going through it will be from a Reverse Osmosis system, once changed it will be a long time before I need another.

                So does anyone know type and avail of the pump in the EM6910? (cost also perhaps?)

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                • #23
                  I have also owned both.

                  Like many people, my Sunbeam died after 6 months .....while it was working it was quite good but the steam pressure is pathetic.

                  I have the Silvia now....work-horse....keeps going and going....not sure why everyone is saying its hard to master or it takes a long time to warm up. I what mine while I am having a shower in the morning thens its good to go. Occasionally I have to sacrifice a shot of coffee to adjust the grind but so what. And the steam in the Silvia is awesome - almost too powerful at times.

                  After my EM6910 I swore I'd never buy another Sunbeam product - the matching SB grinder that came with it was an absolute piece of junk - that also broke after only a few weeks. Now have a Rocky.

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                  • #24
                    Just to address the drip tray comments about the silvia, yes the tray isn't huge, but it's meant for catching the errent drip not running your hot water into when heating the group head or flushing grinds out after a shot. I have a small square tupperware container I store on my drip tray whihc I use for catching hot water. I never getr much more than a small puddle in my drip tray.

                    Having come from an EM3600 to the silvia I was concerned about stuff I read here on warm up times etc, and to be honest the Silvia is no worse on warm up times than the old EM3600. The difference in in-the-cup flavor between a 10 min warm up shot and a 60 minute warm up, especially if drinking a milked coffee is going to be near impossible to pick up for any but those with the best of palates. I struggle to tell the difference on a short black between if I temp surf my silvia or just pull the shot without doing it, providing I got my dos and tamp correct.

                    If the basics of getting a decent shot are used with the Silvia (grind, dose, tamp, consistency) you will get a good to great shot every time. It's really no harder than any other unpressuirised basket machine. The machine is a tank and you know by using it that it will last for a long long time. There is a reason it is a long time favorite with many coffee snobs.

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                    • #25
                      Lindenwood,

                      If you're still interested in the Silvia, your situation can be easily fixed by using a power point timer bought from any hardware store or electrical department in a major retailer.

                      I wake up at 5 am every morning. The timer is set to turn on the Silvia on at 4.30.
                      Presto! Machine is heated and ready to go.

                      All you have to do is to make sure the power switch is turned on, and the timer set to come on anywhere from half hour to an hour before you're ready to make coffee.
                      At a pinch, it is warm enough to make reasonable coffee at 15 minutes, but 30 minutes or more is recommended for better coffee.
                      Group handle should be locked in lightly while warming up so that it gets heated up. Simple as that.

                      I have currently the EM 6910 and the Silvia. Having lived with both of them, I am happier with the Silvia. Gives me a better cup than the Sunbeam.
                      It is built like a tank, looks and feels like you're using a quality coffee machine. In it's second year and it has not given any problems whatsoever.
                      Issues, just the need to empty the drip tray every time you make coffee. Not a big deal.

                      In your case, if you're happy with just reasonable coffee and you're happy with that together with the need to make multiple coffees in social situations, the EM6910 should keep you going for a while before it succumbs to niggling problems of various kinds.

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                      • #26
                        Originally posted by G-Dog View Post
                        gmeddy, I would never buy a second hand EM6910. The reliabilty problems seem to kick in around the 1 year old mark. The main issue is the steam pump failing, and new ones are like rocking horse poo.
                        With that in mind, why would you even buy a new one knowing they are going to fail?
                        I've done my time with the EM6900 - Silvia all the way now.

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                        • #27
                          I would rather buy a second hand HX some really good ones around the 1K mark from time to time.

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                          • #28
                            A couple of points - if some Sunbeam EM6910's DO have a fail point around a year, then logically it would make sense to buy a 2nd hand one older than that - if it has passed the fail point it is a good one. I have zero issues with steam on my machine - certainly I wouldn't want more pressure and there is a nice timing for making perfect milk - I have yet to miss the point where I have the right amount of textured milk and the right temp. In a week or more of using the machine I would have emptied maybe 60ml down the sink after making lattés, macchiatos and chai lattés.

                            If I had one that didn't do decent steam I'd be talking to Sunbeam - at least one of the threads I read suggests they know some machines just don't do steam well.

                            *grins* About the only thing I want for my EM6910 is more bench space... And some nice coffee cups... And another group head... And some latté glasses... (and to get the missus to read this... )

                            Also, (see quote below) if a machine fails at 6 months it is under warranty - one thing I have noticed is Sunbeam seem good with fulfilling warranty obligations and I have seen a couple of threads where they have replaced machines even after warranty was up, in one case 3 times.

                            I disagree with the policy as outlined below, (if that is what they are doing and the evidence suggests so) but the killer would be if they also neglected their warranty obligations and that doesn't seem to be the case.

                            I posted this on My New Machine thread and thought it appropriate to put here...
                            Something I was thinking about yesterday - I got asked what I thought of the EM6910 because this person had heard they were junk machines. I then thought about the people on here who have had issues and how some of them, after 1, 2, or 3 complaints to Sunbeam had finally got a working machine. It occurs to me we are seeing the end result of the LG policy re: Quality Control. LG do not bother with a QA Dept, they just make and ship. If things don't work they ship a new one. Apparently they looked at the situation and decided it is a lot cheaper to just replace ones that fail the process than it is to have an internal system - public QA staff are free and they don't have to provide office space.

                            What's to bet we will see a lot more of such things happening?

                            I wonder if their PR Depts know what effect so many people having faulty equipment has on the company reputation?

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                            • #29
                              Been lurking for a few months, first post...

                              I've got an EM6910 that was given to me by an exasperated (and generous) friend. He didn't look after it and got bitten by a bad case of over-calcification between (procrastinated) descalings. He busted a few balls at Sunbeam and got it fixed under warranty, but never really got back into using/caring for a machine.

                              The logic of buying one second hand if it's older than a year is absurd. People sell stuff when they've had problems (fixed enough to sell on) or don't use them any more (possibly due to not wanting to run into more problems). With the EM6910, it's a great machine that produces great coffee, but you will have problems if it's not maintained properly. If you're looking for a second hand machine, see if you can get one that's had problems and has recently returned from repair.

                              From where I'm standing, it seems many people have been bitten badly by the EM6900 and have written off Sunbeam as a result. However the Silvia has its reputation for a reason. If I was trying to choose a sub-$1000 machine I'd have a really tough time choosing too. I love the user-friendliness of my EM6910, and it consistently produces great coffee and can do so quickly for large numbers of people. However the Silvia is a quality product that demands more attention to your coffee making process but less to maintenance.

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