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Silvia V1 upgrades - which are worth the $?

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  • #31
    Originally posted by Jimmytheboot View Post
    Changing the screen bolt is a good cheap mod, even if the pucks not hitting that ugly bolt its just annoying to see it.

    Bottomless portafilter is alot of fun too, not that cheap for what you get, but if you take care of it you can sell it later without loosing too much.

    And ignore Yelta, get a PID
    Yep I agree, changing the screen bolt is a good move.

    Bottomless PF, not so much, they have novelty value and help entertain visitors, mine lives in the drawer full of (stuff that never gets used)

    "And ignore Yelta, get a PID"
    Waste of time and money, learn to use the machine out of the box.

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    • #32
      A stopwatch costs more than a thermocouple probe. or is your intrinsic time sense so good that you can count out ten seconds accurately?

      I love my bottomless PF - it helps me tamp evenly (because I don't have to balance it on the spout when tamping).

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      • #33
        I found that using a bottomless PF helped a lot in getting my distribution/tamp down. Still need a lot of practice but you can't fix a problem you don't know exists.

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        • #34
          Originally posted by Hildy View Post

          I love my bottomless PF - it helps me tamp evenly (because I don't have to balance it on the spout when tamping).
          Nor do I, made this up about 6 years ago.


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          • #35
            Originally posted by Dragunov21 View Post
            ??

            *EDIT* Whups, wrong thread - there was another one that I said pretty much exactly the same thing and I didn't want to harp on is all.
            I imagine these come under the heading of WTF posts.

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            • #36
              ".....Waste of time and money, learn to use the machine out of the box....."

              Right on brother.

              Too many people worrying that something they might be doing (as in, read in a forum) is affecting their coffee detrimentally, so better fix it. Fix what? Learn the machine and proper coffee making technique. All problems solved without need to spend money on mods. Its a great home machine straight out of the box. Its not a "small/cheap" machine. Its one of the best home use machines around.

              For the rest of it......too many "professional" coffee machine operators dont understand what they are doing. A good starter machine like the Silvia helps you understand that if you dont get your understanding and technique right, you dont get good coffee. I say a silvia straight out of the box is a fine educational tool for robot "barwristers" that dont understand what they are doing.

              About the only thing to do as already mentioned by others above, is ditch the standard coffee filters and replace them with deeper issue like standard cafe type. The extra couple of grams coffee grinds makes all the difference. On an older model, probably already been done.

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              • #37
                Some people don't have the time or inclination to learn all the bad habits and idiosyncrasies that are involved on machines without stable temp control.

                The debate will go on forever, but the temperature of extraction has a massive impact on flavour. Considering, in my experiences most bad " professional " coffee I have had is burnt and or over extracted, a machine with accurate stable temp control, set a touch lower so they cant burn it, would see a big improvement.

                Anyone can be taught / learn good or bad techniques whether its a $50 sunbeam or $6000 GS3. The whole apprenticeship or right of passage BS people go on with is funny. Some people want to be able to experiment with repeatable and controlled parameters to get the best coffee possible every time.

                After playing around with my own roasted coffee on accurately adjustable,bigger temp stable machines and tasting the difference...No accurate temp control just doesn't do it justice any more for my tastes. If people cant taste the difference superior temp control brings, ignorance is bliss.

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                • #38
                  Originally posted by Steve82 View Post
                  Some people don't have the time or inclination to learn all the bad habits and idiosyncrasies that are involved on machines without stable temp control.

                  The debate will go on forever, but the temperature of extraction has a massive impact on flavour. Considering, in my experiences most bad " professional " coffee I have had is burnt and or over extracted, a machine with accurate stable temp control, set a touch lower so they cant burn it, would see a big improvement.

                  Anyone can be taught / learn good or bad techniques whether its a $50 sunbeam or $6000 GS3. The whole apprenticeship or right of passage BS people go on with is funny. Some people want to be able to experiment with repeatable and controlled parameters to get the best coffee possible every time.

                  After playing around with my own roasted coffee on accurately adjustable,bigger temp stable machines and tasting the difference...No accurate temp control just doesn't do it justice any more for my tastes. If people cant taste the difference superior temp control brings, ignorance is bliss.
                  Or could it be that some people simply don't have the ability to come to terms with and maintain control over anything that needs a bit of cognitive input.

                  Comment


                  • #39
                    Silvia V1 upgrades - which are worth the $?

                    Originally posted by Yelta View Post
                    Or could it be that some people simply don't have the ability to come to terms with and maintain control over anything that needs a bit of cognitive input.
                    I burst out laughing when I read that! I see this problem at work on a daily (hourly?) basis. ;-)

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                    • #40
                      Originally posted by fruity View Post
                      I burst out laughing when I read that! I see this problem at work on a daily (hourly?) basis. ;-)
                      Yes, we have a resources manager who has a standard response when confronted with any task above turning a switch on. 1) Deny the asset exists 2) (if 1 doesn't succeed) deny that the asset is ours 3) (if 2 doesn't work) switch off asset and hope nobody notices, 4) if asset is a fluorescent light full of storm water....just leave it there.

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                      • #41
                        Originally posted by fruity View Post
                        I burst out laughing when I read that! I see this problem at work on a daily (hourly?) basis. ;-)
                        I know the feeling, before I retired I managed a geological sample preparation facility, we had over 30 people operating machinery which required some operator input to keep things running smoothly, a few (very few) were able to keep things moving all day without a problem, the majority were OK but a problem was lurking just around the corner, and, I suspect a few at the other end would deliberately instigate a problem so that they could have a smoke or whatever while the stuff up was being fixed.

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                        • #42
                          Thanks for all the input guys... and the detour the thread has taken!

                          Anyway, this is not my first single boiler machine, so I'm sure I could get away with using it "out of the box" and get pretty good results, but I also have a wife who sometimes uses the machine, and "just wants coffee", so it helps me if she can get a decent coffee from the machine with minimal fuss.

                          All things considered, I've got a digital temp read-out to install. I also discovered I had previously bought one of the larger double baskets that I'd purchased while I was using my Silvia. I might pick up a new showerhead screw, but I think that'll be it for now. After a couple of weeks getting to know this particular machine, I'm starting to get consistently good results (the larger basket definitely has helped!).

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                          • #43
                            Morning Damien, the detour was simply a way of saying that---some people never experience a problem producing good coffee with a
                            Silvia, most people will get along just fine after the initial learning period and the occasional glitch, and some will never get it and always seem to have a drama taking place.

                            i.e. too course, too fine, too hot, too cold, basket too full/not full enough, tamped too hard/not hard enough, beans stale/poorly roasted, milk won't foam, steam tip wrong, must have a nekid PF, thermostat set too hot/too cold, must have a PID or at the very minimum gronked, the list goes on.

                            These are the types who have trouble working out which is the sharp end of a knife and would probably be better off with a fully auto machine, even then they would probably manage to stuff the process up.

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                            • #44
                              Silvia V1 upgrades - which are worth the $?

                              Originally posted by damienh7 View Post
                              Thanks for all the input guys... and the detour the thread has taken!

                              Anyway, this is not my first single boiler machine, so I'm sure I could get away with using it "out of the box" and get pretty good results, but I also have a wife who sometimes uses the machine, and "just wants coffee", so it helps me if she can get a decent coffee from the machine with minimal fuss.

                              All things considered, I've got a digital temp read-out to install. I also discovered I had previously bought one of the larger double baskets that I'd purchased while I was using my Silvia. I might pick up a new showerhead screw, but I think that'll be it for now. After a couple of weeks getting to know this particular machine, I'm starting to get consistently good results (the larger basket definitely has helped!).
                              Indeed - I didn't need to PID my Silvia, but it made using it a lot easier for the better half!

                              Not to mention I appreciate not having to count out the temp surf in my head every time I do a coffee. ;-)

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                              • #45
                                Originally posted by fruity View Post
                                Not to mention I appreciate not having to count out the temp surf in my head every time I do a coffee. ;-)
                                My machine is situated right under a wall clock, with second hand, which is quite handy : )

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