Rancilio Silvia quick query

[cookster]

Hi all,

this is possibly normal operation, but there is no reference to it in the manual so I thought I would ask other silvia users here:

When I have finished making a shot I notice that there appears to be a little overflow/discharge from the back(internal) of the unit which goes into the drip tray. This might be normal 'pressure release' and if so all is good, but I would like to know if this is the case??

many thanks
Mark

[Yelta]

Quite normal cookster.

Its the exhaust valve releasing pressure in the system.

[cookster]

Thanks Yelta
I'm loving the Silvia, its the first coffee machine I've ever had and coffee has never tasted so good. I'm just using a budget sunbeam 480 burr grinder at the moment but will probably move onto a dose grinder.
cheers
Mark

[Yelta]

The Silvia is a good machine, I had one for 10 years, made great coffee and never let me down.

[andy108]

Hey cookster I had a silvia for years and was great, a rocky grinder goes well with it!

[thad]

I used mine for 13 years without a problem. Only upgraded as I thought I'd got my monies worth...

It's now in my cupboard as a "cold spare".

[Yelta]

After 10 years of faithful service I sold my Silvia/Rocky combo for about $50 less than I paid for them new.

[acid_rider]

I am happy with my Silvia/Rocky double espresso too but I think if you regularly make more than ~3-4 cups in a row (particularly if you also steam milk!) then you may be better off with something more industrial. Silvia/Rocky are great for 2-cups in a row, twice per day.....

[latte_boy]

I am happy with my Silvia/Rocky double espresso too but I think if you regularly make more than ~3-4 cups in a row (particularly if you also steam milk!) then you may be better off with something more industrial. Silvia/Rocky are great for 2-cups in a row, twice per day.....

4 cups per day? I'm no expert and only make 2-3 cups per day. Surely it can handle more than that.

[acid_rider]

4 cups per day? I'm no expert and only make 2-3 cups per day. Surely it can handle more than that.

I hope you are right!!
I have made up to 8 double espressos *in a row* but soon after that event my Silvia V3 element/boiler started to blow house fuses and had to be replaced (cost $290, parts and labour).

This made me wonder if Silvia can really handle 3+ cups *in a row*, repeatedly, and not suffer any ill effects after......

But 95% of the time I make two double-shots in a row, twice daily, one for me and one my wife and this practice lasted for years, so i guess Silvia is designed to handle such load.

[latte_boy]

Rancilio Silvia quick query

That is disappointing. As I said I'm no expert, I had hoped it could handle more but obviously not.

[acid_rider]

That is disappointing. As I said I'm expert, I had hoped it could handle more but obviously not.

... particularly if you steam milk between each espresso shot, effectively the machine is doing double the work here
so making 4 strong (double shot) latte's is like making 8 double espressos, I am guessing.
I dont ever steam so in my case i can get away with it to some extent.

[latte_boy]

Are we talking about consecutive shots or are we saying the silvia is unable to handle more than 4 coffees in a 24 hour period. Might sound like a silly question but I want it to be clear

[acid_rider]

Are we talking about consecutive shots or are we saying the silvia is unable to handle more than 4 coffees in a 24 hour period. Might sound like a silly question but I want it to be clear

I am talking about *consecutive* shots only.
After about 4-6 double-expresso shots I feel Silvia is overheating, but its just a feeling, i dont have any scientific evidence.
Up to 3-4 double-expresso consecutive shots it seems OK to me.
As I said earlier - I dont steam at all.

With a rest time of couple of hours, allowing the machine to cool down to room temperature i dont see many issues repeating the consecutive shots.

I wish someone could prove me wrong as I am a fan of Silvia for home espresso making purposes.

[fatboy_1999]

When I had the Silvia a number of years ago, I never found the recovery time for the brew cycle was particularly long. It was the steaming part the slowed me down as I was usually making milk based coffees.
I certainly never 'felt' the machine was overheating, and I never thought it struggled to do 3 or 4 doubles back to back.

In fact, I personally thought the 3rd or 4th shot was usually better than the 1st shot in the series.

In the end, we upgraded to a dual boiler to cope with multiple milk based drinks in quick time. A few times we have entertained and done 40+ coffees in a session. Silvia would certainly struggle with the steaming component of that,l but I really don't think it will struggle to do just espresso back to back with minimal recovery.

And I do not agree with allowing the machine to cool down to room temperature simply so you can turn it on to start the process again. As long as you keep your boiler primed, I think you're better leaving it on.