Silvia V4 problems

[maxwellreid]

Hi, I have just bought the Silvia V4, from coffeearoma after 7 years with a Gaggia Classic. The problems I am having are firstly, the steam wand (used for hot water, ie 2nd switch)) does not give a steady flow of hot water (it sometimes just bubbles and then goes to steam) , I have to grind coarser than for the Gaggia. And have no crema. The Silvia goes into a loud high pitch sound when the hot water switch is on and the outlet knob is closed. I thought air bubbles, but I have run 0.5L thru and the tank is full. Any thoughts?
John.

I have read thru how to pull a shot with Silvia (30min warm up, wait for the light to come on, etc)

[spg1960]

Hi, it sounds like the boiler (not the fill tank) may not be primed ?

[maxwellreid]

I went thru the startup process again, and water came close to stopping. The problem was that the end of the suction tube was jammed into the bottom corner of the tank. Once I moved it the water came thru. So, I'll try for a shot in the morning, see what happens to the shot.

[maxwellreid]

Working ok this morning, although I still look at my old Gaggia with fondness. I will fix up and give to a friend

[Willo47]

Hi, have just purchase a Sylvia about a month ago. Having now played with it in some length to understand the machine I would offer a comment to the whisling.
When the hotwater switch is on and the valve is shut the overpressure valve starts to operate within a couple of seconds (that is the way the pump pressure is regulated). If there is whistling it could be the overpressure valve making that noise.
Another thing to add is that some people believe that operating the pump at high pressure somehow overworks the pump. A vibrating pump as in the Sylvia requires the same power to run irrespective of the pressure it runs at. I have checked this using a power meter and measuring this. The pump uses around 80 watts. The only thing you have to worry about is the duty cycle the pump can run at.

Hope this is usefull

[acid_rider]

dont miss Gaggia, Silvia makes better espresso, IMO

Working ok this morning, although I still look at my old Gaggia with fondness. I will fix up and give to a friend

Hi, re Gaggia Classic.

I went through same deal - ~7 years of happy Gaggia Classic ownership and then in late 2009 I bought new Silvia V3 (now with V4 element since Jan 2015, as V3 element died in 5 years of service, cost about $250, parts and labor to fix.).

I can only speak for espresso/ristretto - I never drink milk-based coffee, so I never use the steamer on any coffee machine.

Having said this - Silvia, if used correctly and paired with a good/matching grinder such as Rocky dozer, makes a much better espresso/ristretto than Gaggia Classic does.

If your espresso from Silvia is not a match to your Gaggia Classic - you must be doing something wrong or your grinder is not up to the task, or both.
Silvia requires a minimum of ~20 minutes of pre-heating for the first cup from cold start, its slower to warm up than Gaggia Classic.

This forum and youtube.com and many other web site will help, please don't give up!

Silvia has its warts - such as lack of PID (temp surf and be happy), protruding shower-screen bolt (easy fix, $2 flat top bolt) and IMHO you need a naked portafilter (add $80?) and good grinder (Rocky dozer or better) and fresh beans and clean fresh water.

The double basket on Silvia is 1-2 grams smaller than double on Gaggia Classic, helps to be aware of this.
You can buy a bigger double basket if you want a stronger brew, the naked portafilter for Silvia comes with a huge triple basket (24-27 grams?).
I use the standard double basket now on Silvia, fits 17 grams, or perhaps up to 18 as the absolute max (18gr = over-dosing it?).

The grind level should be about the same on both machines.

Good luck.