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Silvia Upgrades (and: where to buy for brisbane?)

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  • Silvia Upgrades (and: where to buy for brisbane?)

    Hey all!

    First, a small introduction of sorts (feel free to skip ahead to the bolded part). My name is hugz and i am new to coffeesnobs but a long time coffee drinker, and a medium-term coffee maker. I am age 21 and I live Brisbane. I started drinking coffee at some young age and have since lived on it as my main source of nutrients.

    Abuot 5 years ago (on a random estimation) my parents bought a gaggia classic and some little gaggia grinder, of an unknown model number. It is on this machine that i learnt to make coffee, and im glad of it. To me it seems like learning to drive on a car without power steering - sure it can be annoying at the time, but it teaches you to actually DRIVE the car and respond to the changes in the road. The gaggia was. at times, such a frustrating machine to use that I ended up sending a great deal of coffee down the sink - but it made obvious to me when I was making a mistake

    and now, ive moved out of home and gotten myself my own coffee machine. Ive upgraded to a Honda Accord, of sorts, I suppose Im currently using a rancilio silvia and a rancilio rocky

    and now to the actual question...

    Im a restless modder. Ive had my silvia for about 4 months now (although to be honest, my rocky was faulty for the whole time, so ve been surviving on a $15 coles grinder *cough*), and im getting keen to upgrade it.

    SO, for my first upgrade would you recommend, either:
    a) A PID. to the point. temperature control. nice and simple
    b) an assortment of various smaller upgrades, including
    - milk thermometer
    - professional or naked portafilter (likely naked)
    - LM style double basket

    So the question essentially boils down to: "on my limited budget, should i do a sole upgrade and get a PID, or should I upgrade everything else?"

    also, given your recommendations, where would a brisbanite want to source his parts from?

  • #2
    Re: Silvia Upgrades (and: where to buy for brisban

    Welcome hugz and thanks for the intro! Its surprising how often you know nothing of a person other than their username!

    Firstly let me do what Im sure others will do and congratulate you on your attitude to the Gaggia. Some see idiosyncrasies as annoying but as youve rightly pointed out it helps you to understand why things are happening not just I push this button and coffee comes out, and if something doesnt work well maybe Ill try the same thing again.

    Welcome to Silvia world, theres a heap of us here who have them. Ive actually just decided to get a PID for mine FWIW, but to answer your question it depends on why youre looking at this list. Are you 1) unhappy with the overall viscosity of many of your shots and the temperature control on your milk, or are you 2) finding the temperature variations in the Silvia affecting the consistency of your shots? Also are you drinking mainly espresso or milk-based drinks?

    Depending what you answer will affect the answer. Basically both options will help to improve your results but in different ways, so if your budget is limited itd be best to spend the money in the area youre finding is lacking. Definitely sort the grinder as that will have more effect than any of the other options.

    Greg

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Silvia Upgrades (and: where to buy for brisban

      Hi Hugz and welcome!

      You may get different opinions with your question but my opinion is to go the smaller options first. Assuming you get your Rocky sorted first. If you dont get your grinder sorted you may be pushing to get anything consistent. From there I would get a double LM and a naked so you can diagnose and assess your shots to see how to improve things. If you get your technique right that should see things improve a lot. Have you done a course at all? Have you got a good quality tamper?

      Than when your bank account recovers from that you can decide whether to further improve the Silvia or that it is upgrade time.

      I hope that helps,

      Brett

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Silvia Upgrades (and: where to buy for brisban

        okay well.. umm... i actually really like the coffee that im getting out of my machine at the moment. Im not wanting to mod out of a NEED to get better coffee, but simply out of a desire to max out my machine so that I can look at it and say "yep, this is as good as it gets" (for, uh, my restricted budget anyway)

        im sure that i can get better coffee, of course, but my coffee at the moment isnt BAD enough that im desperate to upgrade.

        im slightly leaning towards the naked portafilter at the moment because its cool and will help me learn. of course, if im doing a shipment from a parts store, i may as well go the full length and get all the other small parts upgrades that will help too; and will in the process make myself broke enough to have to put the PID off for a while

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        • #5
          Re: Silvia Upgrades (and: where to buy for brisban

          I did the PID first when I had mine. Not to say you should too - but I hated the inconsistent temperature with the Silvia, and temperature surfing just didnt feel precise enough. Only took me about a month of ownership though I am one of those people who has to tinker with everything though... :P

          The other things are useful - I assume you have already upgraded the tamper? Id say get a milk thermometer too in any case, theyre only about $10-$15 so its not exactly breaking the budget (if you drink much milk that is?).

          AFAIK The silvia comes with a professional portafilter? If you want to make it naked get a $9 holesaw kit from bunnings and take to it with the 54mm and a file. I bought a pre cut one from coffee parts for my old baby, but I drilled out one of the ones that came with my VBM with not much hassle. Gotta be patient though, going through about 10mm of brass. I like this because it made me realise how bad my tamping technique was!

          The LM double... I think it definately improved my shot quality somewhat, but nothing that needs to be done right away. I reckon if you can part with the $$, get a pullman tamper machine to fit one of their supplied synesso doubles - maybe later down the track! OR do it now if you havent upgraded from the plastic thing yet!

          Point is, I cant tell you what upgrade to give, but theres a basic outline on how they improved my shots with miss silvia.


          Oh, and the last line... If you go the PID route, Id get a kit from the pidkits site sponser. I ordered seperate bits and pieces from evilbay, and while it was a little cheaper in the end, it wasnt nearly as nice looking and convenient as the ones from the sponsor. I was always so close to buying a kit from them (the 1/32 with on/off steam control in the PID is what i would recommend).

          The other bits you could get from coffeeparts site sponsor.

          Oh, and welcome! :P

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Silvia Upgrades (and: where to buy for brisban

            interesting opinions so far; thankyou all. keep em coming! theres a lack of consensus

            i wont hack apart my stock silvia portafilter to make it naked... unless i plan to buy a standard professional one later.. which i may consider. although i do want to go naked (dont we all?), i still want to keep a traditional portafilter around. i suppose i should consider making my stock one "naked" and then buying a professional one for standard use. At this stage im just thinking aloud

            edit: oh, and by the way my grinder is currently at rancilio being repaired. i initially called them up and the rancilio essentially said "no no, your grinder isnt broken. its your beans" (in a way that said "our gear is NEVER broken, its YOUR fault"). when i explained the problem to him and mentioned that my research on the internet has indicated that its a known fault that some people have, he laughed and responded "people on the internet have no clue"

            nice. needless to say, after much soul searching (trying many different beans), i sent it back to the retailer (in another state) who tested it out, confirmed that it was faulty and sent it in to repair)

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Silvia Upgrades (and: where to buy for brisban

              OK well if youre just wanting to improve the machine then basically all of the above will help. As far as where to start, not wanting to commercialise this thread but Id really be getting a decent tamper to start with if you dont have one, and if you plan on changing your basket then do this at the same time. I couldnt believe the difference my first tamper made to my shots and preparation time over the tamper that came with my Napoletana. Youll struggle with the standard Silvia tamper. There are a number of tampers on the market, Ill let others make their recommendations as to which to get and you can decide for yourself, but Id use this as a starting point.

              A naked portafilter is a good diagnostic tool to assist with tamping errors. I dont have one at this stage but Im looking into this. This would be a logical coincident or subsequent step from the tamper especially if you find youre getting premature blonding. The thermometer is so cheap that if you drink milk drinks at all you may as well get one in any case.

              From all reports the PID gives excellent results, Ive just ordered one from PIDKits today so Ill be looking forward to that arriving. But while this helps with temperature stability, if the basics (grind, dose, tamp) are all off then the extra temp stability of the PID isnt going to magically correct those.

              That would be my recommended path if the budget doesnt allow doing it all together.

              Greg

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Silvia Upgrades (and: where to buy for brisban

                Welcome to CS Hugz.
                Ive had my Sylvia since July and loving it. I have purchased a Pullman tamper fitted to a double ridgeless Synesso basket, since purchasing these my shots have improved markedly.
                I am still temp surfing and my shots vary a bit from pure bliss to just passable (but still better than the cr.....p most cafes serve up), a PID down the track is not out of the question but Id better cool it for a while as the bank account has taken a coffee-related battering this year!!
                Im sure fellow CSers will guide you along on your coffee journey
                cheers
                Greenman

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Silvia Upgrades (and: where to buy for brisban

                  Hugz, youve got the bug and theres no stopping it. Who knows where your road will end.

                  Be confident your Silvia portafilter IS a professional one. Its a nice heavy chunk of chromed brass as found in commercial cafes.

                  A naked one, as Greg says, may be useful to diagnose any tamping faults, but --some others disagree -- it wont inherently improve the coffee, all other things being equal.

                  Milk thermometer? Yes, they are cheap, but I find they get in the way and are one more item to clean.

                  The best milk thermometer is your skin. When the jug begins to get too hot to hold -- theres your skin thermometer at work.

                  I too would recommend a PID, but if you are on budget and are happy with your machine and technique, you can live without it by temperature surfing.

                  A thermocouple mounted on top of the boiler and input into a multimeter will tell you when the best time to pull a shot is.

                  Good luck

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Silvia Upgrades (and: where to buy for brisban

                    consistently good advice all around!

                    i think ill DIY my silvia portafilter into a naked one firstly. although this wont in itself improve my coffee, it will sure as hell improve my technique. this seems like a smart "first mod" to do because theres no point spending hundreds on a pid if my technique is no good.

                    next ill buy a professional portafilter. i know that my silvia one is 95% of a professional one, but honestly i like the spouts of professional PFs :/ pety, i know. im tempted by those ones with angled handles too, to assist in a flat tamp. One naked PF plus one angled professional PF sounds nice.

                    I already have a decent tamper. its not perfect, im sure, but its got a flat bottom and is the right size - maybe 1mm too small

                    When i buy the commercial PF ill buy other things like baskets etc. Then, in about 6 months or so ill buy a PID and be blissful.

                    you all like to say "youve got the bug!", but you know whos REALLY got the bug? My old man, after having used my silvia ONCE, has decided that hes ditching the gaggia classic and buying a silvia/rocky. I think ill sell him my rocky and buy a better grinder like a mazzer mini or something

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Silvia Upgrades (and: where to buy for brisban

                      If youre after a Mini then Wushoes has one for sale at the moment, and Im considering selling mine so theres a couple to choose from, and second hand they may as well be new, Mazzers are like old Holdens - they go forever!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Silvia Upgrades (and: where to buy for brisban

                        good call. im obviously a fan of audio products, and when it comes to audio, 2nd hand is the way to go usually. you save a big chunk of money, yet most people baby their gear. ive somewhat regretted buying some new rancilio gear rather than 2nd hand.

                        im not in the market to buy right now, as my father isnt either (and im broke).. but if i become in the market sometime in the next few months ill PM you about yours

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Silvia Upgrades (and: where to buy for brisban

                          And if you want what is rated as one of the best "espresso only" grinders available.....

                          Ill be selling my La Cimbali Jnr grinder after Christmas (when Ive finished a total refurb of my recently acquired David Schomer La Cimbali/DRM conical/flat grinder.... and done some cupping comparisons). The Jnr even has almost brand new genuine La Cimbali 64mm burrs!!

                          Ill be hoping to sell it to a Snob here in Perth (as it weighs over 14 KG!! - making shipping a tad expensive)

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Silvia Upgrades (and: where to buy for brisban

                            Originally posted by hugz link=1197593275/0#9 date=1197677805
                            consistently good advice all around!

                            next ill buy a professional portafilter. i know that my silvia one is 95% of a professional one, but honestly i like the spouts of professional PFs :/ pety, i know. im tempted by those ones with angled handles too, to assist in a flat tamp.
                            Not sure about that Hugz. Different brands may have different spouts, but that doesnt make the Rancilio portafilter unprofessional, or non-commercial.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Silvia Upgrades (and: where to buy for brisban

                              rancilio makes a commercial PF that is almost identical to the silvia one, but with different spouts. the spouts on the silvia PF is very similar to that of the gaggia classic, in that they sort of.... come out as two different spouts. most professional ones seem to exit the PF as one spout and then split in two.

                              its very minor and petty, but meh. so am i!

                              they say you dont know what youve got till its gone; and having returned to visit my parents today, using the gaggia, i can confirm that the saying is true! what a horrible machine

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