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Steam issues with Rancilio Silvia v3

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  • ozsmac
    replied
    (Thanks to admin for pointing this post in the right direction, I was just writing a post asking how to modify)

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  • ozsmac
    started a topic Steam issues with Rancilio Silvia v3

    Steam issues with Rancilio Silvia v3

    Hi All, I have a stock standard Rancilio v3 that serves as a secondary machine at our holiday cabin, sadly it appears to be having a hard time delivering reasonable steam performance. Espresso is fine (however IMHO too fussy about grind and dose, but that is something I’ve experienced with three Rancilio Silvia’s over the years), however when it comes to steam performance I’m having a few issues.

    Symptoms, once the boiler comes up to temp (ie machine has been on for at least 30 minutes, espressos have been drawn, steam switch is on and heating light has gone out), the initial steam is fine, however drops away to almost nothing after 15 seconds. At this point heat light comes back on and I can hear the boiler, however it never reaches a reasonable level of steam until just before the milk is at temp.

    Work around, if I first “steam” some water in a jug, wait until the boiler heat starts again, then quickly start heating the milk, I get a half reasonable steam (still not quite right). Not sure if having to temp surf when steaming is common.

    It is an old machine no question, but just looking for suggestions of things that I might try before looking at getting something new (I’d be looking or something around $500-$600). Given the age of the machine, I’m not inclined to invest a great deal of money into it, as a full overhaul that it likely needs wouldn’t make sense given it is a secondary machine (but the only option at the holiday place, so a tricky justification).

    Things that I have tried so far:

    * I do backflush quite often
    * I live in a very soft water area, so scale build-up isn’t a thing for me (however I have de-scaled it just in case)
    * I’ve gone to the steam pipe with various brushes and confirmed water flow when on water mode is strong and consistent

    My thoughts as to what might be going on could be one of the following:

    * The element in the boiler needs replacing
    * The steam thermostat isn’t working correctly, either bad contact or faulty sensor

    Thank you for any help or pointers, anything would be greatly appreciated.
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