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Rancilio Silvia (v6) Boiler Discolouration

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  • Rancilio Silvia (v6) Boiler Discolouration

    After opening my Silvia after a fortnight of inactivity, I noticed a dark patina over parts of the boiler's top and sides. I'm sure it wasn't there last time I opened it when I did an OPV adjustment maybe 6 weeks ago. I wonder I had a slight spill from water droplets from the #@!Q%& water tubes - they just drip everywhere even if wrapped. If so, then when I turned it on when the boiler was slightly damp to test the OPV adjustment it would've evaporated and left ... this? It's not uniform, though. ​​

    I'm red-green colour blind, so if it's green oxidisation of the copper in the brass I can't tell. It doesn't look green to me, but a lot of things don't.

    Just asking if anyone has experience and if this is something I should be worried about.

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    Last edited by BanjoPaterson; 21 November 2022, 02:40 PM. Reason: Problems uploading photographs.

  • #2
    Just to follow up - I've been advised that this is 'copper oxide' and nothing to be concerned about. As you can tell, I've a high "Dunning-Kruger index" with respect to metallurgy and chemistry.

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    • #3
      Maybe a little citric acid solution spilled on to the boiler during descaling activity, leaving a thin layer of exposed pure copper which subsequently oxidised...

      Mal.

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      • #4
        Thanks Mal - and you are probably correct. The pattern is like a surface spill that I might've wiped up (hence nothing on the foam insulation). I suspect after my last descaling I probably decided to tweak the OPV adjustment (who says I can't multitask?!) and those darn plastic tubes leak water everywhere. They probably dripped water on the boiler, I probably swore, wiped it up and didn't think twice about it.

        A good observation. It's times like this I wish I'd stayed awake during high school chemistry.

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