Re: leaky portafiller, Miss Silvia
Hi extracto,
Just in case, I have another 2c worth.
I found the single basket is very touchy regarding how much coffee you put in and will easily leak over the sides if it is only slightly overfull, wheras the double basket is much more forgiving and you can fill it up and rarely does it leak if fitted tightly.
For best brewing I think most avoid the single basket, instead use the double and waste some if you only want a single shot.
Maybe this helps
Regards
Bullitt
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Re: leaky portafiller, Miss Silvia
Information for all forum readers:
a) Experience does show that Miss Silvia requires a good firm action on the group handle.
b) The Pallo is a fancy group head brush with removable head (for when it wears out) and needle end for poking into steam nozzles to clear caked in milk. Nice enough.
The *regular* group head brush doesnt have a removable head or needle end....but it is atleast $10.00 cheaper than the other, and you wont wear either of them out for years.
My steam nozzle holes dont get caked up because we purge steam both before as well as after use but when we do find someone bringing in a blocked nozzle, we most often use a paper clip to do the business!
All site sponsors should be carrying both of these items whether they are depicted on their websites or not, my own company included (see link below).
Regardz,
FC.
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Re: leaky portafiller, Miss Silvia
I agree. Gaskets are cheap; Ive got a few spare ones sitting around for my silvia. Buy a few! But you certainly shouldnt have to replace your gasket in your first week ...Originally posted by 2muchcoffeeman link=1155416495/0#3 date=1155427076extracto- if youre not getting the p/f to arounf the 5 oclock possie on this machine, its time for a new gasket. They do get old and brittle and they also expand and get full of gunk....I think theyre a couple of bucks!
Go crazy! ;D- Good time also have a big clean when you drop the shower screen
2mcm
Every now and then Ive had the same thing happen, and it can happen on ANY machine. As far as I can tell, like Chris said, it is a result of having a dirty group; grounds piling up on the gasket and mashing into it. One solution is to get a spare portafilter with a blind filter in it and do the portafilter wiggle after every few extractions (at home) or every 45 minutes or so (in a cafe). I dont have a spare portafilter at home, so I bought a pallo coffee tool and use that to keep the group clean. (You can get that from Veneziano and Coffee Hit, both of whom are site sponsors)This is giving me an over flow and mixes water from the top of the portafoler with my espresso!
Hope that helps,
Luca
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Re: leaky portafiller, Miss Silvia
extracto- if youre not getting the p/f to arounf the 5 oclock possie on this machine, its time for a new gasket. They do get old and brittle and they also expand and get full of gunk....I think theyre a couple of bucks!
Go crazy! ;D- Good time also have a big clean when you drop the shower screen
2mcm
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Re: leaky portafiller, Miss Silvia
Ok, ill give it a bit more of a push.
as for the rest of the making a coffee thing, im in for a big learing curve.
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Re: leaky portafiller, Miss Silvia
If its leaking, then you may well need to tighten it up more in the grouphead. Or you have too much fine coffee in your filter basket. There could be a few reasons for that but to answer your question about locking it in...
I use on both the Silvia and the commercial machine enough force that the portafillers are tight and need a little effort to get them out again. Of course, my effort and tight are probably different to what a guys effort and tight might be. I couldnt really give you a precise pressure measurement, however.
I wouldnt be too afraid of over tightening, I think that you would come to a point where it wont lock in against the rubber seal any harder anyway. And if youre worried about damaging anything, rubber seals are easy to come by and change at least.
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leaky portafiller, Miss Silvia
how much pressure sould I use when locking in the portafiller on Miss Silvia?
I have not used much force yet, lock in at about 90 deg.
This is giving me an over flow and mixes water from the top of the portafoler with my espresso!
Ok so this is all very new to me, but I dont want to break the machine in the first week.
After reading many pages on the net and long hours spent looking over CS, I have now taken the plunge, with Miss Silvia and SB 480.
Thankyou all for the great advise so far.
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