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Originally posted by AJzCafe link=1121638417/0#5 date=1121905118
If I have to manufacture something, Im thinking of developing a wand that can have a range of fittings soldered/welded to the end to suit different machines. Tips could also be interchangeable. :-/
What do you all think?
James
Sounds like a great idea to me AJ. When you think of how many people around the planet who must be suffering from the same problem, its bound to be a winner if manufactured and marketed so that it will appeal to the proverbial fist of thumbs DIYer.
The nut that attaches the wand to the valve is different, but the wand itself is the same diameter pipe with the same termination as the Gaggia. So you take off the Silvia nut and use the Gaggia nut instead. Viola! The only difficulty is getting the Gaggia nut off the Gaggia steam wand. Try as I might, I couldnt get it off without bending the steam wand so the nut would slide around the last bend and off.
I have replaced the steam wand on my machine with a Silvia wand.
I have read a little about people performing this mod, silly question, but are the threads compatible or do you need to add a coupling to adapt the Gaggia female to the Silvia male?
Im pretty sure most Gaggias are the same, on the superauto for example there is a brass pipe exiting the machine with a female fitting. This point is eailisy accesible so I guess it is just a matter of measuring the thread and finding/manufacturing a replacement steam arm to suit.
Im sure there is more to the whole picture in terms of wand length and tips etc, but I suppose anything is better than that chrome coated plastic thing on there at present!!!
If I have to manufacture something, Im thinking of developing a wand that can have a range of fittings soldered/welded to the end to suit different machines. Tips could also be interchangeable. :-/
Originally posted by AJzCafe link=1121638417/0#2 date=1121819555
Thanks for the reply Mal,
Seems like a common problem with some machines - I recall reading some earlier posts about it, but have yet to see some potential solutions found... :-/
Perhaps I have found a new market - people make custom tampers and they seem to sell well - what about a range of after-market custom-fit steam wands to suit the needs of the user??
Ill see what is around at the trade section of Aroma and then redeem all my favours from my engineer friends
Regards,
James
Hiya AJC,
You might be on to something there. I dont know how you would overcome the issues of all the different fittings used to attach Steaming Wands to the Steam Control Valve, but there might be a way .
I know when I tried to find a fix for mine, the only viable option seemed to rest with replacing the whole darn Steam Valve and Wand assembly :P. A bit more than I wanted to do at the time, but... you never know, might get stuck into it one of these days.
I have replaced the steam wand on my machine with a Silvia wand. As the Silvia tip has a larger hole in it, you need to make sure you run the machine with the elements fully on to keep up the steam pressure. Otherwise it drops awefully quickly. For me this isnt a problem as I use a digital thermometer to indicate whaen to start steaming just before the thermostat cuts out. So it may not be an optimal solution.
Seems like a common problem with some machines - I recall reading some earlier posts about it, but have yet to see some potential solutions found... :-/
Perhaps I have found a new market - people make custom tampers and they seem to sell well - what about a range of aftermarket custom-fit steam wands to suit the needs of the user??
Ill see what is around at the trade section of Aroma and then redeem all my favours from my engineer friends
I dont own a Gaggia, but my Mokita has a similar problem in that without the froth enhancer.... the bl*&dy wand is too short >.
Ive tried to locate an alternative longer "Silvia" type wand that would fit straight into the Mokita but no such luck unfortunately. So, the only way Ive found to beat this problem, is to buy a swag of different capacity frothing jugs. In my case, it has meant that I needed a 400ml, a 650ml, a 750ml and a 1.0 Litre jug. This is so the tip of the wand can be immersed to the correct depth for different quantities of milk :-X. Yeah I know, its a pain in the proverbial but it works :.
That way, I just have to use the right size jug for the amount of milk I need to stretch. Matching the right size jug to the various combination of coffee milk drinks on order can be a bit hit and miss sometimes, but mostly it works out ok.
I wish I could find a better wand to fit on to the Mokita, that would solve all my problems . All the best,
Just helped buy a Gaggia Titanium Superauto for the old man - he wouldnt have a hope with a Silvia/Grinder combo - primarily from the cleaning and maintanance angle!
Coffee is not too bad....the grinder took some tweaking - in a cheap irony, placing the pre-ground stuff into the special chute produces a better result :
But steaming has issues. I used the auto cap. device once or twice and gave that up as a bad idea. It then took off the froth enhancer and steamed up some reasonable milk - much better.
The problem is that when you remove the froth enhancer, the steam wand is all of 5cm long and makes life difficult when trying to manouver a steam jug around it!!
Have other Gaggia owners found any solutions? Judging by the pictures, most Gaggia machines seem to have the same wand setup - an S bend leading to a small brass fitting on the machine - hopefully I can retrofit another Gaggia or similar wand to this fitting?
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