Hi All
Ive owned my Silvia (and Rocky grinder) for the past four years and have generally been happy with the performance. However I have had to replace the boiler element once already and now its gone again. Its my fault (or rather my wife’s) as the steam switch has been left on for an extend period of time on more than one occasion when the kids manage to distract you - eventually the element has been cooked. As you know its not cheap to replace, so instead of getting a new element in the Silvia I am looking to upgrade to a prosumer machine, preferably a machine that doesnt result in me inadvertently cooking the element.
A few things I would consider in purchasing a machine:
- I usually only make 2 to 4 coffees a day but on the weekend that can increase to 6 to 10 a day if people drop by. I generally find myself making milk based (strong) coffees and the occasional espresso and long black. Good milk steaming is essential, something that can be patchy with the Silvia.
- This machine will be used by both my wife and myself so my preference is for a simple machine with as few adjustable nobs and buttons as possible - my wife doesnt want to know about the technical side of making a good coffee (I dont mind) so she needs to make a great coffee with as little fuss as possible.
- Dont want to plumb it in, Im happy with a water tank but would like it to be easily accessible.
- A low water alarm or automatic switch off or something to avoid cooking the element.
- It would be good if I could fit more than an espresso cup under the porta filter as I do make a lot of milk based coffees.
Im not familiar with heat exchanger or double boiler machines and to be honest dont know the advantages of one over the other.
Any suggestions you may have are most welcome.
Kev
Ive owned my Silvia (and Rocky grinder) for the past four years and have generally been happy with the performance. However I have had to replace the boiler element once already and now its gone again. Its my fault (or rather my wife’s) as the steam switch has been left on for an extend period of time on more than one occasion when the kids manage to distract you - eventually the element has been cooked. As you know its not cheap to replace, so instead of getting a new element in the Silvia I am looking to upgrade to a prosumer machine, preferably a machine that doesnt result in me inadvertently cooking the element.
A few things I would consider in purchasing a machine:
- I usually only make 2 to 4 coffees a day but on the weekend that can increase to 6 to 10 a day if people drop by. I generally find myself making milk based (strong) coffees and the occasional espresso and long black. Good milk steaming is essential, something that can be patchy with the Silvia.
- This machine will be used by both my wife and myself so my preference is for a simple machine with as few adjustable nobs and buttons as possible - my wife doesnt want to know about the technical side of making a good coffee (I dont mind) so she needs to make a great coffee with as little fuss as possible.
- Dont want to plumb it in, Im happy with a water tank but would like it to be easily accessible.
- A low water alarm or automatic switch off or something to avoid cooking the element.
- It would be good if I could fit more than an espresso cup under the porta filter as I do make a lot of milk based coffees.
Im not familiar with heat exchanger or double boiler machines and to be honest dont know the advantages of one over the other.
Any suggestions you may have are most welcome.
Kev


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