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Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine

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deuxcent
Senior Member

Joined: 13 Mar 2009
Posts: 1
Location: Maine
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: 2009 Rancilio Silvia
Grinder: Rancilio Rocky doserless

Posted Fri Mar 13, 2009, 8:13pm
Subject: Re: Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine

MarkPrince Said:

My obvious preference is to a) post some updated comments in this thread, and b) post the Detailed Review with the new website. But if there's an overwhelming demand for the Detailed Review now, I'll get working on that.

So, which can you "settle' for? ;) I'll be posting this in a few other First Look threads as well. Please feel free to post your thoughts in each thread. Also note, the Silvia's a much more "known beast" than the Ascaso Steel Duo is, so I can sort of see a preference going to the Ascaso for the current DR treatment.

Posted February 13, 2009 link

I can settle for either, Mark, but I'd rather see the detailed review sooner rather than later. :-o

Meanwhile, I have the same question for you that bigcpa posted in July of 2007 -- I've looked for your answer but can't find it:

After first steaming the milk, "can I still follow your brewing instructions in the video? Or is there an intermediate step to cool down the machine before temp surfing?"

Thanks for the review, the video, and any additional help you can offer.

dc

stbarry
Senior Member

Joined: 23 Mar 2009
Posts: 1
Location: mn
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Rancilio Silvia
Grinder: Rancilio Rocky
Drip: Cuisenart; Bodum French...

Posted Mon Mar 23, 2009, 10:33am Subject: Re: Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine

I have had an old-model Silvia for six years. It started making banging noises a few months ago and then, last week, stopped heating. It pulled a totally room-temp shot! Perhaps my description above, LOUD banging when heating, is symptomatic of a problem someone is familiar with? I suspect that the problem is with the boiler, because of the noise. The thermostat shouldn't make noise and I don't think a solenoid should make noise, either. Looking at coffeeco's posted flow-chart for problems only took me to the "return to supplier for service" step. Clearly she needs to be serviced. The Rancilio North America site link on Mark's review page no longer works. Is Sylvia DIY piece of equipment, or should one always use a technician? (My husband and I are both handy, ie can read and execute most instructions.) Is there a website that could help me diagnose which parts need replacing? How about a reliable site for parts? If DIY is not recommended, could someone recommend a reliable technician? I live in MN, so the central states would be appreciated since shipping this beast will likely be expensive. Or must I scrap her out and start over? THAT would make me very sad. I appreciate any assistance/advice or shared stories about reliability issues. Living without Sylvia has: cause me to explore many other types of coffee brewing (press-pot, vietnamese, cold-brew) and has cost many too many dollars in runs to the corner shop. It is time to get back what I love: a great cap early in the morning without having to start the car!

dinsy007
Senior Member

Joined: 31 Mar 2009
Posts: 1
Location: Adelaide
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: Rancilio Miss Silvia
Grinder: Isomac Professionale...

Posted Tue Mar 31, 2009, 4:10am Subject: Re: Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine

Hi Mark I'm new to espresso, having just acquired my first machine (yes, the Silvia), so for the last few weeks I've been chaotically juggling the various aspects of espresso production (the warmup, grind, distribution, tamp, shot temp, and not to mention trying to produce microfoam, which is a world in itself!). Anyway, since having my grinder (the Isomac Professionale) modified to grind finer, I'm at least getting some sort of crema going, and the flavour of the coffee is now richer and deeper than before, but the 25-30 second "mousetail" still eludes me. The shot can start well, but then stops and starts, or starts in fits and then becomes smooth, or blonds too quickly, or comes out bubbly (horror!) etc etc. I think I've been relatively happy only once in all the shots I've pulled since owning the machine (I've done a fair bit of pure practice, running good quality beans through the grinder, using a stopwatch, tweaking this or that aspect, pouring lots of shots down the sink, telling myself it's all going to be worth it some day). I have still got lots of experimenting to go, especially with the grind fineness and distributing/tamping technique, but you can put me in the "full review sooner rather than later" camp as I would be very interested in the thoughts of an experienced person such as yourself on this machine and how to master it. Thanks for your very helpful website. Dino

benshot
Senior Member

Joined: 9 May 2009
Posts: 84
Location: west valley salt lake UT
Expertise: I live coffee

Espresso: modified Delonghi...
Grinder: cuisinart conical burr/ hon...
Vac Pot: Yama 2 cup
Drip: Tiamo stainless dripper
Roaster: variac controlled poppery 1

Posted Thu Jun 11, 2009, 12:00am Subject: Re: Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine

ok, so as far as the steam function goes, what i would do (and have done to my delonghi) is to put jumpers across the steam termostat and run them to a foot pedel switch. that way you can manualy turn on the boiler. it has to be a foot switch though because if you were to foget to turn off a flip switch, you would blow the temp fuse.

maclee77
Senior Member

Joined: 18 Nov 2009
Posts: 1
Location: ca
Expertise: I love coffee

Posted Wed Nov 18, 2009, 3:42pm Subject: Re: Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine

Hey Mark, I bought one of the Rancilio Silvia machines and have not gotten the hang of it yet!! The espresso comes out very, very slow. My first cup took 10 minutes with the normal "espresso grind" I have been using. I noted in the user manual to try something more coarse for the grind. I went from a setting of 3, the normal expresso setting, all the way to 6.5, which is only a half step from the regular coffee grind settings. With the coarse grind, it takes about 2 minutes, which is acceptable, but the coffee is not nearly strong enough anymore. I noticed in your review you stated the machine was strong enough to handle any grind of espresso. Suggestions? I've cleaned everything, many times, let the machine heat 5 - 10 minutes, but no luck on getting the machine to push through the good coffee with a finely ground espresso. Could be I got a bad machine and am contemplating returning it. I saw your video on temperature for the machine, so I can try that! Hoping you have a good idea! Thanks, maclee77

Drifter
Senior Member

Joined: 3 May 2005
Posts: 43
Location: New Jersey
Expertise: I love coffee

Grinder: Baratza Virtuoso
Vac Pot: Bodum Santos Electric
Drip: Presto Scandinavian, Melitta...
Roaster: SC/TO , Poppery Mk I

Posted Thu Dec 3, 2009, 5:49am Subject: Re: Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine

maclee77, Are you saying a 2oz double shot of espresso took 10 minutes to pull on setting #3 and 2 minutes on #6.5? A double shot should pull in 25-30 seconds. What grinder are you using?

EspressoMachine
Senior Member

Joined: 12 May 2011
Posts: 1
Location: Sydney
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: yes
Grinder: yes

Posted Thu May 12, 2011, 7:57pm Subject: Re: Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine

I have been experimenting with the settings and now wish I hadn't. I can't get the same taste out of my machine as before. Very worried I may be in for a big service fee in the near future. http://www.espressowarehouse.com.au

brianmch
Senior Member

Joined: 1 Mar 2004
Posts: 107
Location: kc, mo
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: Livia 90
Grinder: Mazzer
Drip: French Press
Roaster: Fav-Parisi, Kansas City

Posted Fri May 13, 2011, 6:00am Subject: Re: Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine

what did you mess with what are you getting what were you getting

Unocorto
Senior Member

Joined: 10 Jan 2012
Posts: 3
Location: San Antonio, TX
Expertise: I love coffee

Posted Sun Jan 29, 2012, 8:57am Subject: Re: Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine

I just purchased a Rancilio Silvia and it certainly has a learning curve. One thing that was said in the review is to use the double basket and not the single unless you want to be challenged. Well, all I have been using is the single basket. Can you tell me why the double is the better choice?

diggi
Senior Member

Joined: 28 Nov 2011
Posts: 383
Location: Halifax, NS
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Spaz vivaldi S1 V2
Grinder: B Vario, OE LIDO
Drip: Chemex, Espro Press,...
Roaster: Poppery I

Posted Sun Jan 29, 2012, 9:04am
Subject: Re: Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine

Unocorto Said:

I just purchased a Rancilio Silvia and it certainly has a learning curve. One thing that was said in the review is to use the double basket and not the single unless you want to be challenged. Well, all I have been using is the single basket. Can you tell me why the double is the better choice?

Posted January 29, 2012 link

Single basket is just more tricky to use. I've only used the double (and failed at the triple with bottomless portafilter). Double is a pretty 'standard' size and good to keep dialed in anyway (as there will be different grind settings for double and single basket). You can use the whole double in a single drink, or split it for two separate drinks (if making for someone else). Don't know about you personally, but most would want at least a double shot any time they pull a shot......unless they can have more than one grinder, with one set for a double and the other for a single.

The above is a 'general' statement on why double over single, but I'm not really sure on more specifics. Are you having any specific problems with your shots that we could help with? If so, provide info on what grinder you are using, dose of coffee in basket (have you weighed it? or just level with top of basket?), volume of shot, extraction time, etc...

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Rancilio Silvia - How to

Step by step guide for easy brewing and steaming with the Rancilio Silvia
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