Posted Tue Apr 1, 2008, 3:44am Subject: Re: Very Early Blonding with silvia
The showerscreen bolt head has always stuck out too far. The headspace needs to be between the top of the puck and the showerscreen. A slight impression of the bolt head in a dry puck is o.k. from what I found with the Silvia. She does respond better to underdosing a bit, though. The bloom should expand the puck enough to fill the head space. But, underdose too much and there might be too much headspace. Your puck could lift out of the basket, I believe, which is just as bad as fracturing from not enough headspace.
The tapered Rancilio baskets were a problem for me too with a Silvia. It's not easy to tamp a slight underdose with the tamper getting hung up on the taper of the sides. I believe that's one big reason for fast pours and early blonding due to channelling. It's difficult to get a good seal around the edges of the basket if the tamper can't get down in there.
Switching to straighter sided baskets does help a lot. The Silvia is also pretty finicky and unforgiving of techique and grind quality. The better the grinder, it seems, the better the extractions. The better your barista skill the better the extractions as well.
Posted Tue Apr 1, 2008, 9:30am Subject: Re: Very Early Blonding with silvia
The depth of the triple doesn't fit a lot of portafilters, I think. They're great with naked pf's and commonly vendors sell the LM triple and naked pf paired together.
Posted Tue Apr 1, 2008, 10:13am Subject: Re: Very Early Blonding with silvia
mrgnomer Said:
The depth of the triple doesn't fit a lot of portafilters, I think. They're great with naked pf's and commonly vendors sell the LM triple and naked pf paired together.
jacs Senior Member Joined: 17 Jan 2008 Posts: 5 Location: oz Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Tue Apr 1, 2008, 5:30pm Subject: Re: Very Early Blonding with silvia
I know that people have been making great espresso on the Silvia for a long time, but it still amazes me that we take so much care to ensure that the top of the puck is level and smooth and sealed etc, and then we end up sticking a great lump of steel right through the top of it in the form of the showerscreen bolt head. To me, logic would dictate that this would be an ideal conduit for channelling and thus early blonding. Would this be the case at certain times or isn't it even worth worrying about as the coffee as it expands always seals around the bolt head?
Posted Tue Apr 1, 2008, 7:46pm Subject: Re: Very Early Blonding with silvia
The bolt head is fixed in the center. As you lock in you're centered in the channel of the goup. It's a pretty straight contact, bolt head and top of puck, and I wouldn't imagine the puck gets disturbed enough to ruin the extraction. What is the bigger problem is overdosing and having the top of the puck hit and get scraped by the showerscreen. That would be a channelling problem.
What's odd is the stock tapered Rancilio baskets that come with the Silvia. They're not good with a dose sensitive machine, I think, like the Silvia.
And the stock brew thermostat deadband isn't good either. Very wide. You have to know the Silvia and be aware of temp surfing to get good brew temperatures. It woudn't be hard, I should think, to put a tighter even adjustable thermostat in.
The bolt head could also be recessed. I don't know why it's still sticking out. Looks like a spare part quick fix rather than an intentional stock design.
Posted Tue Apr 1, 2008, 8:04pm Subject: Re: Very Early Blonding with silvia
Replace it with a straight slotted stainless steel panhead screw. This is my original one (5mm diameter & 12mm thread length) from May 2001. Dunno why they changed it to that stupid hexagon bolt head.
jacs Senior Member Joined: 17 Jan 2008 Posts: 5 Location: oz Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Wed Apr 2, 2008, 6:13pm Subject: Re: Very Early Blonding with silvia
Thanks all for your replies. I actually found a bolt that fitted and did a bit of a mod on the head of it. There is now only just enough sticking above the shower screen to get a firm grip on it with a screwdriver. Probably doesn't actually effect things too much, but if there's a chance that it might help, then it's at least worth a try. Bit of a belt and braces sort of person.
I believe I had an early blonding problem, and I think this resolved it; I know my coffee tastes better now. This is part of my daily routine now; I'll never go back!
I believe I had an early blonding problem, and I think this resolved it; I know my coffee tastes better now. This is part of my daily routine now; I'll never go back!
Thanks for linking to the reverse temp surfing thread, Ted. I hadn't come across that one yet while researching the various methods for perfecting shots with my new Silvia. Sure enough, when coupled with the digital gram scale that arrived in the mail today, I experienced a consistency with my shots that I had never enjoyed to this point. And you're right. It might initially seem like a long time to wait, but once you do it and make it part of your routine, it fits quite nicely and the payoff is worth it.
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