Rancilio Silvia Questions & Answers

Sound like the gasket in the group head is gone or there is stuff stuck to the gasket so it doesn't form a good seal. Be wary about using it as the boiler has a tendency to bake the electrical wiring loom brittle and if there is water spraying around and it is getting inside the unit you run a risk of electric shock. This happened with mine. I don't trust Rancilio anymore - not the quality they profess to be.
I'd get it serviced ASAP.

Ok I will thank you very much very much appreciated

Sorry espresso machines

I will try to help. Its a combination of coffee quality, grind, tampering and water temp temperature. Let's assume the quality is okay and you know how to get the right temperature on the machine. Grind the coffee to the granularity of caster sugar. Fill the basket with 15 -18 grams of coffee. Tamp it down with 30 Pounds or 12 Kilo of hand tamper pressure. Load the group handle and when the light indicator is correct. run the water pump through the coffee for around 30 seconds. If the coffee bubbles through too fast, the grind is too coarse or not enough coffee. If it struggles to drip coffee into the cup, the coffee is too fine or there is too much coffee. Experiment with coarser or finer and tamper pressure. Let me know how this goes.

This might help a little to see the result you should be aiming for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjS8h5DSW3M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5cdYyrvlWM

There are plenty of Australian sources. Here is one https://www.coffeemachinespecialist.com.au/shop/rancilio-silvia-with-doserless-grinder-package/ Google to find others. You my need to buy online. Any Rancilio supplier would have them or could get them. This one is in Brisbane, but you may still need to buy online as it is through ebay. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Rancilio-Silvia-V5-Espresso-Machine-Brisbane-Miss-Sylvia-Coffee-Machine-Maker-/172089351293

Have you considered the Rancilio Rocky (Doserless) grinder? You can pick one up for around $450. I purchased the Lelit PL043 grinder for $349 – it’s more compact than the Rocky.

Hi Timoteo,
It's possible that you have chosen a grind size that is too fine. If that is the case, and you tamp too firmly, little to no espresso will come out. I use a Rocky grinder and have it set to a grind size of 10 - unfortunately, I don't know how that translates to your grinder settings. The ground coffee should be quite fine. The finer that grind, the less tamping pressure required. The tamp pressure is important and you may be pressing too firmly. If you make some adjustments to grind size and tamping pressure, you may find that things start working as they should. If not, there may be another issue. The pressure valve is something I don't know anything about but I'd hope your new machines is set correctly.
Good luck.
Andrew

Hi Douglas,
Based on what I've read, it is best not to leave the steam function on for extended periods as the heating element does get extremely hot and will burn out. I always ensure that I run water through the group head after I use the steam function to reintroduce cold water into the boiler. I don't think you will have damaged your machine doing what you did but I wouldn't make a habit of forgetting that your steam switch is on. I am a new user of the Rancilio and I have found that it requires a bit more attention and concentration than other machines I have owned.Sounds like you might be getting used to it, too. Hope this was helpful. All the best.
Andrew

Sorry, can't help other than to suggest that you dig a hole in the backyard, dump your machine in it and get something else. I'm stuck with mine and can't afford to replace it. Can't tell you how much I regret buying this thing. Antique, clunky technology, PAINFULLY slow, inadequate spill tray, woefully inadequate dose holder, completely particle-size specific/dependent, this thing is a con job, buy it at your peril and then make sure that you have instant coffee as a fall-back option.

You may need a new boiler or prehaps a new element.
Give theses guys a call http://dibartoli.com.au/service-centre/ they are at Bondi in Sydney.
There are others https://www.google.com.au/search?q=rancilio+repair+sydney you might find one closer...

You will also need one of these...
http://dogboxaustralia.com.au/products/ <<< for person who left frother on for 2 days...
:)

Yep, bad news, most likely resulted in a burned out element. Pretty costly repair, couple of hundred. Good luck

I had this problem on my 2008 model Silvia a few times and can be solved (assuming the modern versions are similar) by removing the water reservoir and top metal lid. On the boiler there is a little red reset switch which stops the unit from burning out. This has probably tripped. Use a screwdriver to push the button back in. Reassemble and switch back on. This should fix it. Found this video on Youtube to help. Good luck. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQdJNm9RV68

If you heat your milk before you make your shot of coffee and try to make a shot of coffee immediately after, then the steam in the boiler will blow steam and water out of the handle when you try to make the coffee shot. If that is the problem then you need to bleed the steam off (by opening the steaming wand) before you try to make a shot of coffee - otherwise the pressure is too high and it will blow out (and also cook the coffee grounds by overheating them). If you make coffee first then that is not the problem.
If that is not the problem, overfilling the grounds can make it hard to properly close the handle and it can leak. Also, if the coffee is very finely ground and you tamp it very hard, then the pressure build up is too much and you can blow the water out (rather than it passing through the grounds).
In my case, if it happens it is usually that I steamed milk and forgot to bleed off the steam before trying to make a shot of coffee - so I shoot steam and overheated water through and it spurts and splutters and throws water out (and makes a horrible burnt shot in the process).
Any of that make sense?

Sounds like your portafilter is not sealing properly with the grouphead. I had this problem and found that I wasn't turning the handle far enough when locking the portafilter into the grouphead. Make sure that you turn the handle all the way to the 6 o'clock position or even a bit further to between 5 and 6 o'clock and this should hopefully ensure a tight seal. If this doesn't work, perhaps the rubber grouphead seal deteriorated. It's pretty simple to change out the seal and replacements can be bought fairly cheaply on Ebay.

thanks to both answers- wil give those suggestions a shot

Check you thermostats are operating in the correct range. It sounds like the machine is heating up to much, and if it continues will go the way of most of the silvias

Thanks for your advice, do you know of any instructions how to do it?

chances are that you grind is not fine enough

1st point get a good grinder? I use the Rocky grinder and can get down to a very fine grind. 2nd are you using the 1x or 2x basket in the portafiller. The single is tricky to use, the grind must be fine, the amount and tamper needs to be sufficient. I rarely use the single.

Not really essential but I got a solid chromed tamper, I could easier feel and control the tamp.

Besides the more difficult single shot basket, I can make it as restricted as I need to the point the coffee is so tight it wont even come out. It does take some time to work out, but your problem is actually 'upstream' of the brew, ie the grind and the tamper. I have a ritual/habit that gets me a repeated good result - Grind, tap portafiller with the tamper 2 times each side to settle the grind, rest on table and tamp down(easier to control the pressure), lock in place and brew. Also make sure the machine is warmed sufficiently, though still works well from a cold start and brew as soon as the light goes out.

I do not believe that about the grind. When I went back to my trusty Sunbeam, I used the commercial gound coffee which was blended and ground locally and the same coffee I used with the Rancilio and the coffee had a beautiful crema on top which I could not get with the Rancilio. No, I believe these temperamental machines are not much chop.