Rancilio Silvia

blondeonblonde

Tabby McTat wrote: »

Pop out the basket from the portafilter and there is a code on the basket. Google that and it will tell you the size. I have a V6 and its a 16g basket. I’m sure I could vary my dose a bit but I have always kept it constant and changed up the other variables - temperature, grind size, shot time.

Cheers for that, mine is the V6 too so I think I'll stick with 16. As a matter of interest do you do a pre infusion with yours? Ive seen others switch it on for a second then off for 5 and then do the shot as usual. Haven't had enough time to experiment with it as yet - getting used to the temperature surfing too but haven't found it to be too much of an issue.

I also find that my grind is really fine. I've heard online that it should resemble something close to table salt but having tried that consistency the coffee just flew out. Mine seems to be extremely fine in order to get the shot time right.

phelixoflaherty

Grind it fine.
You'll know when it's too fine because the machine won't pump water through it.
Just checked the grinder and the coffee feels like "seasand"
When u start machine it should take about 8 seconds for water to come through
All the best

phelixoflaherty

Posts on sticking a thermocouple on silvia boiler and useing that to get more accurate control.

Cant beat Aussies for problem solving


https://coffeesnobs.com.au/forum/equipment/brewing-equipment-midrange-500-1500/26426-id-really-like-to-pid-my-silvia-but

Tabby McTat

blondeonblonde wrote: »

Cheers for that, mine is the V6 too so I think I'll stick with 16. As a matter of interest do you do a pre infusion with yours? Ive seen others switch it on for a second then off for 5 and then do the shot as usual. Haven't had enough time to experiment with it as yet - getting used to the temperature surfing too but haven't found it to be too much of an issue.

I also find that my grind is really fine. I've heard online that it should resemble something close to table salt but having tried that consistency the coffee just flew out. Mine seems to be extremely fine in order to get the shot time right.

I don’t bother with pre infusion. The Auber PID has the ability to do an automatic 2 secs pre infusion but I’ve yet to discern any difference in taste.

limnam

blondeonblonde wrote: »

:pac:

Yeah for sure! Managing to get some more acceptable shots with the Cloudpicker SAM blend. Still amazes me how different two shots can be using the same recipe!

Great craic all the same, I find myself looking for excuses to make coffee when I really don't need or particularly want one.

At the start the difference is often down to something simple like inconsistency in the pressure on the tamp.

If you don't have a PID installed on a Silvia can be hard to judge the temp etc.

What grinder do you have ?

alec76

I would say preinfusion only make sense if someone just starting, for the person without skill set or if grinder very poor quality...
I have option with my PID to do any type of preinfusion ... Could control pump pressure too. Let say start preinfusion with 20-50% pump power etc.
No point of any of those really.

blondeonblonde

limnam wrote: »

At the start the difference is often down to something simple like inconsistency in the pressure on the tamp.

If you don't have a PID installed on a Silvia can be hard to judge the temp etc.

What grinder do you have ?

Yeah it's a good grinder, Eureka silenzio. Getting some better shots now - the grind is veerrrry fine though, any finer and the grinder won't put out any grounds.

I've a V6 version and have been experimenting with when to actually brew the shot. I'm cycling the water to trigger the heating light and then hitting the brew 5/10 secs after the light goes out.

Sticking with 15.5 ish in and usually 2.5 times that out but sometimes more depending on when I stop the shot.

I've a bottomless portafilter and VST 18g basket on the way now too so more toys to play with! I'm well down the rabbit hole :pac:

blondeonblonde

alec76 wrote: »

I would say preinfusion only make sense if someone just starting, for the person without skill set or if grinder very poor quality...
I have option with my PID to do any type of preinfusion ... Could control pump pressure too. Let say start preinfusion with 20-50% pump power etc.
No point of any of those really.

Does your PID control pressure too then? I thought they were only for temperature. Jaysus ... Another variable to think about!

Did you get the Auber one?

alec76

blondeonblonde wrote: »

Does your PID control pressure too then? I thought they were only for temperature. Jaysus ... Another variable to think about!

Did you get the Auber one?

It is meCoffee PID
It was one-person company, not making them anymore.
https://mecoffee.nl/mecoffee/

donnacha

blondeonblonde wrote: »

Yeah it's a good grinder, Eureka silenzio. Getting some better shots now - the grind is veerrrry fine though, any finer and the grinder won't put out any grounds.

I've a V6 version and have been experimenting with when to actually brew the shot. I'm cycling the water to trigger the heating light and then hitting the brew 5/10 secs after the light goes out.

Sticking with 15.5 ish in and usually 2.5 times that out but sometimes more depending on when I stop the shot.

I've a bottomless portafilter and VST 18g basket on the way now too so more toys to play with! I'm well down the rabbit hole :pac:

Someone around these parts used to have a modified portafilter that you could use to measure the pressure that your Silvia was set at and then adjust the OPV - it was one of the things I did many years ago to my old Silvia to get the best out of it. It is possible that your Silvia could have left the factory with the pressure set too high. Adjusting the OPV is a relatively easy task so might be worth seeing if that is the issue?

blondeonblonde

donnacha wrote: »

Someone around these parts used to have a modified portafilter that you could use to measure the pressure that your Silvia was set at and then adjust the OPV - it was one of the things I did many years ago to my old Silvia to get the best out of it. It is possible that your Silvia could have left the factory with the pressure set too high. Adjusting the OPV is a relatively easy task so might be worth seeing if that is the issue?

Yeah maybe something to think about down the line but tbh I think I will just leave it alone for the moment and keep playing with the grind size, shot times and my own technique. I've had some perfectly fine shots but nothing amazing as of yet. My local café uses Cloudpicker SAM blend too so I might try an espresso from them to compare my own efforts!

adrian522

You may be able to adjust your grinder to make it grind finer also, if your grinder is not grinding fine enough

korkkid

I have a magister stella pro, its great. I got it off a cork based crowd they have rancilio machines too I think
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