Rancilio Silvia

limnam · 14-09-2020 5:03pm

There's a bit of a learning curve which can be a bit frustrating.

But it's worth it in the end.

Great machine for the price.

Newtown90 · 14-09-2020 5:13pm

Plenty youtubing while waiting for mine to arrive gave me a head start and the wife picked it up fairly handy too.

I do think the purchase of a Mignon Silenzio made life a bit easier for us too.

Deffo go for something you'll have for years and not regret!

Tabby McTat · 17-09-2020 5:27pm

Does anyone know if somewhere in Dublin would install the PID. It seems like a worthwhile upgrade but wouldn't be overly confident of my DIY skills.

Diziet · 26-09-2020 11:39am

Try it without the PID first. I was tempted but in the end never bothered with mine - it makes great coffee. (I am competent in installing something like a PID)

Tabby McTat · 26-09-2020 11:52am

Diziet wrote: »

Try it without the PID first. I was tempted but in the end never bothered with mine - it makes great coffee. (I am competent in installing something like a PID)

I have my brand new Miss Silvia arriving on Tuesday. Watching plenty of YT videos in the meantime.

ShevY · 26-09-2020 9:27pm

I think the PID makes it much easier to get consistent results and is well worth it. The auber kit comes with everything you need to install it at the default location. I think anyone could work through the instructions step by step. Here they are if anyone wants to take a look: https://we.tl/t-lAVlOLyAwq

Tabby McTat · 28-09-2020 9:32am

ShevY wrote: »

I think the PID makes it much easier to get consistent results and is well worth it. The auber kit comes with everything you need to install it at the default location. I think anyone could work through the instructions step by step. Here they are if anyone wants to take a look: https://we.tl/t-lAVlOLyAwq

Thanks very much for this. Having looked through the instructions i still feel it may be above my skill level! As others have suggested a decent appliance repair shop should be able to fit it pretty easily.

Are there any other upgrades that people have made?

flipflophead22 · 28-09-2020 11:38am

Would this be considered better than the sage barista?

alec76 · 28-09-2020 2:16pm

Surely almost anything better than Sage?
Not taking in to account Deloghi , of course.

Tabby McTat · 28-09-2020 3:38pm

flipflophead22 wrote: »

Would this be considered better than the sage barista?

2 different types of machine really. The Sage is Bean to Cup, with its own integrated grinder (which a lot of people say is not great quality). The whole process is more automated than the Rancilio Silvia.

The build quality of the Rancilio is meant to be night and day ahead of the Sage. Rancilio make professional espresso machines and this is reflective in the quality of the Rancilio.*

It sounds like the Rancilio is a bit trickier to get used to, with a good few nuances to pulling a good shot.

Also, the Rancilio will need a seperate grinder.

*I'm not the owner of either however have read up plenty!!

adrian522 · 28-09-2020 4:18pm

The Silvia is great but it is not really for people who want an easy solution, you are pretty much going to be learning how to pull good shots, how to steam milk, how to manipluate the machine for best results, how to overcome its short comings. For my money its a great machine for someone who wants to learn and is prepared to spend time with it.

If you want a machine that will make good consistent coffee at the push of a button then a bean to cup will be more suitable.

Tabby McTat · 10-10-2020 11:11am

Hi folks. Do people use tap water in their machine, or bottled/filtered? I'm in Dublin and I don't think there is an issue with hard water here.

alec76 · 10-10-2020 11:22am

No harm to use Brita filters , I Do.
Actually I am using those, definitely cheaper than originals and I think better too.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FM7DPHY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

ShevY · 10-10-2020 3:09pm

barrac wrote: »

Hi folks. Do people use tap water in their machine, or bottled/filtered? I'm in Dublin and I don't think there is an issue with hard water here.

I use tap water filtered through a brita filter also

limnam · 10-10-2020 5:54pm

barrac wrote: »

Hi folks. Do people use tap water in their machine, or bottled/filtered? I'm in Dublin and I don't think there is an issue with hard water here.

There's a website where you can check the local levels was posted here before, I don't have it to hand but might be worth checking.

murphyebass · 10-10-2020 7:11pm

barrac wrote: »

Hi folks. Do people use tap water in their machine, or bottled/filtered? I'm in Dublin and I don't think there is an issue with hard water here.

I’m in a very bad area in Dublin for limescale.

I didn’t really think about this when I bought my Gaggia Classic. I learnt my lesson the hard way. I had to change the pump due to it getting completely clogged with limescale.

I still use the tap water but descale regularly. No problems since.

On the plus side it also taught me not to be scared of doing repairs on my machine. So much info on YouTube.

Tabby McTat · 10-10-2020 7:52pm

murphyebass wrote: »

I’m in a very bad area in Dublin for limescale.

I didn’t really think about this when I bought my Gaggia Classic. I learnt my lesson the hard way. I had to change the pump due to it getting completely clogged with limescale.

I still use the tap water but descale regularly. No problems since.

On the plus side it also taught me not to be scared of doing repairs on my machine. So much info on YouTube.

How regularly?

Tabby McTat · 16-12-2020 12:38pm

limnam wrote: »

Is there anyone in Ireland that installs PID's for these?

Hi there. Did you end up installing the PID yourself. I have the Auber kit arriving tomorrow. My DIY expertise is pretty basic...am definitely willing to give it a go but I don’t want a broken coffee machine for Christmas!!

Any advice would be welcome.

gooduse · 16-12-2020 5:56pm

I really like tea more

limnam · 16-12-2020 10:12pm

barrac wrote: »

Hi there. Did you end up installing the PID yourself. I have the Auber kit arriving tomorrow. My DIY expertise is pretty basic...am definitely willing to give it a go but I don’t want a broken coffee machine for Christmas!!

Any advice would be welcome.

I didn't

I don't trust myself to have a working coffee machine at the end of it :pac:

Tabby McTat · 16-12-2020 11:12pm

limnam wrote: »

I didn't

I don't trust myself to have a working coffee machine at the end of it :pac:

Damn it! I was hoping you were going to say you’d done it and it had been surprisingly straightforward ðŸ˜€

fullstop · 27-12-2020 1:38am

What’s the best tamper to fit the basket for the newer Silvia? 58mm is slightly too small - anyone know if a 58.4mm fits?

Tabby McTat · 27-12-2020 1:47am

fullstop wrote: »

What’s the best tamper to fit the basket for the newer Silvia? 58mm is slightly too small - anyone know if a 58.4mm fits?

58m is fine...

alec76 · 27-12-2020 8:30am

fullstop wrote: »

What’s the best tamper to fit the basket for the newer Silvia? 58mm is slightly too small - anyone know if a 58.4mm fits?

Mine is 58.5 , perfect for VST basket ( you might consider to get VST basket too). I would never coming back to 58 mm tamper again.
For the standard rancilia basket 58.35/58.4 tamper will do the trick.
Ps. All of the above make sense only if you got Bottomless portafilter and want to learn how to pull perfect shot.

fullstop · 27-12-2020 1:41pm

barrac wrote: »

58m is fine...

Well it doesn’t fit the full basket, which means it’s difficult to get a fully even tamp.

Tabby McTat · 27-12-2020 1:50pm

fullstop wrote: »

Well it doesn’t fit the full basket, which means it’s difficult to get a fully even tamp.

Fair enough. I never gave much thought to the gap around the side.

Tabby McTat · 28-12-2020 11:57am

So for those that are interested I installed the Auber PID on Stephen’s Day. I would say my DIY knowledge is pretty limited - extending speaker wire was the extent of my electrical experience up to then.

It’s pretty daunting at the outset but once you are methodical about the process it’s actually not too bad. The instructions that are available are very clear and there is a good video on YouTube also.

Initially the boiler was not heating for me but I went through all the connections on the back of the PID controller again and was sorted after that.

The hardest bit was actually pulling the wires off the thermostat on the boiler. My finger tips still have the evidence of that.

In total it took about 4 hours but I was going very slowly and that included going back over the connections when the boiler wasn’t heating.

So far the coffee has been good and thankfully no more temperature surfing.

limnam · 28-12-2020 12:01pm

barrac wrote: »

So for those that are interested I installed the Auber PID on Stephen’s Day. I would say my DIY knowledge is pretty limited - extending speaker wire was the extent of my electrical experience up to then.

It’s pretty daunting at the outset but once you are methodical about the process it’s actually not too bad. The instructions that are available are very clear and there is a good video on YouTube also.

Initially the boiler was not heating for me but I went through all the connections on the back of the PID controller again and was sorted after that.

The hardest bit was actually pulling the wires off the thermostat on the boiler. My finger tips still have the evidence of that.

In total it took about 4 hours but I was going very slowly and that included going back over the connections when the boiler wasn’t heating.

So far the coffee has been good and thankfully no more temperature surfing.

4 hours :eek:

I probably won't have the patience but your post is urging me on to give it a go

Tabby McTat · 28-12-2020 12:12pm

limnam wrote: »

4 hours :eek:

I probably won't have the patience but your post is urging me on to give it a go

The 4 hours included a few backward steps! And I was taking things pretty slowly.

It’s definitely do-able.

Newtown90 · 28-12-2020 12:23pm

Any photos of the install?

Looking at getting one but half afraid if it aswell.

Where did you pick it up again?

Rancilio Silvia

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