Re: Is it safe and wise to backflush my Rancilio Silvia now and then ?

JeeWee <vlaflipremovethis@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>
>> Hi Rick,
>>
>> You will find that responding to this individual wastes your time and
>> merely encourages him, which in the end simply diminishes a.c.
>>
>> ken
>>
>Hello Ken,
>
>
>I was seriously answering someones question. Someone else responded to my
>input and again I seriously reacted to him. I did or do not want to offend
>anyone!
>
>Who are you to judge?
>
>If you don't happen to like my input or me please killfile me. It is
>possible with modern software.
>
>JeeWee
>


JeeWee,

I believe you are somewhat new around here (although I could be
wrong). The person to whom you responded has a history on alt.coffee
that has been less than stellar. It includes rudeness, multiple
personalities, spam ad nauseum, off-list contacts that were extremely
rude, and more. Although he self-promotes himself to be an expert, he
has demonstrated a lack of knowledge in some areas. He states that he
is a Saeco service center for his area (which my commercial roasting
friend said is yet one more reason not to buy a Saeco machine, but
that's another story). Over the years many people here have discussed
backflushing, and he has been the only vocal opponent of the practice
stating that he tried it and it blew a boiler seal. He seems to thrive
on the reactions he gest and many people here have placed him in their
permanent kill file so as not to have to deal with his nonsense. That
was the motivation as to the comments others madde concerning your
repsonse to him.

Boiler seals are generally designed to handle far more pressure than
the pump can create, and that is not taking into consideration that
boilers also have a safety valve of some sort to prevent damage in
case of an overheating situation (failed closed thermostat or pump
left on for extended periods). If the manufacturers' lawyers tell us
that backflushing will void the warranty, they would have fits if
machines were not sold with an over pressure protection of some sort.

If a boiler seal blows during backflushing then some other fault (or
faults) existed such as faulty boiler seal, warped boiler, loose
fastening hardware on boiler, faulty pressure relief valve, etc.

My Silvia is nearly five years old (can you guys believe that it has
been that long!?) and I have back flushed many times, and I am not at
all alone in this.

Worst case scenario- the boiler seal fails or in a less-likely
scenario the pump fails. In either case, if you have even a most-basic
background with simple hand tools (screwdrivers, pliers, and hex
wrenches for the most part) and a little experience with electricity
(being able to put a connector back on from where it was removed),
then either of these failures are fairly easily repaired. If you have
ever installed a car stereo or changed an alternator or wall switch
then you could probably have the boiler seal replaced in WAY less than
two hours, and that's while leisurely consuming a beverage and
watching the game... really.

Silvia is a very simple machine to diagnose and repair- that was a
major factor in my original purchasing decision.


Randy
"we are all here to help, but in his case we will make an exception"
G.
http://www.EspressoMyEspresso.com



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