Re: More Silvia questions

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions.

First, I am a donkey and I was wrong about my PID, its actually an Auber
Syl. I am not sure how good or bad it is, but everytime I pull a shot it way
overshoots before settling back down to the desired temperature.

Since my initial post, I have tried setting the PID as high as 235 and as
low as 215. Way, way, way better shot at 215. Will try lower temps tomorrow
when my body can tolerate more caffeine. Making a drinkable espresso has
been a major breakthrough.


I am still concerned about the water coming out of the grouphead. I have
descaled in a hybrid method of DaveB's "steam it" approach and the other
"turn it off for 10 minutes" approach. The water from the grouphead and the
steam wand was clean (green actually from the cleaner solution) the whole
way through the process. However, the water exiting the dispersion screen
comes out lopsided and chaotic, not nice and orderly. I am going to stick
something small and pointed up into the water jets tomorrow and see if there
is any junk in there.

Also, tomorrow my naked PF and other goodies arrive. Good times over the
weekend.. except I am going to run out of beans and will have to go to
Williams Sonoma and buy a can of Illy.

Thanks again,

Chris
"Paul Sack" <paulsack@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:o6uoe0griji.fsf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Chris Holliday" <nospam@xxxxxxxxxx> writes:

I have used good fresh coffee only... Caffe Fresco Ambrosia, Metropolis,
etc. but still nearly every shot finishes really overpoweringly strong
and
usually on the sour side. I have adjusted my PID temps between 221 and
229
and still usually they come out about the same.

Then set your PID higher. Mine is usually set in the range of 232 and
higher.
It is also Fuji PXR3 and the TC is installed under the brew thermostat.

My general feeling about my shots is that they are really way too
strong. I am using a Rancilio double basket in a Rancilio commercial
PF. I have a naked PF arriving this week with an LM double
basket.

Naked PF is good. Maybe you should try a lungo if your shots are too
strong.
But first I'd experiment with higher temps.

I have noticed significant steam buildup when I have the PID set above
225
after I pull a shot. For example, I pull the shot.. taste the beverage
and
then unlock the PF. Walk to the sink and bang out the puck return to the
machine and push the brew switch to run water through the dispersion
screen.
Lots of steam and water spray out all over the place.

That happens to me too. I'm not sure what to do about it. The problem
is that the group runs cooler than the boiler (and cools down the
boiler water to a reasonable temperature) but only to a point. I've
had the best luck setting the PID to 232-35 and only making 1 or 2
shots in a row so the group doesn't warm up too much.

Well, some people put an active heater at the group head and a
passive or active water-inlet preheater.

I bought a used Faema HX machine which might be in service today after
UPS arrives, but in all likelihood there is some unusual gasket that I
forgot to order that I will need. That was my solution. But in all
honesty,
I think the shots I get with Silvia, 80% of the time, are really quite
good.

After I pull a shot, if I just open up the steam/water wand, mostly
steam will come out continuously for what seems an indefinite amount
of time even without any switch turned on. Today I got tired of
waiting so I just turned the water pump on and it stopped the steam
and started pumping water. Its almost like the boiler stays so hot
that it constantly produces steam. This cant be good for pulling
shots.

Well, the boiler water is well above boiling point, and it's not cooling
enough on the way to the steam tip, and then it flashes into steam. I
think
that's normal.

How does your water flow when you turn on the brew head with no PF
installed? Nice and clean flow or a turbulent mess?

Clean flow.

Maybe scaled up pipes
and passage? I ran some descaler through the machine last weekend. Took
the
screen off and soaked/scrubbed. Backflushed, scoured, wiped and washed.

A little descaler won't do if you have massively scaled pipes. Do you have
an
adjustable wrench and locking pliers? Take off the steam pipe and see if
there is any scale around the port on the boiler. You have a used machine,
so anything is possible.

-Paul


.

Relevant Pages

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