Re: What's wrong with my Silvia? Help!

"snowcat" <terlman@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hi everyone,

After months of reading here and there, I have purchased a factory
reconditioned Silvia on eBay, advertised as "excellent condition", a
newer one with POD capability. It looked all good when I opened the
box...

It would be interesting to know from whom this was purchased- was it a
private party of a reseller? Form the description below it sounds like
a candidate for return to the seller if not a possible case of fraud.
From the info you give, this machine is certainly in less than
"excellent" condition.

However, when I powered on my Silvia, I found a lot of "unexpected"
behaviors from her. First of all, the boiler light never goes off! I
let it warm up for more than an hour but the light never went off a
single time.

Since you later state that the machine makes warm water but and not
hot water the heating element might be suspect. Check the voltage at
the heating element when the machine is on (if you know how to do that
safely). If it is getting full voltage then the heating element is
probably bad. If it is not getting full voltage it could be a bad
switch, mis-wired Silvia (scary thought), or possibly a bad
thermostat.

According to what I have read, it should be off in less
than 10 minutes, right? The machine itself gets warmed up and all, so
I guess I still have a working heating element.

That sounds about right. Although the entire machine will not be hot
in that time, the thermostat should switch off the element in ABOUT
that amount of time.

The second problem is even worse. I never get any steam out of my
Silvia. I do get hot water through the steam wand and I never steamed
milk using this, so I am sure that the wand is not clogged and needs
to be cleaned. Well, the hot water is not even hot enough... it is
about 120~130 degrees.

Points to the same problem as I outlined above.

And no, the list does not end here... When I turn on the hot water
switch and open the steam valve, I get hot water from both the
grouphead and the steam wand.

That sounds like a wiring problem (assuming that you are using the
switches correctly).

For hot water the main power switch and the center of the three
switches are on- the brew switch (the top one) should be off. If that
is the case, then the machine is probably wires wrong. If the 3-way
valve was operating incorrectly then there would be water dripping
when the machine come up to temperature.. but it doesn't so it's hard
to tell.

I don't think this is normal.

It ain't.

Besides,
while she is powered on, I constantly get leaks from the grouphead
even after a few minutes of pulling a shot. From what I read, the
coffee left in the portafilter after pulling a shot should be dry in a
few moments... but mine still stays wet even after 10 minutes. The
leak also happens when the Silvia is warming up.

Ahhh Ha! This machine is starting to sound like another eBay horror
story- "Excellent condition" means that when it fell off the truck it
hit something soft.

I guess I should send this machine back for warranty, but I would like
to know what causes all these.

I would like to know who sold it!

If I could fix this with relatively
simple solutions, I would like to save the hassle of shipping it back
and forth. Initially I was looking for the posts with similar problems
but I can't seem to find any. I would appreciate if any of you could
kindly explain what went wrong and what I should do. Thanks!

You are correct in that this is the first post in over 6 years in my
memory with such problems. I think there are multiple problems. My
guesses include:
1a) Bad heating element. Possibly from long-term use with hard water
-and/or-
b) Low voltage to the heating element because of miswiring,
bad power cord, bad outlet, bad thermostat, bad switch, etc.
- and -
2) Bad/clogged/dirty 3-way valve

I would disassemble the 3-way valve and clean it. It might be as
simple as a bit of machining brass stuck in there. This has been
reported on a few occasions. This will also reveal how dirty that part
is which will testify as to its age, use, or maintenance level.

After that I would check voltage to the heating element, resistance of
the heating element, continuity of the thermostats, etc.

My website has a number of wiring diagrams, color coded to the Silvia,
descriptions on how the machine works, the operation of the 3-way
valve, as well as a link to the disassembly of the 3-way.


Randy "55 years old and in excellent condition" G.
http://www.EspressoMyEspresso.com


.

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