Coffee Appreciation

Cool.

Will let other half know..

Hi @danslecarton email me on coffee@yellowbourbon.co.uk with your details and what you would like to order and I will take a look at shipping options.

Cheers
Steve

Would anybody on here be interested by the below as a great home espresso starter setup?

• Gaggia classic with Silvia steam wand
  
• Fiorenzato F5
  
• Wooden and metal tamper
  
• Tamping mat
  
• Knock box
  
• Standard portafilter (Double and single baskets)
  
• Naked portafilter
  
• Blind basket for cleaning
  
• Milk jug
  
• 2x grey espresso cups by Inker
  
  

Thinking of switching back to filter only

@DethBeard you still looking? ^

Am keen, will DM.

Cheers, @Fyoosh

Not attempting to jump Dethbeard but what kind of price are you thinking of? (I have a grinder so wouldn't need that if that makes any difference?)

He's actually turned it down as it's a lot of stuff. For the lot I'm looking for £325 probably I think but could break down the lot

I think that's fair no?

will take naked PF if split. understand that is hassle

Thanks. I'll have a think but that will probably be a bit too much for me as well.

Just wait til the baby comes....

You might want to double the order!

No problem. It might change if I decide to split it but it's a hassle then so would probably rather give a further discount for someone to take it all at once if that makes sense

Are there any free cupping/tasting sessions YBCR style in London? I wouldn't mind paying abit more if I would learn alot

Edit: had free in there twice

I have a spare naked of to fit the Gaggia classic if you’re after one?

Can anyone with a Rancilio Silvia offer some advise? I went to use it for the first time this evening and after pressing the espresso button it came out with such force that it covered most of my kitchen walls! Had a second go and the exact same thing happened. Have watched a few videos and not sure what I'm doing wrong. Any help appreciated.

Did you heat it up to steaming temp rather than espresso temp?

MAYDAY

My Silvia has broken!

Seems something boiler related. I went to use it an water was cold. Main switch seemed not just turn the light on, espresso button functioned when it should be off. Reset thermostat switch and boiler heated up. However the only thing coming out the grouphead was steam, so it's heating up too much.

Any ideas, and where I can buy parts?

Is your pump working? I'd want to rule that out if it's only making steam. Also if you do think your pump's broken check there's not an air pocket in the plastic intake hose (this can do a pretty good job of making it seem like your pump's broken).

Silvia is pretty much made of three things: boiler with thermostats on top, pump, three way solenoid valve. Plus a load of switches. If your boiler is heating up the good news is it's not the boiler (the most expensive part).

If the pump is fine and the boiler is overheating a thermostat failure would be the obvious culprit. Is the boiler light staying on or does it switch off?

Did you let it overheat recently or could the boiler have ended up empty? If so you'd need to prime it.

You've tried priming it, right?

I haven't had a coffee yet, so my brain isn't right.

How do I check the pump? I can hear it running.
The boiler is heating, as I get steam.
I don't think I've let it over heat. But I do leave it on. It clearly has over heated as when I turned it on this morning, it only gave cold. I had to take the lid off and push the red trip back in. I also wonder if there is something wrong with the main switch. As when i turned it off, it still seemed to be on (I could hear the boiler).

Edit. Yes when I turn it on at the mains. The boiler comes on, before flicking the switch ON on the machine. So the boiler is running all the time. Or has been.

So replace main switch. Problem should be sorted.

How are you getting on with the Wilfa? Thinking of one as an upgrade on my Krups GVX231 which appears to be on the way out...

Unfortunately as it's a vibration pump hearing it working doesn't mean it is working. Pump failure is probably the single most common Silvia issue but the good news is they are about £30 on eBay and easy to get hold of.

Something wrong with the switch or bad connections to the switch is a definite possibility.

I would take the top off and check the connections to the power switch first.

If the boiler has been running all the time it's highly likely it overheated and you need to prime it. The problems is you might not be able to, but here's the priming instructions:

Make sure that the unit is plugged in and that all of the switches on
the unit are in the off position (the bottom of the switch is
sticking out). Fill the water reservoir to about one and one half
inches from the top. Place a vessel underneath the tip of the steam
wand. Make sure that both hoses are submerged in the water reservoir,
with the tips close to the bottom. Make sure that there are no kinks
or blockages in the hoses. Flip on the hot water switch (the middle
of the three switches on the left side of the unit). Turn the steam
dial counter-clockwise until it stops turning. Flip on the power
switch (the switch with the light next to it, located in the
middle-top of the front of the unit). After about 15 seconds, you
should see water start coming out of the steam wand. Wait until four
ounces of water accumulate in the vessel, and then turn off the power
button. Turn the steam dial back clockwise until it stops turning.
Flip off the hot water switch. If, after thirty seconds, no water is
pulled through the steam wand, power the unit off, check for any
blockages or kinks in the hoses, wait 10 minutes, and repeat the
steps above.

You'll need to turn it off at the mains for the 'all of the switches are on the unit are in the off position' bit, obviously.

If that is the problem you should be able to get it working while in that state and a temporary fix would obviously be to use the wall switch. Try priming and see if that does it.

Yeah it seems to be okay.

The issues seems that if the wall socket is on that machine is on.

I tried a different switch but that didn’t help. So the switch is good.

However the boiler is getting power all the time and running, rather than turning on and off with the switch.

Perhaps it’s the boiler temrmostat as it keeps heating. I’m really not sure what’s going on.

There seems to be huge pressure build up in the boiler, from the boiling of the water to steam. As when the machine is switched off, if I open the steam wand valve it pushes steam out.

Sounds to me like you're right and the pump is OK but can't pump water because the boiler is too hot so there's no water to pump.

I think your boiler thermostat theory is a good one. There are two thermostats on top of the boiler in the Silvia, a brew thermostat (100 deg. C) and a steam thermostat (140 deg. C).

The brew thermostat is the one on the left below.

I would check that the connectors circled in blue are firmly connected and that the thermostat they're attached to is still firmly screwed down onto the top of the boiler with those small flathead screws. It should be though.

To check if it's the brew thermostat without opening it up turn on the steam mode - the boiler should then stop heating at 140 degrees.

If it doesn't stop heating then it would seem that your thermostats aren't the issue, but it seems quite possible that the brew thermostat has failed in such a way as to permanently connect the circuit.