# Water coming out of steam wand when purging



## Espresso mania (7 mo ago)

When purging the steam wand on my *Rancilio Silvia*. there is approx 50g of water coming out before the steam comes which is quite a lot if you think about it 

Also the steam seems to be quite unstable, the machine is spitting almost like if it is a mix of water and steam.
If i purge the wand for a LONG time (+20 sec) into a bucket it gets better, but not perfect...

I have tried so far;
Throughly descaled the machine with Citric acid
Adjusted the grouphead pressure (not even sure if this is related to the steam pressure, but...)

What I am thinking next is to take the boiler apart and check the inside for scales etc.

Any other ideas on what I could do ?


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

What machine is it ? it makes a difference.


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## Espresso mania (7 mo ago)

oh yes sorry, it is a Rancilio Silvia


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

If you are in a hard water area I think your diagnosis ref scale is probably correct. When it builds up on the element it tends to insulate the water from the element. If the scale is thick the citric acid may not have broken all the scale down. It would be worth checking the steam thermostat it may not be allowing the water up to sufficient temperature.
If you invert the boiler to descale it do not get the element connector wet.


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