# Rancilio Silvia teething problems



## mbenney (Apr 18, 2020)

Hello,

First post here, nice to meet you all.

After several weeks of lockdown and miserable nespressos I am suddenly the owner of a new Rancilio Silver E V6 2020.

And after a week or so of intense YouTubing I was expecting to be a semi pro on arrival. How naive 😂

I'm very short on counter space so I opted for a Comandante v3 Nitro.

The grinder doesn't arrive until Monday, so I've been experimenting with some pre ground nude espresso coffee.

I know I'm already off to a bad start, but there's one particular thing that I cannot figure out...

Using the stock double basket and tamping very firmly, I cannot seem to get more than 10g of coffee in without the nut in the shower screen causing a big indentation in the dry puck of coffee. I'm measuring with a 0.1g accurate scale and working out all of the clumps with a toothpick before tamping.

I've tried doses from 10g all the way up to 20g but (aside from one fluke) am getting extraction times of 6-10 seconds.

From what I've read I should be able to get up to 16g and still have some headroom.

Stale pre-ground coffee aside, can anyone possibly imagine what I could be doing wrong with the dosing?

Thanks very much

Matt


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## BlackCatCoffee (Apr 11, 2017)

Don't worry about the nut indentation.

You extraction will never ever be right with pre ground coffee so don't stress. You will not be able to fix it with harder tamping, it makes barely any difference.

Just wait for your grinder.


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## Farravi (Dec 12, 2013)

Take a video of the exact method you've been using including your weighing machine. Also a close up pics of the basket and portafilter. This will give us a better picture and narrow down the issue(s).

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## RobbieTheTruth (Jun 4, 2019)

Yeah - just wait for the grinder! Don't worry about the stale, course supermarket grinds.

Ideally, you'll want to reduce the pressure a bit. Most of the people here would recommend 9 bar - I think the machine is set at 15 bar.

Once you're at 9 bar, you'll likely want to start attempting a 1:2 ratio in about 30 seconds - so 18g of ground coffee, yielding 36g of liquid in 30 seconds.


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## mbenney (Apr 18, 2020)

Thanks all, thegrinder comes today, I'll report back


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## mbenney (Apr 18, 2020)

Reporting back!

I received the Comandante grinder which is a pleasure to use. I have however ordered the upgraded 'red clix' axle that gives you double the amount of adjustment settings.

I've managed to get the ratio bang on in 26 seconds. First by finding the closest grinder setting then by updosing to 17g. 34g in 26secs. They look great with good crema.

I'm using Monmouth coffee beans roasted under 2 weeks ago.

But the shots taste a bit too bitter and I'm not getting the fruitiness or sweetness that I like.

Any idea how I could improve?

N.B. I just received a pressure gauge so am going to try and check and adjust the pressure tomorrow, with the assumption I'll have to start again with the dialling in process.

Thanks very much


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

Do you do the "temperature surfing" or have you got a PID installed?


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## mbenney (Apr 18, 2020)

A little temperature surfing but don't think I've quite mastered it.

Cannot get the portafilter spout off for love nor money. Tried screwdriver trick, freezing and boiling water on the spout, and a vice and a big wrench. Only succeeded in bending in one of the sides of the spout so the screwdriver will no longer go through. 😞


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

Try to heat the thread with something like kitchen gas torch, there's a threadlocker glue


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## mbenney (Apr 18, 2020)

Thanks for the suggestion, I don't have one but I'll see what I can do.

Wondering if someone can confirm something else... in my current process with the silvia, after steaming the milk I rinse the portafilter using the brewbutton for 5 seconds or more. I'm assuming this also primes the boiler with more water? Is that correct? I have not been doing anything else to prime it before letting it get up to temperature.

Thanks v much


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