# wand swap Gaggia Clasic



## snegger (Dec 15, 2010)

got my Siliva wand today,just waiting for the machine to come now,it's on it's way.

is the swap easy enough or are there any pointers I need to know?


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## Milesy (Mar 8, 2012)

Easy. Just remember the existing rubber washer does not always come out so remove it, or remove the one from the new wand.


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## forzajuve (Feb 2, 2011)

Yeah it's dead easy. I've seen some people say you need to sand it to get the nut off but I managed with just some veg oil to lubricate it. Does make a difference and is much easier to keep clean from stale milk!


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## snegger (Dec 15, 2010)

forzajuve said:


> Yeah it's dead easy. I've seen some people say you need to sand it to get the nut off but I managed with just some veg oil to lubricate it. Does make a difference and is much easier to keep clean from stale milk!


nut? do I use the nut on the Gaggia wand or the nut that came with the Silvia wand?


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## forzajuve (Feb 2, 2011)

I imagine as its a Silvia wand it will have the Silvia nut fitting to attach to the machine? Therefore you will need to swap it with your current one on your classic. Getting it round the bend of the wand is the tricky part but as I say, a little lubrication did the job for me.


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## snegger (Dec 15, 2010)

forzajuve said:


> I imagine as its a Silvia wand it will have the Silvia nut fitting to attach to the machine? Therefore you will need to swap it with your current one on your classic. Getting it round the bend of the wand is the tricky part but as I say, a little lubrication did the job for me.


lol ofc I'm thick as pig droppings,thanks.


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## forzajuve (Feb 2, 2011)

snegger said:


> lol ofc I'm thick as pig droppings,thanks.


Haha no worries, you just need a coffee to wake you up!


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## Milesy (Mar 8, 2012)

is it the happy donkey one? That comes pre-made and ready to just screw on.


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## snegger (Dec 15, 2010)

Milesy said:


> is it the happy donkey one? That comes pre-made and ready to just screw on.


got it from happydonkey,so it comes with the correct size nut fitted,cheers


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## Milesy (Mar 8, 2012)

Yep. Just unscrew existing (carefully) making sure you only unscrew the nut. Take out the existing rubber washer as well for consistency and out the full new wand in including the rubber washer supplied.


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## snegger (Dec 15, 2010)

couldn't see the rubber washer must have been stuck up in there,so just removed the new one and fitted the want,seemed to have worked ok,cheers Milesy


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## zbikman (Mar 21, 2012)

Hi.

I've found two of the Rancillo Silvia wands:

1. Rancilio Silvia Steam Wandxr5600

2. New V3 Rancilio Silvia Steam Wandxr5705

http://www.shopdrury.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=0&P_ID=675&strPageHistory=search&numSearchStartRecord=1

The question is:

Which one will fit to my Gaggia Classic?

These are cheaper than that one from happydonkey

Thanks


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## forzajuve (Feb 2, 2011)

zbikman said:


> Which one will fit to my Gaggia Classic?


Its the original that you want: xr5600. I don't think that the newer versions fit the GC.


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## snegger (Dec 15, 2010)

zbikman said:


> Hi.
> 
> I've found two of the Rancillo Silvia wands:
> 
> ...


I emailed DRURY yesterday,asking about stock on the v2 wand,got the reply today,they say are only stocking the V3 model? not sure if that means they are no longer stocking the wand for the V2 classic?

seems HappyDonkey is the only supplier atm works out at about £38 with VAT and P&P.


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## zbikman (Mar 21, 2012)

I've ordered from here:

http://espressocare.com/Qstore/Qstore.cgi?CMD=011&PROD=1191872727&PNAME=B-42+Rancilio+Silvia+Steam+Wand

Paid $33 delivered so it's about £21.50 (delivered)

I'll let you know when (or if) I get it


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## Milesy (Mar 8, 2012)

A Glasgow based store has it at 20 quid exc vat.

http://www.espressoservices.co.uk/gaggia_parts_and_accessories.html

I dont know how much it differs from ther happy donkey one though.


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## zbikman (Mar 21, 2012)

Milesy said:


> A Glasgow based store has it at 20 quid exc vat.
> 
> http://www.espressoservices.co.uk/gaggia_parts_and_accessories.html
> 
> I dont know how much it differs from ther happy donkey one though.


Good find

It will be 26.88 delivered incl. VAT


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## snegger (Dec 15, 2010)

Milesy said:


> A Glasgow based store has it at 20 quid exc vat.
> 
> http://www.espressoservices.co.uk/gaggia_parts_and_accessories.html
> 
> I dont know how much it differs from ther happy donkey one though.


my happy donkey wand was a straight swap,I think the nut from the old wand may need to be used on those ones.


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## zbikman (Mar 21, 2012)

zbikman said:


> I've ordered from here:
> 
> http://espressocare.com/Qstore/Qstore.cgi?CMD=011&PROD=1191872727&PNAME=B-42+Rancilio+Silvia+Steam+Wand
> 
> ...


I've got it today. So it took 6 days from USA.

£21.50 (delivered) that's not bad.

Best price so far

Regards


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## tribs (Feb 21, 2012)

I have just received one from myespresso. £20 all in. Ordered early in the morning and received the next day. I know this company have a bad rep, so that is the risk you take, but I had no probs and it was almost half the price of the HappyDonkey one. It does not come with the Gaggia nut and washer though, but that does not matter as you just reuse the originals. It is dead easy to replace. Here are my instructions.

1. Remove the rubber heat guard and Silvia nut and washer from the Silvia wand.

2. Unscrew the Silvia tip.

3. Soak the Silvia wand and tip in a weak solution of Puly Caff or similar (I used Puro). Don't discard the solution, it'll come in handy later.

4. Unscrew the original wand. I though this was going to be tricky as apprently the brass nut that the wand nut screws into can easily break. So you have to hold this in place with a spanner as you use another spanner to unscrew the wand nut. You do have to do this and I found a bike spanner or similar that happened to fit. The problem is that the brass nut is mostly inside the machine so it is difficult to get a grip. Fortunately it does not require much force to crack the two nuts apart and then the wand nut just unscrews by hand.

5. Remove the original wand and nut and don't lose the washer. Mine just stayed in the housing, so I don't even know what it looks like.

6. Now as you try and remove the nut from the original wand you will find it gets stuck on the final bend. I have heard of people bending the wand or sanding and alsorts of things and I can't promise that you will not have to do this, but try this, as it worked for me. Dip the bend and the nut in the Puly solution from earlier (not the whole wand, so you can still grip onto it someplace). You should now find with a little force the nut just slips off.

7. Thoroughly rinse the Silvia wand and tip and slide the original nut onto the Silvia wand. Maybe give the rubber heat guard a quick wash and then replace followed by the screw on tip.

8. Insert the Silvia wand into the housing (replacing the original washer if this came out with the original wand) and screw the original nut into the brass nut until finger tight. If the wand nut moves when you swing the arm then tighten a little more, but you shouldn't need to use a spanner.

9. Purge some steam through the new wand to remove any remaining residues and check there are no leaks.

10. Enjoy creating microfoam with your upgraded wand









There are some good pics (not mine) here

I hope that helps anyone thinking of doing or actually doing this mod.


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## Brad (Mar 25, 2012)

Helped me loads - thanks!

New wand came this morning - took less than 5 mins to swap it over. I got mine from http://www.espressoservices.co.uk/gaggia_parts_and_accessories.html (via ebay) - the delivery was really fast and the price pretty good too. This one needed the nut swapping over from my Gaggia wand, but that actually just slid off with a little bit of a wiggle.

Brad


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## gmason (Aug 9, 2012)

Just replaced my Classic wand following 'tribs' very clear instructions. Once the tools were in place, the job took under 5 minutes. Very straightforward and not complicated in the least. Tested the machine and can't believe the difference in steam. Some members have reported excess noise, but it still sounds the same. Very pleased.

Thanks tibs!


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## Beatski (Feb 18, 2012)

Which wand did you purchase? I'm tempted to buy the steam tube to beef up my milk frothing capabilities... Anybody bought this and do they recommend it?

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## Obsy (May 21, 2012)

I bought the one from espresso services in Glasgow. Managed the swap with little effort and it's well worth doing this mod. You'll need to buy the V2 Silvia wand to ensure it fits correctly.


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## Beatski (Feb 18, 2012)

All done.... Easy peeeesy!! And a worthwhile mod I think...

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