# Silvia Questions and advice...



## telecastersteve (Jan 23, 2013)

bought a Silvia V3 for myself for christmas and have been slowly getting the hang of it and now producing reasonable drinks, just a couple of questions from more seasoned users...

- anyone fitted a water filter in the tank at all?? I ve got one to fit but wondered if the resistance of getting through the filter would hamper the water supply at all (ie getting through the smaller diameter pipes and the filter crystals)

- how much coffee (in weight) are you supposed to use in each portafilter basket? Ive got three, ones obviously a one cup, one is the one marked '102' and the last one is bigger. Tried to get 14g and 21g in the first two which just crams it in and sometimes stops me from gettingthe portafilter in - any advie would be appreciated...

ta


----------



## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

a one cup (e.g. single shot basket) is around 7g of coffee give or take 1g. The double basket should take between 14-16g of coffee depending on taste.


----------



## mike 100 (Jul 15, 2010)

A lot of people use the in tank filters without problems, if you are at all concerned you could always filter the water before putting it into the tank, with a Brita water filter or similar. I think Happy Donkey supply in tank filters so may be worth asking them their opinion.


----------



## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Suggest you have a look at VST baskets. I've read that results are better shot-wise. I bought an 18 grm VST ridgeless - not cheap but worth it. I'm currently enjoying some light roast Sumatra and have found 20 grm is about right. With a darker roast would drop weight to around -16grm.


----------



## IanP (Aug 4, 2011)

telecastersteve said:


> bought a Silvia V3 for myself for christmas and have been slowly getting the hang of it and now producing reasonable drinks, just a couple of questions from more seasoned users... how much coffee (in weight) are you supposed to use in each portafilter basket? Ive got three, ones obviously a one cup, one is the one marked '102' and the last one is bigger. Tried to get 14g and 21g in the first two which just crams it in and sometimes stops me from gettingthe portafilter in - any advie would be appreciated...
> 
> ta


I have had my Silvia for two years now and live it. Not milk drinkers so only espresso and long blacks - Silvia is hard to beat for the money in this regard ..... Great results especially now I have the ridgeless 18gm VST and using the yoghurt pot and cocktail stick technique in the bottomless portafilter. 19gm dose works brilliantly and gives consistent results. It still sits well down in the basket leaving only a small shower screen screw indentation. Would recommend if you want to experiment and spend money.....







which is presumably why you're on the forum........!

Good luck with the trial and error and enjoy your coffee.


----------



## golden1 (Jan 21, 2012)

*theoretically* the single basket takes 7-8 grammes, and the double 14-16. practically however the single takes closer to 10 and the double closer to 24.

Either way, the best idea is to over fill, Distribute without compressing, use a straight edge to level off the basket, and then tamp down to the grove. get used to that, and you;ll produce consistant results every time.

The important thing is, that if you fill to the right level, it should be easy to fit the pf handle.. and if you take it out right away, the top of the screw on the mesh screen should *just* touch the grounds.

After extraction, there should be a nice dry puck, with an m4 screw impression in it. if it's wet, there wasnt enough coffee, and if you couldnt get it in in the frist place, ther was too much .

Weight is pretty much irrelevant, as it depends on the density of the cofee youre using in the first place..

As for fitting a filter.. there are several that will fit, and the pump is plenty strong enough.. but my only complaint with the silvia (ok, one of two) is that the tanks not big enough.

.. so putting a big lump of filter in there is going to make it worse. You could just get used to filling it up with filtered water...

(my other complaint is that that big lump of chromed plastic around the grouphead doesn't keep enough heat)


----------



## telecastersteve (Jan 23, 2013)

cheers for the replys guys,

I spoke to Happy Donkey as they had the same filter and they said it's fine to use - does take up a bit of room in there but as I make sure it's full every time I use it that's not a problem.

slowly working out the sizes of the baskets - I actually get quite good results from the rancilio baskets now as I use the line around the top as a 'tamp to' kind of guide, previously I was over filling with not finely enough ground coffee, will have a look at the other recomended baskets though - really like the largest basket (3 1/2 scoops roughly) for sunday morning cappucinos....

Really glad I bought this machine now, still have some probs with milk some mornings but i think thats more to do with either not putting enough in the jug or the freshness from a 6 pint bottle thats been open a couple of days...

LAst question for the minute - what grinders are people using - currently using a vintage german burr hand one that is really good but coming to the end of its life i think (the burrs at least) - want the rocky but cant afford it at the moment, was looking at the ascara mini but put off by the adjustment screw and awkwardness of changing between different beans...?!


----------



## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

I bought a Mahlkonig Vario along with my Silvia. Really pleased with it. Its footprint is quite small compared, say, to a Jolly. The grind, for espresso, is excellent - no clumping. Grind retention is non-existent so no problem with mess. You can programme it, I believe, for different grinds, e.g. espresso and French press and then switch at will between the two. Never tried this as I only use it for fine grind espresso. Looks sturdy and well made. Not cheap but IMO worth it.


----------



## mike 100 (Jul 15, 2010)

I have a Silvia and an Ascaso iMini grinder, the only problems I have had with the grinder are the ajustment screw rotates when grinding, this can be stopped with some ptfe tape, and the other thing is it's a bit noisy.

As for changing between beans I don't find it much of a problem, usually it's only a few turns of the screw either way ( except for de-caff which needs a lot of tightening ajustment!) I always weigh my beans before grinding to try and keep things consistent.


----------



## radish (Nov 20, 2011)

I don't think the weight of coffee is irrelevant - it's a big factor in determing how your coffee will taste and, as others have stated, will help with consistency if you keep track of it. I had a V1 Silvia and didn't like the baskets that came with it. I used the Synesso double, which worked well. I'd try and keep some head space between the coffee and shower screen as well (which can be achieved with deeper baskets like the Synesso).


----------



## mike 100 (Jul 15, 2010)

radish, been thinking about the Synesso double basket for my V3 Silvia, I think the portafilter is the same as the V2, did it fit OK?

Regards


----------



## radish (Nov 20, 2011)

mike 100 said:


> radish, been thinking about the Synesso double basket for my V3 Silvia, I think the portafilter is the same as the V2, did it fit OK?
> 
> Regards


Mike - I think I have a spare Synesso basket somewhere. If I find it I'll post it to you.


----------



## mike 100 (Jul 15, 2010)

radish said:


> Mike - I think I have a spare Synesso basket somewhere. If I find it I'll post it to you.


Thats very kind , I will gladly reimburse you for the costs involved, or make a donation to the forum if you wish, just send a PM and let me know.

Thanks again

Mike


----------



## s30jok (Feb 10, 2013)

hello

i am interested in the rancilio silva and rocky grinder with doser. i work for BT and was at a customers house and this guy made me a cappucino with this machine and it was beautiful. I currently have a delonghi bean 2 cup and the difference in taste was very noticeable. Therefore i am on the look out for one of these machines.

Is it suitable for cappucino and lattes? and do i have to wait ages between brews for the pump to build up pressure to make a second cup?

One other question, i have seen a Silva and grinder (not rocky) on caffe italia website, is there any pitfalls with this company as there prices seem very good

http://www.coffeeitalia.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=RANCILIO.SILVIA.MAHLK%D6NIG is this a good deal and is it a good grinder that people would reccomend?


----------



## mike 100 (Jul 15, 2010)

Hi, first things first, Coffee Italia... not a good idea! best avoided by all accounts. The Silvia makes good cappuchinos and lattes Its not the pump you have to wait for to build up pressure but the boiler temperature thats important after brewing and steaming milk, it can be to hot for the next shot so you may need to bring the temperature down from "steaming" to "brewing" which can be a pain. Or if you are making a lot of milk based drinks consider a dual boiler machine which solves the problem! (More expensive!)


----------



## s30jok (Feb 10, 2013)

okay, many thanks for the reply, going to be looking at fracino then for the double facility. Will be looking out for 2 machines as my father wants to get one too, do you know if any of the retailers do deals on more than one purchases?


----------



## mike 100 (Jul 15, 2010)

Don't know of anyone myself, but i'm sure if you ask on the fracino section someone will know


----------

