# Silvia under pressure



## Corowa (Jan 15, 2014)

We have had many trouble free years with Silvia but a problem has cropped up.

In the last week or so there has been lots of pressure pushing the portafilter away from the grouphead.

At first you could hold it in place but the force is now so strong that it pushes the portafilter right out of the grouphead and leaves a mess of coffee in the cup.

Perhaps this has been coming on for a while because the portafilter handle can't turn to a straight position and has been getting progressively further away to the left.

I wanted to clean the grouphead but the nut is so tight I can't get it off with a screwdriver or wrench.

We tried backwashing but without a blind filter it didn't do much.

Any thoughts from the experts here would be most appreciated.

The french press just can't replace Silvia.

Corowa


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## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

Blind filters are only a couple of quid.... Do yourself a favour and buy one!

Have you tried replacing the group seal? They are cheap as well.

What happens when you run the machine with the pf locked in but without any coffee?

What is your cleaning routine?


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## Wando64 (Feb 28, 2011)

If the portafilter is properly locked no amount of pressure can push it away.

I would bet money that, unless you have dropped the portafilter and bent it, the problem is the seal. Probably caked with old coffee grinds to the point that you cannot turn the portafilter fully.


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## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

That's where I was going Wando - together with some cleaning advice


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## Corowa (Jan 15, 2014)

Daren & Wando,

Thank you both for your advice.

I posted my problem here because I had not heard back from the company that I purchased the machine from.

Daren's comment about the blind filter made me wonder where I could buy one.

A quick internet search identified a store not very far out of my way.

Their advice was to rip the shower head out, it seemed extreme but it worked.

After I did that I was able to remove the nut with an adjustable wrench.

I removed the gasket and cleaned out the group head.

With a new gasket in place I can now turn the portafilter handle all the way to the front.

I backflushed the machine and now have the blind filter and the powder to do that regularly.


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## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

Good stuff Corowa. I take it everything is now working well?


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## Wando64 (Feb 28, 2011)

Glad you can use your machine again.

To keep the seal clean I use a brush after every use. It just take two seconds.

Something like this: http://www.coffeehit.co.uk/pallo-coffee-tool


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