# What to do when you receive a 2nd hand Silvia



## Dajc76

Hopefully my Silvia is arriving tomorrow just in time for me to come back from my holiday. I've ordered some cleaner and descaler which will arrive soon as well however I wondered if anyone had some advice or link to some detailed information of what to check and clean on the machine before I get cracking.


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## painty

Congrats on your new arrival. Assuming you won't be getting the instruction manual (which to be honest was never much help) the first thing to do is ensure the boiler is full of water. You could do this with descaler solution if you intend to descale straight away, but I'd be wanting to check everything works first.

Take out the plastic water tank and give it a wash, rinse and dry and refit to the machine. Make sure the two silicone rubber tubes are clean and are carefully directed into the tank without any pinching or kinks. The longer one may have a softener cartridge on the end and needs to go to the bottom of the tank. Fill the tank with water and leave the lid off so you can keep an eye on the level.

One thing to note before we go on is that the switches operate the *opposite *way to normal British, so the switch pushed in at the top means the switch is on. Eg. in this picture all the switches are off.

So with the machine switched *off *at the wall, set up as follows:

Power switch (centre top) = *On*

Brew switch (left top) = *On*

Hot water switch (left middle) = *Off*

Steam switch (left bottom) = *Off*

Leave the portafilter handle off and put containers under both the group and steam wand to catch water - something like a plastic lunch box is good as it won't scratch that immaculate drip tray









Finally, open the steam wand valve knob fully anti-clockwise.

You are now ready to switch on at the wall. What will happen is the pump will make a loud noise which then goes quieter after 5 - 10 seconds as water is sucked through from the tank.

As the boiler reaches full, water will start to come out of the steam wand. Once a steady stream comes from the wand, close up the steam valve (clockwise) and the water will now come out of the group instead. Wait until a steady shower comes from the group and then shut off the Brew switch (top left) which will stop the pump.

The boiler is now full of water and can be left on to warm up if you wish. Stay around the machine to check that the heater switches off and on as it should every few minutes - the heater light next to the power switch indicates this and you'll hear the clicks as the thermostat operates. You may well see some water dribbling out of the steam wand as the boiler warms up too.

That's a start, anyway, hope that's of use.


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## Scarab

Not my thread so excuse me for jumping in but I'd just like to say huge kudos to Painty. Can't go wrong with advice like that and exactly what the spirit of a good forum is about.

Alex


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## glevum

I would take the shower screen off and have a very good clean around the brass fittings, these collect loads of old coffee crud and make coffees taste awful, you only need a stubby flat head driver.


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## coffeechap

Well done painty having spent the best part of two hours doing just the thread of the eureka rebuild, I appreciate the time that goes into this helpful hints and tips. Just what this forum is about and long may it all continue.


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## mike 100

Painty's advice is spot on I would also backflush the machine and soak the portafilter + baskets +shower screen etc in Puly Caff to remove any old coffee oils, check the rubber group seal in the brew head as well and make sure its clean, if the seal/screen is damaged Coffee Hit do a service kit with a new screen/ seal etc quite cheaply

Also I would remove the steam tip from the wand ( if possible) and clean out any milk residue

When it's all done run a cuple of shots through the machine to check all is well and to make sure all the cleaning product is flushed out

Lastly sit back and enjoy a nice coffee!


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## painty




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## Mrboots2u

Hopefully getting mine today too , so thanks for an invaluable post


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## mike 100

http://www.seattlecoffeegear.com has some good video's on the Silvia, temp surfing, backflushing etc well worth a look


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## ChrisO

mike 100 said:


> www.seattlecoffeegear.com has some good video's on the Silvia, temp surfing, backflushing etc well worth a look


I'd echo this ... I've found the videos really useful in getting to grips with Miss Silvia


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## mike 100

Yes they are pretty good, another good one is Silvia school I think it's called, google search should turn it up. For general coffee making try http://www.metropoliscoffee.com.


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## painty

At risk of becoming a voltage-region bore, I'd suggest being wary of timings given in online guides to temperature surfing Silvia; most will have been written for the lower-powered 110/120 V version.

Also there were two changes in brew thermostat setting throughout the versions, so the chances of someone else's parameters exactly matching your own are slim - trust the Force and experiment to find your own timings that work. That's not to say the guides aren't useful as a starting point though.


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## Dajc76

Brilliant advice everyone, really appreciate it!


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## Mrboots2u

So read a few blogs and looked at a few videos, and there have been a couple of differing views.

Chicken or the egg, or rather brew the espresso first the steam the milk. Some advocate it this way, others swear that you should milk first , then wait or reduce the pressure and then draw your shot .

Which way ?

Cheers


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## painty

Someone measured that Silvia takes 40 minutes to return to stable brewing temperature after steaming, so espressos first, milk second


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## glevum

I found if you steamed the milk 1st, waited to fill and cool down the boiler for the shot so much time has passed the milk starts to seperate and no longer any good for a pour


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## mike 100

painty said:


> Someone measured that Silvia takes 40 minutes to return to stable brewing temperature after steaming, so espressos first, milk second


40 minutes! there is a video somewehre on you tube, maybe by Whole Latte Love showing steaming the milk, then a cooling flush then the espresso, worked for him.. not for me!


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## painty

Yeah the boiler plus group is one big ol lump of brass so once it is heated to steaming temperature, it takes more than a water flush to cool it back down to brew temperature


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## Olliehulla

painty said:


> Yeah the boiler plus group is one big ol lump of brass so once it is heated to steaming temperature, it takes more than a water flush to cool it back down to brew temperature


Agree - I've never been sucessful doing it milk first. Shots rarely come out well this way around and as mentioned milk doesn't hold it's consistency.


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## mike 100

Yeah just tried it, milk is thin and rubbish!


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