# Quickmill Silvano



## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Hi, does anyone have any experience of the above? I am waiting for my new machine so have nothing to play with at all, and just happened to cal in and see Claudette today, who kindly offered to lend me a machine from display. I thought about this and then asked if I could have the cheapest QM machine, as the Verona gets such high accolades and they are also making the Veloce lever for BB, so, I thought, let's have. Play with their basic offering.

I only arrived home so have only had half an hour on it. Out of the box, it is easy to set up. There are two odd things about this machine. Firstly, and it makes perfect common sense, the water tank slides out from the side which makes filling and cleaning a diddle, but goes against the usual method of filling the tank, and I will come on out the second one shortly!

So, water in, switch the switch to position one which fills the boiler from the tank. Flip to position two and the pid lights up as the boiler heats up. It came to temp in 4 to 5 minutes but I left it another half hour to warm through. First shot poured a little too quickly so by the time I got to the third, the pour seemed right over 30 seconds but I will start to weigh etc tomorrow.

Now, this is a single boiler machine but the steam is supplied via a thermoblock that I really do. Ot understand! But, you flick a switch on the rear panel,wait for a light on the front to come on which took ten seconds or so, then vent the steam arm and away you go. It does not seem to produces volumes of steam but it is very effective and produced a lovely consistency.

The Silvano seems well put together but I will learn more as I have a bit more time to play over the coming days. Meanwhile, if anyone has one and wants to chip in, be my guest, or, if you do not own one and want to chip in.......


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)




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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Better than a classic ?


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## Geordie Boy (Nov 26, 2012)

More expensive than a classic! Be interesting how the Quickmill 820 compares to a Classic given there's only £50 difference in the new price now


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## Tiny tamper (May 23, 2014)

according to the site it has two boilers so maybe thats were the confusion lies as regards the thermoblock


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

I have cheated a bit and read some other reviews. The drip tray is enormous and just pulls out of the front nicely. The Pis does not control water temp coming from the boiler but brewhead temp which is interesting. The Thermoblock steams away very impressively and the 1.5 mm single hole is so easy to use. I have made 8 shots on this and really really like it. At £699 it is a lot dearer than a Classic, but with respect where respect is due, it is a 'proper' coffee machine.

Build quality is good. There is a really good video explaining all here

http://www.chriscoffee.com/Silvano-by-Quick-Mill-p/4005.htm

It could be the go to machine from a Classic, but time will tell


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

It definitely has one boiler and a thermoblock!!


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## Geordie Boy (Nov 26, 2012)

Didn't you have a Cherub once? If you did, for the price be interesting how you think they compare?


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

I have never had the C word! Had a Heavenly or two but that was years ago. I will write a bit more in depth as I go.


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

It's a nice looking machine as are most of the Quickmill's I wonder what it's like vs a Silvia rather than Vs a Classic?


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

First impressions, as I have had limited time with a Sylvia, is that it is definitely a cut above, and that includes price of course!


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Had another little play this morning. I love the water resevoir. It just pulls out from the side, making filling it and viewing the contents a doddle.

  

The drip tray is normous. THe mesh over the top makes sure spashes are kept to a minimum. It has a raised half inch lip at the back in case of accidents, just pulls out making emptying so easy!

  

Made a cappa, will measure and weigh the next set of shots

  

  

The thermoblock makes so much sense. It sits in the rear near to the plug and you switch it on a few seconds before you want to steam, helping with efficiency for those who are into saving a few shillings on electricity. It has a really efficient and unique single hole steam tip that requires absolutely no skill in making good microfoam!

Anyone getting the impression that I like this?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Sorry if I've missed this how long would it takes you to steam for say two dfk sized Cappas ?


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

have to time it but the milk for the one I have just made I would say was about 15 to 20 seconds. It does not seem poweeful, but efficient.


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## Jason1wood (Jun 1, 2012)

Seems to have a lot of the same things as the verona. I love the drip tray size and mesh.

Also the separate steam and boiler switches is a fantastic idea.

David, what price bracket is this in? Could it be a contender of taking the Silva crown?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

dfk41 said:


> have to time it but the milk for the one I have just made I would say was about 15 to 20 seconds. It does not seem poweeful, but efficient.


That's quick for a Thermoblock , does it make that chug chug noise while it's doing it ?

Presume this more price wise up against the office pulser?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Jason1wood said:


> Seems to have a lot of the same things as the verona. I love the drip tray size and mesh.
> 
> Also the separate steam and boiler switches is a fantastic idea.
> 
> David, what price bracket is this in? Could it be a contender of taking the Silva crown?


There not separate as such , one is a Thermoblock , you have to switch it to steam , like a dualitt etc.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

At the moment, it is on the Bb site for `£699, but...wait and see what happens with the new order going through


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## Jason1wood (Jun 1, 2012)

I love the design of the QMs.

Ah Boots, not sure how the thermo works, my Verona has separate switches so just thought that's what David was meaning.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

There are separate switches. When you want to steam, you flick switch two and it takes about 15 seconds to come to temp. You can leave it switched on all of the time, but surely the whole point is not to have to, especially if you infrequently heat milk. This is a very likeable machine. Is there no one else on the forum who has one, just in case you think I am all stark raving mad!

Patrick, come up on holiday and pinch me please!


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Mrboots2u said:


> Sorry if I've missed this how long would it takes you to steam for say two dfk sized Cappas ?


I just tried it one handed, dropped the phone which switched off but I reckon milk for two of those blue cups, about 8 to 9 fluid ounces 40 to 45 seconds.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

dfk41 said:


> I just tried it one handed, dropped the phone which switched off but I reckon milk for two of those blue cups, about 8 to 9 fluid ounces 40 to 45 seconds.


Lol appreciate the effort though


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

No practice...just pulled a shot, no weighing in grind, slightly over extracted, but......


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

It certainly looks to be a very interesting machine, I guess the current price puts it up against a fully pimped Oscar, the EXpo Office Pulser and the Fracino Piccino. It would be very interesting to try and have a mid price machine shoot out.

A lot of manufacturers of much more expensive machines could learn a thing or two about drip tray size and design from Quickmill it would appear as well. I really like the mesh surface of the drip tray grid and would happily buy something like that for the Sage if I could find a suitable material to get one made or one already made that would fit.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Well, with this machine receiving little or no interest, I will continue, because anyone upgrading from a Classic, you need to consider this. Let me start off by saying, it is not as good as an HX machine. That said, if you are mainly making either espresso, or milk based for one then this is perfect. I cannot get a latte mug under the spout, so to save pouring into a shot glass then into the cup/mug, I used a 6 ounce cappa cup. that means I am steaming 3 ounces or so of milk. I have steamed 7 ounces and it took around the minute mark where three ounces takes 20 seconds. To me, that is perfectly acceptable performance. The foam it produces is really good quality.

So, if your needs are not for amazing steam quantity, why pay for it? The Silvano has a thermoblock, which means it has the equivalent of its own small steam producer seperate to the boiler with its own vibe pump. You can switch the steam on or off conserving energy if you do not need steam all the time. See this video clip for a demo






The next thing I like in principle is the Pid. it does not control water temp coming from the boiler but the temp at the brewhead. Now, I do not really know enough about this to know if it is a gimmick or makes sense, perhaps others can tell me, but in principle, it sounds good. I have already mentioned the drip tray which is amazing and the water reservoir which is simple and effective.

In the cup, it really produces! I do not know if it is luck, my skills or that I am just using decent beans, but I am very very impressed. Much more so than anything my pal produces on his Sylvia. If you get the chance to have a look at one of these, then do....


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

Contenders for the title of Silvia Slayer please step forward!

Some lovely features including the TS1-type group-head PID.

In all honesty, I'm surprised it's taken this long to incorporate these kinds of features in a machine at this price point after ALL the gripes/mods of the Silvia/Classic that can be found all over the net.

Nice work Quickmill! (Love the fact also that it's encroaching on the Silvia name - just to give us a clue to where it's aiming it's barrels).


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

How much are new Silvia s now compared to price of this and the expo hx then?


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

Actually looks like Silvias are around the £400 mark new...single boiler Expos are just over 7


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Should be better than a Silvia then







,


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## emin-j (Dec 10, 2011)

I think this makes my QM Vetrano a Silvano on steroids


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## Jason1wood (Jun 1, 2012)

[ QUOTE=emin-j;187865]I think this makes my QM Vetrano a Silvano on steroids










I what does that make the Verona then?


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## NickR (Jul 1, 2011)

Thanks for the review, looks like a really great little machine.


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## urpert (Mar 22, 2012)

Very interested in this thread as one of these has just popped up on eBay. Given I hardly ever do anything with milk I had set my sights on a Bezzera Unica but this is significantly cheaper!


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