Rancilio Silvia boiler freeze damage - replace bolts?

Need help with equipment usage or want to share your latest discovery?
scythide
Posts: 34
Joined: 12 years ago

#1: Post by scythide »

I'm finally getting around to taking a look at my old Silvia which suffered some damage due to freezing temperatures a few years ago. I took the boiler off and noticed that the bolts had stripped the top ~4mm of threads from the base during the expansion. I also noticed that there seem to be plenty of threads that still look good below the stripped area. From Stefano's Espresso Care the bolts are nominally M5x12... anyone know if there would be any issue with replacing the bolts with longer ones to grip the threads that are undamaged?
LMWDP #361, Pharos #285

onthego
Posts: 197
Joined: 18 years ago

#2: Post by onthego »

I had the same thing happen with my Silvia. I tapped the holes to the next larger metric size, replaced the bolts, and reassembled the boiler. Today, 7 years later, it is still running without problem. Good luck with the repairs.

Ed

Advertisement
User avatar
Beans2Machines
Posts: 8
Joined: 9 years ago

#3: Post by Beans2Machines replying to onthego »

That's a great idea especially since a new base plate is quite expensive. I've seen a few boilers like that but it's good to know they last!