I moved to a new house a while back and in the process my Rancilio Silvia was damaged. The insurance company had a look at it, gave me some money and told me to keep it. Now I am wondering if its worth trying to fix it or scrap it... Here is a picture of the main problem:



All the screws that hold the boiler together either broke in half or got ripped out of the brass threads in the lower boiler body. I was told that the machine had been kept in temperate storage (above freezing) but I can't think of anything else that could have an effect like this... Significant weight on the portafilter handle (which was locked in) perhaps?

That looks like what would happen if it were to freeze with a full boiler. If it were mine I'd try repair it. At least sell it for parts. Good luck.

Mike

I would definitely look into fixing it and the associated cost. If it is cheaper than buying new then save the landfill and fix. Or you can sell it as is and upgrade it depends on how much money you want to put into it.

Depending on how warped the brass is, you may be able to salvage. Almost certainly, the threads have been stripped out of the group body when the bolts were pulled upwards by the ice expanding. If you can cut new threads, or if they aren't too damaged and can be fixed by a tap set, then you may be able to get away with keeping the group body. You can also go to a car service center and get what is called Recoil thread inserts, or order them online. This is what service centers use on your car when threads in the engine head or block get damaged. If the brass is too warped you will have to blaze it to get it hot enough to reshape. If you have the tools, and the time, you can do this.

Boilers tend to be around half the cost or more of a machine. If they gave you purchase price for it, personally I would scrap it and replace it. Maybe gut it for some spare parts unless the boiler is surprisingly inexpensive. A frozen machine could have a lot of hidden damage.

cannonfodder wrote:Boilers tend to be around half the cost or more of a machine

On a commercial machine, I agree, but the home machines seem to run a lot cheaper in that regard. Given the price of a new Silvia, if either the boiler or the group head are salvageable you may be in luck:

Boiler and heating element, $156.24: http://www.espressoparts.com/R_5396

Group Head, $145.52: http://www.espressoparts.com/R_2931

Even if you had to replace the whole boiler and group assembly, that's still far less than $650 for a new one: http://www.wholelattelove.com/Rancilio/...a_2009.cfm.

EBSpokane wrote:On a commercial machine, I agree, but the home machines seem to run a lot cheaper in that regard. Given the price of a new Silvia, if either the boiler or the group head are salvageable you may be in luck:
Boiler and heating element, $156.24... Group Head, $145.52: ...

Plus shipping to Norway!

I have a Silvia that suffered almost identical damage. The brass grouphead casting was not salvageable. In addition to the threads being stripped, the rear flange was also badly bent.

But (this is the good news), the boiler was fine. I have used this machine almost every day for 2 years after replacing the grouphead casting.

Jim

Check with our UK office. http://www.coffeehit.co.uk for the same EP listed parts and pricing. Shipping is typically next day and around 15.00 Euro

Randy G. wrote:Plus shipping to Norway!

I can't imagine there isn't a flat-rate priority box that those parts fit in that will get to Norway for less than $300