hi
I bought a used 2012 rancilio silvia a month ago and everything worked perfectly since then.
I let the silvia preheat for 30 minutes, then temp surf. once the light for the boiler turn off, I wait 30 seconds, flush for 2 second, then pull the shot.

it has been working for a month without any problem at all.

Yesterday, I did the same routine, and each time during the shot, sometimes even after 7-8 seconds, the boiler light turned on during the pull? I turned off the machine, wait a little, and restarted the machine. My next coffee was like normal and the problem seemed to have gone. Today, the same problem happened, half of my 5 shots, during my pull, the boiler light turned on.

what can cause that?

please help!

If you purchased your Silvia used it might have a scaling issue? It could also be a temperature sensor problem, have you checked all of your electrical connections inside the machine just in case? Last of all it could be your surfing method.

This is the method I've read about and have used it for several years. I've also concluded that the temperature sensor already in place cuts off the element at the "correct" brew temperature, so "in theory" you ride the wave at the highest point and surf the temperature down through your shot.

-20+ minutes for warmup.
-Flush the group head and let that water drop into my clean cup until the boiler light comes on.
-Stop the flush.
-Dump the water from that cup into the sink and dry the cup, wait for the boiler light to go out.
-When the light goes out, insert the portafilter into the group head.
-Place the hot cup under the portafilter.
-Pull the shot.

With your technique, your flush time prior to pulling your shot might be too long? I'm guessing that it might bring your boiler temp low enough (with the additional water that's entering your boiler while you pull your shot) to cause your element to turn on prematurely.

I would also recommend flushing your system with the steaming wand open at startup or at shut down (then close it off) to make sure your boiler has an adequate water level, you will need to purge the water out of your steaming wand when the light for the steam selector goes out just prior to steaming your milk.

The Silvia is an awesome machine, I end up using it more than my larger machines simply because it's easy on the electricity bill and for one person on most occasions it works just fine for me.

I hope this helps?

More likely the contact thermostat is starting to fail. These are $8.00 switches that have only a little accuracy (approx. +-4-7 degrees) when they are new, and they slowly become more inaccurate as they age. Even whether or not there is thermal paste between the thermostat and the boiler (and how old it is) will significantly alter the precision of the temperature wrt the output water. You are expecting much more accuracy and consistency than the machine can ever provide.

There might be some air trapped in the boiler.
Just do some steaming, empty the boiler and prime the boiler again while the wand is open.
Hope it solves the problem.

it did help I think!!!!!
this morning, the problem was still there and my first shot was amiss (the boiler turned on right when the first shot was pulled)
I opened the steam wand to let some water and air pass thrue, and now my shot was exactly like before.

so that is normal behavior that sometime, air gets in the boiler?
I never make water milk so I never use the steam wand...

thanks!

MinistryofEspresso wrote:More likely the contact thermostat is starting to fail. These are $8.00 switches that have only a little accuracy (approx. +-4-7 degrees) when they are new, and they slowly become more inaccurate as they age. Even whether or not there is thermal paste between the thermostat and the boiler (and how old it is) will significantly alter the precision of the temperature wrt the output water. You are expecting much more accuracy and consistency than the machine can ever provide.

but, the contact thermostat could have failed within days?

BTW, Ive descaled my machine as soon as I got it.

anyways, Ill let you know, but I feel that maybe there was too much air in the boiler.

"so that is normal behavior that sometime, air gets in the boiler?
I never make water milk so I never use the steam wand...

I was a bit wordy in my initial response, but I would recommend running the pump with the wand open to purge the system just prior to shutdown to make sure your water level is correct at startup. You need to use your want regardless because simply flushing the group head will not eliminate establish a correct water level in your boiler alone, you need to be purge the system prior to shutdown or right after you flip the main power switch to on.

When you descaled the boiler did you remove the boiler and upen it up to descale it or simply run descaler through the boiler?

This is what mine looked like inside when I bought it from a coworker... Rancilio Silvia Descaling Pictures.

murphythecat: you mentioned that you bought the machine used. Everything has a lifespan.