Rancilio Silvia V3 - bad pump?

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CrabRangoon
Posts: 253
Joined: 10 years ago

#1: Post by CrabRangoon »

Hello HB,

Long time casual reader, first time poster. I've been brewing with a Chemex + Able Kone filter for years, and sometimes an Aeropress + Able Disk as well. Interested in espresso, nearly a year ago I picked up a Mypressi Twist. Ready to move onto a steam wand and perhaps pull a couple drinks at a time (I typically only have one drink per day), I decided to try finding a used V3 within my budget. Last week I found an eBay seller had made a typo listing his auction, so it definitely got less traffic than most machines, so I got a new machine for a pretty great price. The machine arrived, I pulled the protective film off the couple of protected panels and went about following the manual and instructional sticker for initial power-on directions. I followed the directions exactly, but I never saw .5 L water from the group.

I tried being patient, but the water never came and the boiler never tripped back on. I flipped the steam switch and tried to exhaust the steam in order to possibly refill and recycle the boiler, and while I got plenty of steam, I still never got the water I was looking for. Seeking help on CoffeeGeek (link), I tried a few more times and have discovered the following: the inlet hose in the tank has been burped of all air, the bleeder hose in the tank does not leak (no water has come out when testing), I have no leak in my drip tray to indicate a 3-way-valve issue, my boiler does work, I can get steam problem-free, I'm now able to get a small amount of water upon power-up, the pump hardly pulls ANY water from my tank, no matter what.

Here is the procedure I'm currently trying: Open wand, flip power + water buttons on, after 1-2 mins I got 46g of water out of the wand, then nothing (water finishes trickling, then a huff of steam, then nothing). I turned off the water switch and closed the wand. Flipping the brew switch yields nothing but the hum of the pump. I waited 30 seconds for good measure, but nothing came out. Open wand and flip water switch again, still nothing. A minute later, the boiler trips back on and I get 8g water from the wand, a puff of steam, then nothing - close the wand. The boiler stops shortly after, and at this point I've seen no water from the bleeder line, and my tank is still as full as when I started.

At this point, if I am able to fix the machine or figure it out, I'd love to, as I probably won't get another at this price. If the brand new machine needs parts replaced with much cost out of pocket, I am likely to return it to the seller for a refund. If I wind up returning the machine, its back to Mypressi for a bit til I pick up another machine (V3 or other). Help is much appreciated, cheers!
LMWDP #505