rpavlis wrote:Really the most important characteristic of a steam tip is that it needs to have the right diameter hole(s) to put the FULL output of the heating element into the liquid being steamed at the boiler operating pressure. When the hole(s) are too small too little steam is emitted, and one not only wastes a lot of time, one also has low steam velocity which hinders forming decent foam. Too large hole(s) will cause pressure drop in the boiler unless one has a very large boiler relative to the amount of steam being produced.

Thanks Robert. If the Silvia has an 800W boiler and the Cremina has a 1000W boiler, I'm guessing you would expect the steam tip hole to be roughly compatible.

My problem really is knowing what size thread I need to be screwing into. But depending on how I get on with a shorter steaming time, this might become academic *crosses fingers*

You should go to the local hardware store and get an M7x1.0 screw and nut and see if the threads and diameter match the Cremina's. M7 is not a super common size, but M7x1.0 is the most common pitch.

drgary wrote:I regularly create nice microfoam with my '87 Cremina with a multi-hole tip.

I've only had a Cremina for a week, but I'm surprised at how quickly I came around to making passable jugs of milk with the machine. I'm coming from an Oscar with the Spiroline Foam Knife, and I thought it might be nice to swap that tip to the Cremina. After the success I'm seeing with the stock tip, I don't think I'll be changing. For starters, if HG One makes the adapter, the Foam Knife tip is supposed to be used at a 45 degree angle near the milks surface, and the Cremina wand simply won't play nice with that. When I asked Espresso Parts about repurposing my Spiroline on the Cremina, they insisted that swapping an LM arm onto the machine for using the aftermarket tip would be the way to go.

For what it's worth, I seem to be having greater consistent success with steaming milk on the Cremina than I was on the Spiroline'd Oscar! I had a terrible time with the stock Oscar tip, but had decent results with the Spiroline - sometimes great, sometimes good, but not very repeatable. While I'm having a fine time and enjoy the results of the stock Cremina tip, I am bugged by the four holes placement - when I purge the wand it seems to spray the machine, the counter and everything around it a little bit.

If you purge into a bar towel it catches any spray.