First post ever here, after some advice.
I have had the Silvia since 2006 and it has been very loyal over the years.
The grinder is a Mignon with two month old blades, weigh my freshly roasted beans with every shot and surf temp.
This last year I sort of neglected it regarding descaling and backflushing and over the last month have been having major problems.
From my recollection the first problem started when no water was coming out of the brew head, descaled it and backflushed and it seemed fine and back to normal.
After a couple of days the machine started tripping, (since the tripping I noticed the power light was very faint and hardly can tell the light is on).
Noticed water under the drip tray and realised I had a leak, opened it up and there was corrosion all around the boiler so got a new gasket and new screws.
Since that time the shots are just spurting out from the portafilter like there is no resistance, a similar effect as if the beans are old but even worse than that, espresso cup is filled to the brim in about 7 seconds.
Have put a new OPV , new pump, and a new solenoid and still same problem.
Turned the pressure down to 9 bar and no difference, grinder at its finest grind with two different types of freshly roasted beans from a supplier I have been using for years.
Also just got some new freshly roasted beans from another supplier and no difference, basically cannot choke the machine even at the finest grind which I used to be able to do easily before so something is not right.
Today got a new power switch and still the light on it is very faint, have to get close and put a hand over it to make out it is on so something does not add up there.
Any advice as to what is going on as I have run out of ideas, thanks.

Hey Tony,

Welcome to HB!

From your description, you had a problem with your machine, and after fixing it up, you may still have one with the weak indicator lamp.

However, coffee pouring through your portafilter in 7 seconds flat is highly unlikely to be a problem with your machine unless your shower screen is sending a single (somehow very high-flowing) jet of water through the puck.

Far more likely is that you have a grinder issue. I know you say the blades are new and the coffee is fresh, but something just isn't adding up here.

ETX wrote:Turned the pressure down to 9 bar and no difference, grinder at its finest grind with two different types of freshly roasted beans from a supplier I have been using for years.

How have you determined that grinder is at its finest grind? Are the burrs chirping? Also what basket are you using, and how much does your dose weigh? I suppose a 7g dose in a 21g basket could cause this issue, but otherwise a well prepped puck will deliver a well-timed shot. While an anemic pump can yield slow shots, it is quite rare that a machine can push through a good puck in 7s...

Cheers!

- Jake

Thanks for the answer, yes the burrs will chirp if I go any finer, been dialed in from chirping until they do not chirp any more so at the limit.
The grind looks and feels fine.
The basket is a 12g Rancilio basket I have been using for years which I usually pack in with 13g, have tried 12g also just in case but its even worse.
Been trying a bigger basket (do not know what make it is) which seems like a 14-15g and the pour is still very fast but not as bad.
Shall try and shoot a clip later on.

This is a photo of the grind in a 12g Rancilio basket, it is packed with 13g.
Have attached a video link without portafilter and one of a shot with the above.

Ah,

Thanks for that.

Massive channeling. Do you have the stock shower screen retaining bolt still? Do me a favor and lock in a puck prepped like the one you showed a picture of and then pull it right back out and see if the shower screen bolt is digging into the puck.

If it is, reduce your dose until you can lock your puck in with just a light impression from the shower screen bolt. Doing this will ensure that your puck isn't fractured when you lock in the portafilter.

If that doesn't help, it's time to try the WDT.
/weiss-dist ... steps.html

But first things first, let's see if the shower screen bolt is fracturing the puck.

Cheers!

- Jake

The volume of water flowing in the video without the portafilter looks excessive.

Sure does, but my S20 and many old Lineas pulled shots just fine with water debit in the 12-20ml/s range. The water flow looks high, but not uneven or violent... In my experience, all a crazy-fast water debit will do is require a coarser grind to compensate for excessive puck compression due to the very quick ramp up to pressure. Not my preference, but not generally the cause of severe chanelling, either. Espe6not with a vibe pump where the flow should drastically taper off as the pressure rises.

From memory, I don't think Silvia uses a gicleur aside from the 1.5mm orifice in the factory 3-way brew solenoid. If the solenoid was changed out (along with the pump and OPV), there is potential that a higher flowing unit was procured, but it seems the problem crept up after getting the leaks taken care of, so I'm betting that this is just a step change in the performance of the machine, going from anemic flow with crusted up passages and a grind that would produce espresso in those conditions.

Now we have a free-flowing machine and it's time to get back to the basics and dial it in. It sounds counterintuitive, but I suspect that the grind is far too fine and the puck is sitting high in the basket and getting disturbed enough on lock-in that the water finds a crack and pushes through. Perhaps I am wrong, but we shall soon see as long as Tony keeps us posted.

Cheers!

- Jake

**edit**
Easy way to isolate if the high flow is the issue is to open the hot water tap a bit and divert some water into a cup. Do a couple trials until you have sufficiently less flow without the portafilter and start a shot like that. Once coffee comes out the spouts, you can close the hot water valve and finish the shot like usual. This would be horrible to do for every shot, but it is a great diagnostic tool to see if the high water flow is a contributing factor to the channeling.

Thanks for your advice, yes the bolt is the standard one, not touching the puck before the shot however it does leave an impression after the shot which I believe is normal.
When I grind I do something similar to the WDT as the Mignon chucks coffee all over the place so I grind into an empty plastic top (from a can of spray paint) and stir it before filling the basket.
I have tried the flow thingy and it is not making any difference.
I can see exactly where you are coming from regarding everything being cleaned out and all of a sudden is a free-flowing machine.
I tried adjusting the grind to a thicker setting in the 12g silvia basket with 12g and 13g measurments just in case it is chanelling, (40100010) it has made it worse.
Seems it has taken a big dislike to this basket which I have been using for many years.

Dug out a basket we shall call it the unknown basket just for reference (no idea of make or size but same shape inside as Silvia single basket 40100001 only bigger)
Put 12g in there and the shot comes out much better and is fine for an espresso however tastewise is weak for an Americano which I suspect is the reason I kept using the 12g silvia basket (40100010) with 13g inside for all these years.
Am enclosing a picture of the basket and the video of the extraction below.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2LwWqyZs1A
Could the portafilter be faulty ? Have to admit over the years when feeling lazy have inserted metal objects to make cleaning of the bottom hole quicker.
Also when I removed the double spout ( never been removed in 14 yrs) to attach the pressure gauge it was pretty dirty and solid debris came out of the double spout which had been stuck in its bottom.
If the hole size has got bigger would it make any difference to the shot, what do you think ?
Does not make sense that the unknown basket was fine however I am suspicious about the size of the hole and my logic tells me if the hole is smaller there is more resistance so the shot should come out slower, again the free-flowing comes into this.
Just a thought, not keen on spending even more money on the thing however its a small price to pay after all the things that I have so far changed.

ETX wrote:Thanks for your advice, yes the bolt is the standard one, not touching the puck before the shot however it does leave an impression after the shot which I believe is normal.

Correct. Though having a light impression from the bolt when dry is perfectly fine, and ensures that your puck thickness is sufficient. I have had beans that are very dense and require a higher dose to maintain standard flow rate without grinding super fine. Something to consider...

ETX wrote:Seems it has taken a big dislike to this basket which I have been using for many years.

Quite odd...

ETX wrote:Dug out a basket we shall call it the unknown basket just for reference (no idea of make or size but same shape inside as Silvia single basket 40100001 only bigger)
Put 12g in there and the shot comes out much better and is fine for an espresso however tastewise is weak for an Americano which I suspect is the reason I kept using the 12g silvia basket (40100010) with 13g inside for all these years.
Am enclosing a picture of the basket and the video of the extraction below.

Video looks quite a bit better than before. Can you post a picture of both baskets side by side?

ETX wrote:Just a thought, not keen on spending even more money on the thing however its a small price to pay after all the things that I have so far changed.

I hear you.

My preferred basket is the Rancilio 40-100-103 for 18g doses and the 102 for 12-14g doses. They are of excellent quality and cheap.

https://www.espressocare.com/products/i ... redesigned

I'm not sure who can get them in your neck of the woods, but it would be worth trying out. The holes are much more uniform than the older baskets and they deliver much more consistent results.

Cheers!

- Jake

Sorry for the delay as was waiting for a couple of things, ordered a new basket a VST 15g( as you said none like the one you suggested available in the UK) which has not yet arrived but got a new oem portafilter today.
Huge difference in the shot, on the old double spout one side was broken on the inside.
Could have just bought a spout however the portafilter spring was not up to the job either so thought in for a penny in for a pound as they say.
Still need to fine tune the grind however it is virtually impossible to do so 100% as the wife also drinks decaf so have to come to a grind compromise unless I purchase a second grinder.
Most probably shall change the Silvia as been on the cards for a while and that is why I probably neglected the poor thing ( have my eye on a Lelit Marax)
Shall have to wait till the world is back to normal.