Sometime in the last few days, my Rancilio Silvia (I think it's a V4) basically almost stopped producing espresso. I get drips only.

I did have a very dirty shower screen, and I cleaned that and ordered a new one, but even with the screen off, the group head just drips.

Steam and water both come out of the wand just fine depending on the button selection.

I put a video on YouTube showing what I've got:
Can someone guide me to what I need to do to fix this?

Thanks!

Have you backflushed the group?

You should descale the machine, might be a lime scale deposit blocking the outlet to the group. Descale trough the water outlet and remove the steam tip. Always respect the duty cycle of your pump while you rise the boiler or fill it in. 60sec on/ 60 sec off. Once done try using the group again, this should fix it.

How much water is passing over your OPV? If you've got full flow back to reservoir, then it's not the pump.
You say you think you've got no pressure. Can you stop the flow out of the steam wand, with the valve open and pump running by putting your thumb over the steam tip? (Best to try when the machine is still cold). If you're correct that you have no pressure but that you have full flow passing over the OPV, then see if your OPV is still adjustable and raise the pressure up to 8.5 or 9 Bar or wherever you would want it. If it's no longer adjustable and it simply dumps water, replace the valve or clean it and replace its valve-face with the rubber disk.
If you have no pressure and nothing's flowing over the OPV, then you have no flow and no pressure and can assume the pump is dying.

emradguy wrote:Have you backflushed the group?

Nope. I'll try that as soon as I can find my solid basket. If I don't have the powder, is there anything around my house that would work in its place? Like baking soda?

Nickriders wrote:You should descale the machine, might be a lime scale deposit blocking the outlet to the group. Descale trough the water outlet and remove the steam tip. Always respect the duty cycle of your pump while you rise the boiler or fill it in. 60sec on/ 60 sec off. Once done try using the group again, this should fix it.

I'm using RO water that has been softened prior to the RO filter, but I'll try to run a descaler (or white vinegar?) through it also.

JRising wrote:How much water is passing over your OPV? If you've got full flow back to reservoir, then it's not the pump.
You say you think you've got no pressure. Can you stop the flow out of the steam wand, with the valve open and pump running by putting your thumb over the steam tip? (Best to try when the machine is still cold). If you're correct that you have no pressure but that you have full flow passing over the OPV, then see if your OPV is still adjustable and raise the pressure up to 8.5 or 9 Bar or wherever you would want it. If it's no longer adjustable and it simply dumps water, replace the valve or clean it and replace its valve-face with the rubber disk.
If you have no pressure and nothing's flowing over the OPV, then you have no flow and no pressure and can assume the pump is dying.

I ran the test of trying to hold my finger over the steam wand, and no, I couldn't not hold it against the pressure. So it appears that the pump is OK.

I'm not sure how to adjust the OPV, but I'll try the backflush and descaling first.

Thanks

anotherhomebrew wrote:Nope. I'll try that as soon as I can find my solid basket. If I don't have the powder, is there anything around my house that would work in its place? Like baking soda?

I'm pretty sure the powders are just TSP, but you might want to verify that before using it.

It's possible that the element is breaking down. When it does, it releases a very fine clay like substance that could block the lower outlet pipe but not the upper water/steam outlet. I have had this happen on a Silvia, the element continued to work for a short time, even after the white substance started appearing in the basket. The easiest way to check is to look inside the boiler.

anotherhomebrew wrote:I ran the test of trying to hold my finger over the steam wand, and no, I couldn't not hold it against the pressure. So it appears that the pump is OK.

Okay, so your pressure's still great.
You just have a clog after the boiler, before the group. Take off the three way valve(behind the stainless steel front panel...), check its ports, check the machine's ports where the valve was. If the clog isn't in the three-way valve, turn the machine on momentarily, run the pump for a second. If the flow is good out the port where the valve is missing, then you know the clog is right in the head. If the flow is nothing but a dribble with the valve off, then you know the clog is in the vertical pipe inside the boiler.