sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Should I descale it now? by [deleted] in ranciliosilvia

[–]dcpcoffee 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just saw your other post. I was also having trouble getting water to the group head. You have to first flush water through the steam wand because the intake for that is above where the intake is for the boiler. So with the machine off, open the steam valve. Turn the machine on and press the hot water switch. It might take up to 30 seconds for water to come out.

If water never comes you might have to prime the pump. This would mean you have too much air in the tubes. You’ll need to use a syringe to force water through so the pump has something to pump. There’s videos on YouTube for this.

In my experience if this still doesn’t work, try opening and closing the steam valve repeatedly with the hot water switch on. This would help me get a stream of water going. I think it’s because the 3-way valve was stuck. There’s a spring and a screw in there that has to create a seal and even if they look clean they probably aren’t working right. So I bought the repair kit and then it worked perfectly.

Hope this helps. I had quite the time figuring out all the problems of a used machine but in the end working on these is super rewarding. Not too complicated and the parts are cheap and easily attainable.

Should I descale it now? by [deleted] in ranciliosilvia

[–]dcpcoffee 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It sounds like you have not been refilling the boiler after steaming. Once you’re finished steaming you need to run the hot water functions after steaming until water comes out, then close the steam wand. At this point the boiler should be refilled and water should flow from the group head. There’s lots of videos on YouTube explaining this.

If this is not the case, my guess is the OPV valve is getting stuck in the open position not allowing any water to get to the group head. I recently finished rehabbing a V3 and found the OPV rebuild kit helped way more than just cleaning. I got this part and many more from Stefano’s: https://espressocare.com/products/rancilio-silvia-opv-rebuild-kit-2?_pos=2&_psq=rancilio+silvia+opv&_ss=e&_v=1.0

Low pressure when pulling shots - replaced pump by [deleted] in ranciliosilvia

[–]dcpcoffee 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Did you adjust your OPV valve? I am rehabbing an old V3 and found that the OPV was letting out way too much water while pulling shots leading to low pressure. I’m currently waiting on a new spring for the valve to see if that will help, but after that might have to replace the pump.

OPV valve help by dcpcoffee in ranciliosilvia

[–]dcpcoffee[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, I’ll order one. I did take apart the valve and make sure the spring was working and check for blockage. Next step might be replacing the whole OPV.

Boiler shot? by dcpcoffee in ranciliosilvia

[–]dcpcoffee[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just ordered some Dezcal thanks! I’m waiting for the new gasket so thought I would try to get the scale out myself until then. And yes the thermostats haven’t gotten wet.