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Illuminado posted:What's up goons, long time reader, first time poster. If you're decent with electronics, I hope it works out great for you. I'd probably do the PID after getting it running so you don't have a useless PID sitting around. Basket is up to you, double spout or open is totally up to preference. Open bottom makes it easier to see if you're having channeling issues and I'd bet it's easier to keep clean. Grab some descaler and you'll probably need a new gasket and screen on the group head at least. You may be able to clean the rest without issue. I can't answer questions about the electrical, but there's a ton of info out there on these. I've had mine for about seven years now and all it's needed was a new gasket, but it's a newer model than the one you have there.
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Jun 6, 2022 22:59
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Cool, I'll look into getting stuff. Because it's "not turning on" I'm guessing that's going to just be a fuse or short in a power cable, but I'll post once it arrives and see what the damage is.
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Jun 6, 2022 23:15
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Illuminado posted:What's up goons, long time reader, first time poster. first step to try getting it heating: https://greatinfusions.com/blog/great-infusions-coffee-blog/the-first-thing-to-do-if-your-rancilio-silvia-wont-heat/ TLDR there's a thermal protection breaker which can trip and this blog post shows you how to reset it Other problems: looks like you're missing the drip tray cover, water tank, portafilter and basket, and possibly the grouphead shower screen. That's a bottomless (or naked) portafilter but you can get one with a splitter if you prefer; upside to the splitter is you can easily split a shot into two cups (but it's not an ideal way to do it, since they're unlikely to be balanced) and it will contain any sprays if you have channeling (but you won't be able to see easily if you have channeling, plus it's an extra part to clean.) I prefer a bottomless portafilter for those reasons. You also don't necessarily need to get rancilio's portafilter since the two-lug ones are mostly interchangeable, but do your own research if you don't buy a rancilio branded one. Whatever portafilter you get, I strongly recommend upgrading to a portafilter basket from IMS or VST if you have room in the budget. 18-20g baskets are the default now but you can go down to about a 14g basket which might be a better fit for the small boiler of the silvia. You used to be able to buy a flat shower screen upgrade but it doesn't seem to be on amazon any more. If you can find it I'd pick it up but it's not a critical upgrade. You'll also want to replace the gasket and you might as well put in a silicone one since they will last longer than the plain rubber. The later silvias also come with a ball socket steam wand; i'm not sure if it's possible to upgrade or what's involved in changing them out, but it might be worth looking into if you want to make milk drinks since the older style wand is kind of bad and not easy to clean.
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Jun 6, 2022 23:45
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Pilfered Pallbearers posted:I’m getting very frustrated with Baratza support. That second setting where you moved it several ticks coarser still looked way fine when you took it out of the hopper. Is it usually that fine when you do espresso? I mean, don't be married to the setting you've been used to if number has changed but it's still fine enough for your purposes. There are washers along the shaft which radically affect the coarse-to-fine setting depending on where along the shaft they're placed upon reassembly. You can set these burrs literally too close to grind beans, which is what it looks like on your first try. I've done that.
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Jun 7, 2022 00:09
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Awesome, thanks for the info! I found that this is a Version 1 of the Silvia ca. 2005 so that's something to go off of. I'll probably be opening up the boiler and giving it a hardcore clean, especially if I have to do see what's going on with it.
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Jun 7, 2022 00:10
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Mr. Mambold posted:That second setting where you moved it several ticks coarser still looked way fine when you took it out of the hopper. Is it usually that fine when you do espresso? I mean, don't be married to the setting you've been used to if number has changed but it's still fine enough for your purposes. No, I get a 18g in, 36g out shot in about 10 seconds on that setting. bizwank posted:Honestly that sounds like either something went wrong with the repair or there's another broken part in there, because it absolutely should be able to pass grounds through down to 1-3. Without beans in it, at what number do you hear the burrs start to touch? I replied with more info earlier in the thread, but I just checked and burr touching squeal sound was around 7 or 6.
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Jun 7, 2022 00:33
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Illuminado posted:Awesome, thanks for the info! I found that this is a Version 1 of the Silvia ca. 2005 so that's something to go off of. I'll probably be opening up the boiler and giving it a hardcore clean, especially if I have to do see what's going on with it. same one I had (still have actually - i will eventually get some photos and throw it on SA Mart, i swear). I ended up upgrading instead of doing the PID but it's a great machine, especially at a used price point. It's a tank and once you get it cleaned up you will probably get another 15 years out of it no problem
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Jun 7, 2022 00:37
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I should have checked the forums before I checked ebay 
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Jun 7, 2022 02:39
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Pilfered Pallbearers posted:I have the calibration screw set pretty fine, but haven’t changed that in months, and haven’t made any changes to the grinder since the failure. The failure was sudden. One day I could make espresso the next I couldn’t. https://www.baratza.com/shop/adjustment-kit Specifically either a separation of the black and white pieces or the entire assembly not sitting properly on the body of the grinder. That does mean opening it up much further, which is difficult to do without gouging up the plastic, so at this point I'd consider sending it in for warranty repair (if you still can) to save yourself any more time/frustration. Illuminado posted:
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Jun 7, 2022 05:53
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Flair Pro 2 arrived and, well... Followed the manual's advice and used "inexpensive" beans (a well-reviewed blend the store threw in for free). Pulled 9 shots with it. First few were positively vile but, as I adjusted the grind and amount of water, they became technically drinkable. By the 9th shot, I followed what I gathered is a textbook procedure: - both chamber and portafilter pre-heated over the kettle; - grounds raked with a homemade WDT tool then tamped, leading to no channeling either while pulling the shot or later inspecting the puck; - 15s pre-infusion at 2 bar followed by ~40s at 7~9 bar; - 14g in, 35g out. Started at 2:1 ratio but bumped to 2.5:1; and yet the resulting coffee was still nowhere near what I would call good. So I figured I should try a 10th and final shot with known good beans, a very mild and lovely Brazilian, while maintaining everything the same. Grinding was much more difficult - compared to the first beans, which gave me no issues - but ended so coarse the water flew freely into the cup as soon as I dropped the lever. I'll have to grind finer? Not sure I'll be able to! In conclusion: what the hell have I gotten myself into
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Jun 9, 2022 18:51
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seravid posted:Flair Pro 2 arrived and, well... Followed the manual's advice and used "inexpensive" beans (a well-reviewed blend the store threw in for free). Pulled 9 shots with it. First few were positively vile but, as I adjusted the grind and amount of water, they became technically drinkable. By the 9th shot, I followed what I gathered is a textbook procedure: what grinder are you using? e: and how dark are the beans, and when were they roasted hypnophant fucked around with this message at 19:15 on Jun 9, 2022 |
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Jun 9, 2022 19:09
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After owning a Flair Neo for a while now, I want to point out some things I think James Hoffman and some other youtubers left out of their reviews. 1) The basket and cylinder size are very limiting. There's not a lot of headroom for adjusting dose and how much water you're using. The Pro 2 expands your options, but... 2) You cannot upgrade to the Pro 2 without buying a whole new device. Hoffman talks about "the ecosystem" of the Neo and the fact that you can upgrade the basket to a non-pressurized one and add a pressure gauge, but that's really all you can do to improve the results of the Neo. If you opt for a Classic or Signature instead, you can upgrade things further, but Hoffman's video didn't mention that so it didn't really factor into the decision making that led to me buying a Neo. 3) Cleaning is a mess. For some reason the pressurized basket didn't have this problem, but after getting the bottomless one I haven't been able to empty it without dribbling muddy coffee grounds, since you're juggling the basket, cylinder, and shower screen, plus the puck has expanded over the lip of the basket. It's not the worst, but it's an annoyance, and it's odd since Hoffman is usually a bit pickier about the overall experience of using a machine.
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Jun 9, 2022 21:03
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Qylvaran posted:After owning a Flair Neo for a while now, I want to point out some things I think James Hoffman and some other youtubers left out of their reviews. My experience is fairly different from yours. I’ve had my Neo with the bottomless portafilter for almost a year and I am still having a good deal of fun with it. You can’t do larger quantities, for sure, but depending on the coffee you use you can still manage a 14-17 grams range. Tbh I rarely get to 17, as it seems to be too much for the basket. If you don’t mind the smaller quantities you can use for adjusting your pull, then it’s still gonna give you enough range for flavor. My pucks are rarely muddy, though the fact most of my pulls stick to 14-15g helps. I usually pull at a 2:1 ratio and I flush the final bits of water into a different cup. If you let the Flair cool down a bit, you may have a higher chance of a less muddy puck.
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Jun 9, 2022 21:26
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I might be doing something wrong then. I pretty much always wait for it to cool down before cleaning, and I haven't gone above 15g. Maybe pressing out the last of the water would help. I haven't been doing that. Also maybe I'm expecting a little too much from a $125 espresso maker.
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Jun 9, 2022 21:45
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Qylvaran posted:I might be doing something wrong then. I pretty much always wait for it to cool down before cleaning, and I haven't gone above 15g. Maybe pressing out the last of the water would help. I haven't been doing that. Yeah, you should be pressing out all the water before trying to dump the grounds. This is true for all the manual espresso makers. If you don't press out all the water before dumping the puck, you won't get that nice compressed puck.
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Jun 9, 2022 22:10
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FWIW I get muddy pucks every time I go below 17g on the Pro 2 portafilter with a light roast, even when pushing the rest of the water through. Not a problem for me since I brew next to the sink but a consideration to be sure. I love the brewer even on bags that I can't quite dial in - if I can't nail it I usually finish a bag with turboshots or 60s infusions because gently caress it, might as well go nuts.
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Jun 9, 2022 23:25
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hypnophant posted:what grinder are you using? 1zpresso JX non-pro. Not ideal, I know, but I've read that the Pro 2's tall and narrow portafilter allows one to get away with grinding a little coarser, so I should get okay, if not amazing results, right? As for the beans:  Left: store's blend I received with the machine, roasted 11 days ago. Right: Brazilian I already had. Roasted 9 weeks ago.
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Jun 10, 2022 05:09
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unless they've been frozen the entire time 9 weeks is pretty old for espresso. i'd have difficulty adjusting my grind fine enough for the beans i use well before that and i pull shots at a lower pressure than most
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Jun 10, 2022 05:20
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yeah 9 weeks can still taste ok but it’s getting pretty stale. as beans age you typically need to grind finer to get the same flow so that tracks. I would probably try to avoid using two-month-old beans for espresso; it can be done but it can be an uphill battle and the results will never be spectacular. Also those are both quite light roast, but the beans on the left are lighter. Very light roasts are tricky to do well even on very good equipment, on a fully manual lever with a less-than-ideal grinder you’re playing on expert mode. They tend to want a relatively high heat and large water volume/flow to extract well, which are the two things you’re limited on with the flair. You may find a bit more success with a medium or medium-dark bean which will be easier to extract.
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Jun 10, 2022 12:53
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Are you adjusting pressure as you go? The general thought is this: 1-2 bar for 5-10 sec (less time for darker roasts) Ramp up to 6ish bar Is the flow rate a trickle? Increase pressure Is it gushing? Decrease Is it channeling? Drop to zero then immediately back up to pressure. That small relief can collapse the channel. Reasonable flow rate is way more important than constant pressure imo - if your grind is off you can use more or less pressure to make your flow rate even. The typical guidelines of 25-30 seconds for a shot doesn't account for variable pressure machines. I usually start dialing in a light roast with 5 sec pre, grind so that 6 bar finishes 25 seconds after the pre-infusion. 15g in 35g out. It seems like too little pressure but the 9 bar number is a standard meant to decrease contact time with dark roasts, if you've got light or medium roasts you can get away with much less pressure while still getting crema and avoiding bitterness 
BrianBoitano fucked around with this message at 13:53 on Jun 10, 2022 |
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Jun 10, 2022 13:48
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seravid posted:1zpresso JX non-pro. Not ideal, I know, but I've read that the Pro 2's tall and narrow portafilter allows one to get away with grinding a little coarser, so I should get okay, if not amazing results, right? 9 weeks is absolutely unusably old for espresso. Keep it under 4 weeks, preferably in the range of 4 to 14 days off roast while you are learning to keep shots behaving more consistently. I also agree with the advice to avoid lightly roasted beans. That just leads to pain and disappointment unless you have specific setups.
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Jun 11, 2022 09:52
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Day 3. Shot number 17 done. I am now firmly in the "gently caress this" stage. I think my problem is temperature. I can't get the water in the chamber above 91º, and that's with a long-rear end steam preheat on the stove that makes it impossible to grab it by hand followed by another preheat by filling it with boiling water while a second, electric kettle boils the actual brewing water that is poured the second it reaches the right temp. Simplicity itself. I've tried different methods for the grind, pressure, flow, timing, etc. going by the internet/youtube experts and also the advice given here, but the very strong sourness is always there. Assuming I got those variables right, the only suspect remaining is insufficient water temperature to properly extract a roast this light... which is a problem I apparently can't solve. By the time I buy and receive an actually medium or dark roast from somewhere, the return window for the Flair will have passed. Not sure it's worth the hassle, honestly. I have and use a DE razor and brush and creams all that wet shaving nonsense, so I am no stranger to time-consuming "rituals", but the work/time to reward ratio here seems absurd, even more so when compared to the brewing methods I'm familiar with that produce consistently great-tasting coffee.
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Jun 11, 2022 18:39
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That sounds very frustrating. One of the joys and challenges of espresso is that there are so many variables and they all matter; lever machines are fun because you can play with all of them, but it’s sometimes much easier to get into the sweet spot by tweaking one or two variables than trying to tweak seven or eight. I think anyone would get agitated pulling that many shots and not getting a drinkable result. I don’t, however, think the fact that you haven’t managed to get a drinkable drink, as a newcomer to espresso who’s using coffee which your machine isn’t really designed for, means you will never be able to get something you’ll enjoy. More developed roasts genuinely do have a much bigger sweet spot to hit, and lots of people can and do get good results out of the same setup you’re using. It’s entirely up to you if you think that’s worth the effort, of course; espresso at home is just not a project that’s worth it for some people, even with much more sophisticated gear than yours.
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Jun 11, 2022 19:09
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seravid posted:Day 3. Shot number 17 done. I am now firmly in the "gently caress this" stage. I think my problem is temperature. I can't get the water in the chamber above 91º, and that's with a long-rear end steam preheat on the stove that makes it impossible to grab it by hand followed by another preheat by filling it with boiling water while a second, electric kettle boils the actual brewing water that is poured the second it reaches the right temp. Simplicity itself. Light roasts are a million times harder. Go to any local coffee shop (gently caress even a Starbucks, they may have recent roasts) and buy some beans. Any coffee shop that’s not a national chain will have fresh enough beans in a medium or dark roast. TBH that was really kinda lovely of the shop that sold you the machine to give you free beans and not warn you it wouldn’t work well with your machine.
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Jun 11, 2022 20:23
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seravid posted:Day 3. Shot number 17 done. I am now firmly in the "gently caress this" stage. I think my problem is temperature. I can't get the water in the chamber above 91º, and that's with a long-rear end steam preheat on the stove that makes it impossible to grab it by hand followed by another preheat by filling it with boiling water while a second, electric kettle boils the actual brewing water that is poured the second it reaches the right temp. Simplicity itself. life gets easier when you roast your own beans, it's really not that hard
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Jun 11, 2022 20:31
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*Laughs in cafelat robot*
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Jun 11, 2022 20:38
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Google Butt posted:life gets easier when you roast your own beans, it's really not that hard This is why I haven’t gotten into espresso. It’s a slippery loving slope.
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Jun 11, 2022 20:46
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It's way too much work for something I'll drink in 30 seconds.
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Jun 11, 2022 20:58
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MrYenko posted:This is why I haven’t gotten into espresso. It’s a slippery loving slope. I don't gently caress with espresso but the best single origin Ethiopian is $6/lb. Roasting is cheap but precision is expensive, if you're okay with that your roasts will likely taste just as good if not better than most just shops just from freshness and being able to choose your preference
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Jun 11, 2022 21:03
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Mu Zeta posted:It's way too much work for something I'll drink in 30 seconds. This. I'll consider espresso when I can afford to put close to 0 effort into getting a good shot (never probably)
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Jun 11, 2022 21:04
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Google Butt posted:This. I'll consider espresso when I can afford to put close to 0 effort into getting a good shot (never probably) Eh. I find joy in dialing in a bag and loving with all the variables. It’s expensive as hell though.
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Jun 11, 2022 21:26
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yeah go to the grocery store and buy a bag of whatever italian-ish style dark roast coffee exists in your area. they should be very easy to pull short shots at lower temps with
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Jun 11, 2022 21:31
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Google Butt posted:This. I'll consider espresso when I can afford to put close to 0 effort into getting a good shot (never probably) There’s probably a $5000 machine that can do it for you.
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Jun 11, 2022 21:34
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Jhet posted:There’s probably a $5000 machine that can do it for you. even the superautos need some dialing in, sadly
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Jun 11, 2022 21:52
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George H.W. oval office posted:*Laughs in cafelat robot* Agreed. I felt the same frustrations with the Flair machines and bought a robot…I had a few shots worth of a learning curve and then BAM-nailed it. It’s not even a hassle to use now. I started with a 1zpresso grinder and moved up to a niche zero…no difference in quality of espresso, but the niche is much easier obviously than hand grinding.
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Jun 12, 2022 00:48
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hypnophant posted:even the superautos need some dialing in, sadly He said "good" shot though.
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Jun 12, 2022 14:33
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I don't aim for 9 bars, so I don't grind very fine so this was a surprise to me. Cool though! https://youtu.be/1zpqzR_hUrg
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Jun 12, 2022 14:45
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Pilfered Pallbearers posted:TBH that was really kinda lovely of the shop that sold you the machine to give you free beans and not warn you it wouldn’t work well with your machine. I did buy a medium roast Ethiopian along with the Flair to get started, but turns out it's as light as the blend they gave me, so not very medium at all! George H.W. oval office posted:*Laughs in cafelat robot* So it's possible to extract a light roast with the Robot without preheating? How? Today's report: as suggested, I went to the grocery store and bought 3 different bags of whatever they had. Closest specialty coffee shop or even Starbucks is 50km away, so that's a nope (which is why I order everything online). Bag #1. Definitely dark. Pulled 4 shots. Grinding: easy. Crema: thick, lovely! Taste: started extremely salty, but got gradually
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Jun 12, 2022 18:41
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Nice progress! For the dark roast, grind two small clicks coarser and wait 10 seconds more off the boil before pulling a cup. Your extraction will be a bit less which should stop short of the bitter charcoal. You'll never get sweet out of that bag but you might get balanced, like dark chocolate
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Jun 12, 2022 19:15
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As everyone has said espresso at home can be a pain in the rear end. However, except for my nightmare a page or so back, once I dial a bag in it’s good except for some slight adjustment finer as it ages. It’s usually when I get impatient dialling a bag in that I end up wasting heaps. Edit: should have said this is why I buy 500g minimum so I don’t risk wasting half a bag dialling in. I also keep a log book each time I try a new bean so I have a starting place.
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Jun 13, 2022 03:18
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