It's never ending. Since this video I've readjusted so many times to get both a dry puck and good pressure at the same time. I've pretty well adjusted back to the original position if I'm totally honest

Glad it helped!

That is great to hear David. I was not thinking about how atmospheric changes could affect it but I'm sure you are right on that one. At any rate glad you got it dialed in man! Cheers

On higher altitudes the boiling temperature of water is lower as well. So when the thermostat functions at sea level, it could run it too hot on altitude.

@@matter7180 outside pressure not making a measurable difference inside a sealed boiler. On your stove, yeah. Inside a boiler, no.

Yeah I think it's interesting for sure and I'm not really sure of the reason why

That's a great suggestion. I did have that happen once but did not mention it

sounds a bit like mine was! Hope you have gotten it dialed in now

@@drinksunbear My flow measurement is spot on without any adjusting. I hate my Silvia. I wish I had never bought it. Had it for 3 years and I reckon I've had 15 good espressos from it in that time.

@@danielstewart3507 man, sorry to hear that dude. I wonder if the newer ones are better than the older models

@@drinksunbear It's all good. It's just a shame it requires so many extra things done to it like PID and flow adjustments straight out of the box. Your video was good. Thanks for the upload.

@@danielstewart3507 sure! I understand completely. It's all been a journey for me absolutely

Haha yes I know (did not notice when I fed this) trust me it’s unplugged now anytime I’m working on it

I remeasured again, but this time as per instructions in the link you provided - start collecting water AFTER flow has stabilized. Huge difference! Now I got 135g.

@@wezzla awesome yeah keep at it

I like it described as a sanity test! So true

The PID is a game changer don’t you think?

yeah man give it a go!

Thanks Jo Jo! So cool that you are all the way in Germany but coffee brings us altogether

That's awesome news Kevin. Yeah this helped me alot. Keep tuned. I'm going to be doing a new video soon with an pressure gauge and compare with this method

Congrats it's a great machine

Glad it helped!

Great 👍

I'm assuming a bit older of a machine as well?

@@drinksunbear yes - used constantly too :)

@@TomErbe glad you were able to get closer on your timing

so glad it worked out

great insight and yes it can cause that for sure. It's a neverending struggle with light roast

I have had that issue for sure! Changes from bean to bean but all adjusted now

Is there a pressure , as calculated by the graphs (or its volume proxy) where you see soupy pucks?

Soupy puck from low pressure doesn’t necessarily have to mean bad tasting coffee…

Thanks Matthew! I have other fun stories with the Sette 270 check my other videos! It's all good now and it's fantastic

@@drinksunbear Checked my pressure today and only got 80 grams out in 30 seconds! Backed the opv out almost 1 full turn to hit the 130 mark. Shots are much better and don't have the woody/burnt taste to them

@@elefja1 happy to hear the hood news

I love my Sylvia but the Sette 270 is junk; get a Rocky - makes excellent espresso.

@@mortongosh983 one man's trash is another's treasure I suppose!

Wow glad you had great results! Yes as a roaster I definitely recommend not buying store preground. It will be much more rewarding to support a local roaster

@@drinksunbear Thanks!

@@salviaofficinalis02 that’s why we do these. Thank you

Hope your shots are getting locked in well

Freshly roasted beans and a quality grinder are essential. As soon as coffee beans are roasted they begin to lose their flavor, no matter what kind of "sealed", "one-way-valve" or whatever packaging is used. Besides, you need to have control of the grind in order to dial-in the best cup.

I would just say as a roaster: every bean is different and for that matter so are most roasts. You will never stop dialing in to some regard.

Thanks so much for checking it out

Thanks Ben! Just trying to get some good info out there. Mostly just stumbling through and learning as I go. Thanks for watching

Hey man check out my channel I have a video comparing the two

I would adjust it back to where it was and try again

Thanks Rick

Nuts, not screws? Someone has their chin strap on a little tight, dont they? And since you’re such a stickler, please point out the step up transformer and 240V live points? Clearly, our video creator has above average patience since he only responded with a thank you. I wouldnt be surprised if he installed that subpanel himself and spent a little extra on GFCI circuit breakers, too. And just said thank you without even hinting at the dangers of licking windows while wrapped in live electrical cables.

@@oddsman01 No, not too tight. You may be familiar with working inside electrical equipment, but not everyone on KZfaq is as cool as you. And when trying to work your way round something you haven't done before, wrong terminology just adds to the confusion.

@@RicktheRecorder Ah, your comment was motivated by your concern for others. Maybe I’m getting cynical as i age. I mistook it for something else, something some females do, especially low social status females, that has more to do with telling people what to do or being in charge than it does empathy. The male version is similar, but there’s usually an element of ‘you should listen, I know things.’ Your nuts/screws comment must’ve thrown me off. My mistake.

www.pidsilvia.com/Ulka%20Water%20Pump%20Pressure.htm

​@@drinksunbear Great link that explains it very well 👍👍

130 cc (or 130 grams) in 30 seconds translate to 9 bars of pressure. More water in the cup is lower pressure at the coffee. Less water in the cup is higher pressure at the coffee.

it really depends on your coffee I think. Mine I have had to adjust back somewhat to their original settings. My puck was soupy and that's not good

@@drinksunbear I just tested mine, I was getting ~100ml @ 30s. I adjusted it to ~123ml @ 30s. Now to dial in the grinder for the new pressure/flow rate.

@@grocerylist awesome keep at it! Every grinder and espresso machine has to be dialed in to the bean you are using. Have fun

Yes that's the way it works. I know it's like reversing your mind the way it actually flows

@@drinksunbear thanks mate.

Hi Mike, are you measuring the water coming out by gram? You should be able to make small adjustments to adjust. If it all does not work, I would simply re-tighten the bolt to the right to its original state (around 12 bars) and then start again

I've mentioned this to some of the others, is your machine older? It should be noted mine was new when I had this problem

Btw, I get my beans fresh from a local roaster and they grind it for me on their EK43 finest setting. What I did notice is I have recently turned on my machine but forgot to turn it off for a big part of the day.;( And the pouring fast was escalated after that. Not sure if I have damaged my machine.

@@drinksunbear I bought this machine more than 10 years ago for my husband as a gift. But he is more of a coffee guy and only used it like once a month for espresso.(don't think he is using the right grind this whole time! sigh...) I only started learning to use it during covid few month ago. So our Silvia is old in age but new in terms of mileage:)

@@jillaintongwell it sounds like you are doing a good job trouble shooting the problem. I would not want to speculate since it's older. But what happens if you continue adjusting? Does it get any better?

@@drinksunbear I did adjust to the extend that 170g came out during 30s. But it didn’t seem to slow down the brewing time.

Ok, first make sure it is the middle button. Secondly, relieve some water out of your steamer so it is fully spitting out water before you switch back over

Well, i did, and still there is no water coming out...my rancilio silvia is 2006...,there is any connection to that?

Yes that's what it means

It was just the blank portafilter but no water should come from there at all since the test is using the hot water button in the middle. If you have problems I suggest turning on your steamer and bleeding it out first a little. Then make sure you only use the middle button

@@drinksunbear thanks

@@drinksunbear with PID the brew is always switched on. I switched it off and used the water switch and it worked. But I got 84 grams in 30 seconds. So it appears my pressure is really high.

glad to help. we are all in this together

Too fast can mean lots of things. But most likely too much pressure. Aside from that really need to make sure your grinder is making good espresso level grind size

Hi, Thank you for this interesting video. I wanted to share my experience adjusting pressure/ flow rate on my Silvia. I bought I pressure gage that fits onto my portafilter to compare with the flow rate and this is what I got. FYI : - Pressure gage bought on a online coffee shop. Is it perfectly calibrated, don't know ? - Cooking scale. Perfect calibrated, don't know ? - Readings and measurements have been made 2 - 3 times and approx +/- 1 - 2secs, and +/- 1 - 2 g Boiler temp : 82°C - 93°C Flow rate Pressure Factory setting : 160 g in 30 secs 10 Bars Adjusting : 150 g in 30 secs 11 Bars 183 g in 30 secs 9 Bars 185 g 8.5 Bars 205 g 7 Bars I've done my final adjustment to 8.5 Bars. Couldn't reach the 130g in 30secs flow rate as my pump could only deliver 11 - 11.5 Bars. I does make sense to me, if you reduce pressure you increase for rate and the other way around. When extracting coffee pressure and flow rate can be influenced by : Beans ? Amount (14g/16g/18g) Grind size ( Coarse or fine) Tamping T° ? Hope this was helpful. Please give any feedback.

You can do it by taste/feel or use the flow/pressure chart as a guide to the OPV pressure setting

too fast: pressure too high (but not in your case), grind size too course, not enough dose are the two other possibilities

I’m confused: he lowers pressure to get higher flow rate? Shouldn’t that be opposite? More pressure, more flow??

It was between the grind size and the opv like always. A constant adjustment

Hey, did you end up working this one out? I've got exactly the same issue

@@jamanak6457 I just kept adjusting it till it was right hahah seems okay ever since

So I have since started using the Rancilio Rocky for my espresso so I use it more now. The Sette 270 can do great shots at the finer setttings however and I have mine shimmed as well

Honestly I don’t know. I do not have the pressure valve though perhaps for another video I can compare. I had not preheated my machine. But I will say my machine was new when I did this test

Hi, you didn't have to put a blank screen in the portafilter? When I did it like he does it in the video, water just came out of the group head. But when I put a blank in, water came out of the tube.

@@rcgsail1 Hi, I did put a blind basket in the portafilter. I assume I had to flush the steam wand so that the pump was not compressing air.

@@adamnealis thanks. sun bear also responded that I didn't need the blind basket. I just need to switch the brew switch off and use the water switch to test the pump. I have a pid, so the brew switch is on by default. But I switched it off and just used the water switch and it worked fine. Thanks.

@@rcgsail1 OPV pressure does not equal brew head pressure, often by several barr. They correlate, but not closely. It's an OVER pressure valve. If water is flowing out you are gonna get numbers all over the place. "Scace style"gauge with Blind filter gives you OPV pressure. Pressure with accurate flow gives brew pressure.

I am going to find out from Rancilio officially. But it is my understanding that it ships at about 11 or 12 bars

I just spoke to Seattle Coffee Gear (whom I purchased mine) they said they normally ship at 9 to 10 bars but it’s possible due to human error they are occasionally having more like 11 to 12

​@@drinksunbear Rancillio has , um, non linear QC. Machines of all type often benefit from calibration. We casually and prejudicially, refer to that as the product of long "Business Lunches" at the factory. Lot of variables, at times, affecting measurements and output.

@@whazzat8015 when you say “we” do you work for them?

thanks so much for following

no backflush disk and it's the middle button like you would use for hot water

Sorry about that Sean. If Rancilio wants to send me a free Silvia Pro X, I'd be glad to do a new video haha. Hope it works out well. Cheers man!

I don't think the temp matters in this case it's just about intake of water from the OPV. Is yours an older model? Some folks have responded with the older ones that ended up needing to replace parts. Mine was brand new, and shipped at a high setting so just adjusting the OPV a little fixed it

Means it's too much and you have to pull it back

so it's pouring super super slow?

I would say at least maybe one full turn even

You use the button for the water only, like you would with an Americano etc

Thank you - I rewatched your video and noticed the switch positions and figured it out...but I never use hot water from the machine for americanos...

I don't know about the physics part I didn't study that well in school. But here is a cheat sheet file

@@drinksunbear Well I studied mechanical engineering long time ago and I don't understand it. Anyway I'll check the graph. By the way you shared a link of your local pc path.

I'd say tighten it all the way back up and start over again. You may have loosened it up too much. Another way to try and compare is to order a pressure gauge and compare with that. I do a comparison in another one of my videos

@@drinksunbear do you have a pressure gauge in mind to recommend? I have look around and and there doesn't seem to be any good portafilter pressure gauge with 3/8 BPT fittings

make sure the longer tube is submerged in water. Press the hot water button (like for an americano) It may take a few seconds to come

Also it may be possible the valve is not working…. Maybe lack of cleaning with a blind porta filter You might try entirely disassembling the brass valve Basically there is a spring with maybe a ball inside As you screw in the valve… it increases the pressure from the spring and so reduces the overflow water As you loosen… less pressure on the spring and more flow from a lower pump pressure So the only reason for no flow would be no water, wrong hose, or defective valve Oh…. Also make sure the overflow hose is not kinked

Sometimes air gets in the line when moving the tubes around. Pull a shot with the espresso button and clear the line.

Not really sure I'm only positive about the new era models

I should have mentioned that my machine is only about 1 month old. So no I have not had any issues with water sitting around at all. The reason I did the OPV adjustment was because it comes stock from Rancilio at a high pressure setting and I was getting weak shots

Water condensation can happen because there's a liter of water in there. It all depends also on the weather and climate where you live. As long as it isn't leaking or causing any problems it's probably not a problem.

No exact amount just keep testing

Allow some wiggle room with the portafilter pressure tester since they are not sealed correctly. But maybe adjust it back just a little?

@@drinksunbear thanks I'll give it a go!

OPV pressure does not equal brew head pressure, often by several barr. They correlate, but not closely. It's why the Scace is $660

I would think so just adjust ever so slightly. Are you sure you are getting a fine enough grind on your coffee?

@@drinksunbear I think that was exactly it, I didnt realize that a sour shot means it's under extracted. Now on my rocky, I grind as fine as possible and it is tasting much better, although I may have to mod it to be stepless so I can dial in my shot

@@tubbycustard8866 glad you are getting those tasty shots now!

Yeah you come on a ride for sure with me. Learning the hard way everytime. Fortunately nothing happened!

@@drinksunbear I did just attempt the OPV adjustment as you show it (but disconnecting the machine from power when working inside). My first measurement yielded 75 ml in 30 seconds. Yikes! too much pressure, and very probably the reason that my pours were too fast even with grinding very fine and tamping very hard. After again adjusting the OPV, the second measurement was 110 ml. Finally, the 3rd one produced 130 ml.in 30 seconds. With that, my pour took 25 seconds, and produced a cup with slightly more (pleasant) acidity and nice crema. I'm very grateful for your help with this. BTW, the proper metric wrench size is 20mm, and two of those, with thin heads, make the OPV adjustment much easier.

@@billinrio that's what it's all about Bill! Glad you were able to get some tastier shots. Keep watching I will have a new one soon comparing this method alongside a pressure gauge in the portafilter

Be careful when a guy named "Sparky" gives you advice on working near electricity.

I would base it more off the timing. Are the shots pouring in less than 20 seconds etc. If they are it could very well be the OPV. Such an easy fix though and now mine is working great

Also the type of coffee you use matters so much. My coffee is super light roast and is a challenge for espresso.

Not sure if it's really locked man. Mine like I said on here was fairly new and so it unscrewed really easily. Just make sure that you hold the bottom one still while you adjust the top

Not sure if it's technically incorrect. It is shipped directly from Italy I think so maybe it's different. I know the beans would be darker so maybe you can even have higher pressure

Oh yeah good point

Yes it was brand new a couple months ago

@@drinksunbear thanks! have a nice day,, week,, year (etc)

@@srishtipasco6030 You are very kind. Thanks for the well wishes. Let me know what you would like to see on my channel

@@drinksunbear if you have any tips for someone starting out with a silvia that would be excellent :)))

@@srishtipasco6030 ok maybe I can do something up

sorry to hear that Patryk, is your machine older? I really am not sure how to diagnose whether it is a broken pump or not though that does seem possible.

​@@drinksunbear thanks. yeah, it's 5 or so years old. I found out that when I untightened the screw on the edge of leaking, some minimal drops did come out of the tube, so maybe I'll start with checking if OPV got clogged inside

@@parkideluvac4885 Yeah unfortunately I am hearing that about some of the older ones. But I guess we can only expect so many years before some maintenance to be in order. I should have made a disclaimer on mine that it was a new machine

In short, replacing the pump helped, and the coffee is good now. Thanks Sun Bear, I owe you a cup of gesha. For anyone with a similar problem: Getting in the right flowrate does not guarantee the pump works good when under high pressure. When I removed my OPV and descaled it, I was able to set the back flowrate of 260ml/minute. Still, the pressure did not work well on the coffee cake. Btw. replacing the pump is quite easy and cheap.

@@parkideluvac4885 wow man good info. You should do a video and document your experience for those with older machines

You'll find it's constant adjusting to get where you want

Are you doing the middle button?

Oh wow, I did not know the older ones do not have one

Mine does. Was it removed and capped at the boiler?

@@jacklun13 really? Interesting! I had read that unmodded V1s don’t have it. But I also think there’s different iterations of V1; I have one from 2003. What year was yours built?

@@stuartschwartz234 2002. I also have a 2000 that came with the updated OPV and steel delivery pipe. The 1st gen valve was smaller and had a plastic pipe.

@@jacklun13 maybe what I mean is that the OPV valve is not adjustable. Correct?

Loosening the OPV counter clockwise gives you less pressure. Sorry I know it is confusing a bit

I'd just recommend testing your pressure first. But the OPV valve is a good place to adjust

The very same thing is happening to me. As I open the valve the more water I get from the tube.

Thanks, this lines up with my own Silvia. I tested it and 2 times it produced 160g of water in 30s (give or take a gram). Thanks for providing your results, might I ask which version of the Silvia you're using?

@@vineballoon mine is a Silvia V6. I was able to reduce the amount of water from 160 to 130 but doing it I believe I have increased the pressure but that’s not what I wanted. I want to get 9 bar of pressure.

@@vineballoon Welcome 😉. I have a V4.

I've set mine to 8.5 bars.

Rancilio Silvia espresso machine owners

Thanks, joined the group last night..

is that pouring good shots for you?

I love Silvia