Rancilio Silvia Steam Wand Retrofit

[sawtooth49]

Great tutorial vid. I watched it about a year ago but this morning my upgrade kit came so I watched it a few more times. My V1 Silvia was leaking a water at the steam wand so I decided to upgrade and install the kit. It went very smooth and like Henry I discarded the external star washer in order to get enough clearance to install the steam wand nut.

It works like a charm.

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@sawtooth49 Great to hear! Glad this helped out with your install :) - Kat

[aptsys]

You might also want to remind people to ensure the machine is fully disconnected from the mains before beginning.

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@aptsys Common sense, I'd hope :D - Kat

[aptsys]

@SeattleCoffeeGear You'd be surprised...

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@aptsys I'm sure I wouldn't :) But we have a whole channel disclaimer to that affect so we don't spend a lot of time saying it in every single video. - Kat

[captzodo]

Figured it out. Just turn the spring clip till it pops out the opening and extract handle.

You might have quite a bit of resistance when pulling. I did

[captzodo]

How do you get the spring clip off the knob so you can pull it? or do you have to break it

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@captzodo Sorry, don't have any further insight on this other than what we filmed here - Kat

[florida995]

Is this new manifold and wand matched well to Silvia's boiler capacity? I do well with the included wand and wonder if a replacement would do more harm than good. I'm no pro, but can manage a Rosetta around 90% of the time. Please let me know. :)

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@florida995 Yep, it works much better in our opinion. - Kat

[joeloftusblues]

lock washer

[jst100]

was looking for solution to our leaking steam valve. I took the old one apart. Befuddled...I found your video suggesting upgrading the the newer version + steampipe. Just bought the parts on your site. Great vids

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@jst100 Awesome! I think you will really enjoy the performance upgrade, too. :) - Kat

[damndoggy]

great video. thanks.

any chance you guys could do one on how to change out the seals on a leaky/dripping steam wand?

also, when all this stuff goes back together, should any of the fittings get some type of sealant or grease?

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@damndoggy We will be doing some parts installation videos later when we finalize our parts for sale on the site, so you'll have to wait on that one. As far as sealing and greasing - nope. - Kat

[kidonanyatte]

I notice that the v3 tend to run out of steam sooner than the v2 wand. Did anyone have this problem? I'm using a v2 PID Silvia.

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@kidonanyatte We haven't seen this in practice; the steaming is definitely an upgrade on the newer version. - Kat

[phillipk]

I'd call the tractor wheel a washer

[markpianoman]

Kat / Henry, I think the Rancilio Company should offer these "upgrades" for ONLY $30 since the original steam wand was a poor design to begin with......ja? Mark

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@markpianoman We wish! But the price of the machine went up, as well, because of this change. - Kat

[tcheware]

Just got my V3 wand today in the mail. Installation was a snap thanks to this video! Henry's instructions and colorful commentary along the way prepared me for all the possible challenges this represented and I was steaming milk ten minutes after I started. Fabulous!

John in San Francisco

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@tcheware Awesome!! I passed your feedback along to Henry -- glad to hear you're up and running and steaming to your heart's content :) - Kat

[gblan]

Tractor wheel = star washer

[inkjs]

i'm having the toughest time loosening the nut on the new wand so that i can install it. it just won't budge. any advice?

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@inkjs Hmmm...we haven't seen that before, so don't know what to tell you. :( Sorry! - Kat

[algismorales]

Oh wow, that seemed pretty easy. Thank you Kat and Henry for the walkthrough. I think I'll be going to you guys to purchase the retrofit kit and do it myself!

Your videos are great!

Algis

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@algismorales Yeah, it's not too difficult and definitely worth the performance upgrade! Let us know if you have any questions when you're installing. - Kat

[Endo789]

Can you still fit a Auber PID next to the bigger wand nut on the new 2009 Silvia?

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

I'm checking with our techs - will post an answer ASAP. - Kat

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

OK, per Henry: "I don't see any reason it wouldn't still fit. the larger nut doesn't overhang the opening in the case, so as long as the PID isn't mounted partially over the opening there should be the same amount of clearance." Let me know if you need more info - Kat

[Agathorn]

I actually did this replacement myself only on my Gaggia Classic with a rancilio silvia V1 (or 2? I don't know) wand. Major upgrade!

Though the process wasn´t quite as simple. It included a hammer, saw and some blood, rofl :) You can check out a vid of mine for the result!

Nice video! I´m sure many viewers will be grateful!

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

Oh my! I'm glad you made it out alive. :) - Kat

[nlmaxx]

we're not living in a cartoon cat (world)

love that one :)

... sorry kat, he's new, doesnt know you :)

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

Thanks ;) He'll learn...someday. - Kat

[TheLeftHand77]

It's a locking washer.

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

Thank you :)