mojoneill Senior Member Joined: 11 Aug 2012 Posts: 22 Location: Iowa Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Silvia Grinder: Rocky
Posted Sat Aug 11, 2012, 11:49am Subject: Malfunctioning Miss Siliva Trips GFI Outlet
Once I turn the power on, the GFI outlet trips.
It's a 2006 model. I bought it used from work. It was powering on there. When I take the top off, I only see one circuit breaker...but i can't seem to push it in (if I'm facing the machine, it's at the 6:00 position on the front vertical side of the boiler.
Any thoughts as to how I should begin troubleshooting this?
-Michael
PS: Was expecting to replace the boiler & heater... but before I went down that route, I was going to try a good descaling with citric acid. Can't do that if there's no power...
Posted Sat Aug 11, 2012, 12:22pm Subject: Re: Malfunctioning Miss Siliva Trips GFI Outlet
Remove both leads on the heating element, insulates them (DO NOT CONNECT THEM TOGETHER), and power it on again. if i doesn't trip the breaker, it is likely the heating element. If you want, you can connect a 500 watt light bulb in place of the heating element to put a load on the system (if you know what you are doing).
A tripped GFCI is almost always a bad heating element. All it takes is a pinhole. test it in another GFCI outlet to verify though.
Posted Sat Aug 11, 2012, 7:29pm Subject: Re: Malfunctioning Miss Siliva Trips GFI Outlet
It is very common for those covers to disintegrate. I do not know of a source for them, but somehow I remember someone mentioning that they were available somewhere. Maybe just a couple of layers of heatshrink over the male ends will work for a while until you find replacements. When shopping for the boiler replacement maybe the source will have those plastic insulators.
Posted Sun Aug 12, 2012, 10:27am Subject: Re: Malfunctioning Miss Siliva Trips GFI Outlet
I Googled "Rancilio Silvia Boiler" and "Rancilio Silvia Boiler Replacement." I saw a number of sources for the parts. It looks like 1st-line has everything. Also, there's at least one YouTube video that shows how to do the replacement. Maybe you've already looked but I thought I would point that out.
mojoneill Senior Member Joined: 11 Aug 2012 Posts: 22 Location: Iowa Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Silvia Grinder: Rocky
Posted Sun Aug 12, 2012, 11:08am Subject: Re: Malfunctioning Miss Siliva Trips GFI Outlet
Thanks, Jim!
I've been scouring the interwebs looking for guides on this as well. There are some great resources out there, for sure. I've looked at a fair number of them already (and will continue to do so), but I figured it would be wise to start asking the experts...
mojoneill Senior Member Joined: 11 Aug 2012 Posts: 22 Location: Iowa Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Silvia Grinder: Rocky
Posted Mon Aug 13, 2012, 4:25pm Subject: Re: Malfunctioning Miss Siliva Trips GFI Outlet
Thanks Calblacksmith!
I actually had read and bookmarked your thread already...and it was pretty much your careful step by step description that inspired me to take this whole thing on. In fact, your whole rebuild is itself, inspired.
I'm afraid I won't be able to push Miss Silvia to the limits of what she can do, like you did... but I hope that if I can restore her to working order, the budget committee (wife) will eventually free up some funds for some upgrades. :P
One question regarding the plastic connection covers for the electrical wires. You wrote,
All the plastic wire protection caps were brittle on the old girl so she got new connection covers, also from the donor Expobar.
I'm wondering if you know where I could source new replacements for these, what to look for, etc... It seems like all I have to do is look at my covers and they fall apart.
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,772 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Tue Aug 14, 2012, 7:19am Subject: Re: Malfunctioning Miss Siliva Trips GFI Outlet
I'm glad that my thread took the mystery out of working on the machine. That was the reason I documented the whole process. It isn't tough if you can use a screwdriver. Take pictures as you go (digital is GREAT for this) if you think you might forget where pieces go, get some zip top bags and as you take the machine apart, put the parts in the bag and label the bags as you go.
There are a couple of tricky screws to get to but they are not so bad if you think about them a little first. I seem to remember them as the screws that hold the front sheet metal on. The screws are inside the compartment that the water tank is normally in and a short screwdriver should be all you need to reach them. (or is that a long screwdriver? LOL, check them out and see!! It has been a while!)
A few hours of work and the machine will be good as new as well as giving you a good understanding of what is going on inside the machine.
The plastic caps age quickly from the heat so your situation is perfectly normal.
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 