lake_m

Just had a look at my BWT setup, it's 8mm tubing. You'll need to check, as Britta may be the same?

Possibly. They do need to be primed, especially if the pump is drawing water up from a tank. Disconnect the tank feed and use a small funnel in the end of the tube held above the pump and add water whilst it’s running until primed through.

If it’s standard 1/4” tubing then you’ll need a push fit T piece connector exit the filter cartridge. Then just run another length of tubing to the coffee machine, with an adapter to whatever is required at that end. I’d also install taps so that it can be isolated easily.

14g is the traditional Italian double shot basket, but many manufacturers are now supplying larger baskets with their machines - If you’re looking at bigger baskets you just need to be careful that it’s not too deep that it won’t go into your spouted portafilter. 18g should be OK, and the Silvia can use standard readily available (E61 etc.) 58mm baskets. IMS are pretty good and aren’t too expensive.

I think personally I would go for the new Pro, just for peace of mind. I would also install the Shades of Coffee OPV spring mod to bring the pressure down to 9 bar. The Pro model doesn’t have adjustable OPV unlike the the original pre 2015 models.

That grind looks too coarse. Some boulders in there!

The grinder is fine. No, I was suggesting you go coarse initially and then work your way finer. Have you ever cleaned the grinder? i.e. removed the hopper, top burr and given it a good sweep out? Wouldn't do any harm.

Hi, What beans and grinder are you using? I experienced this with light roasts and decaf in combination with a Sage Smart Grinder. The grinder produces a lot of fines which create the ‘nothing then everything’ scenario (extreme channelling). Try backing the grind right off, and then starting from coarse, go finer (but not too far, as the grinder is the limitation) If you have a better grinder then check you are not over-dosing the basket (the 5p test), if so reduce slightly to improve channelling.

They’re about £90 - £100 new, so I’m guessing £50 / £60 or thereabouts. Probably worth keeping as a back-up.

Are you saying that the ‘grind amount’ dial is having no effect on the time that the grinder is in operation?

OK, no problem, I’ll PM you my details. (Still might be worth doing a quick search of local repairers and save on postage.)

The cost of a new PCB is horrendous and not that easy to find. I agree, your best bet is to hot wire the electronics and just go with a on/off manual solution. If you’re struggling to get someone local, I’ll be happy to take a look for you. That would mean shipping the grinder to and fro which you may not want to do. There will probably a local shop/general repair nearby who could easily do the work for you.

Latte art coming along nicely, no onions there! You will notice one heck of a difference with Niche over the SGP. I found it at best inconsistent, and at worst bloody awful.

Mignon single doser?

Thanks for flagging that up. Not impressed with the cost the BPLus or Flair ones. I'll give these a try.