Me Hungy

Articulating steam wand upgrade for Rancilio Silvia (from Espresso Parts).

A few things to note about the install:

• Removing the steam wand assembly from the Silvia was easy with a crescent wrench. The only non-obvious step was pulling out the plastic knob, which turned out to just slide straight out.
• Screwing on the male fitting of the new steam wand into the female brass valve fitting, which effectively retaps it, was easy with a vise grip.
• The main hassle was screwing the new wand onto the male fitting it came with since there is a stiff spring between them, making it difficult to push-and-screw (heh!) at the same time. And since you are doing this with the whole assembly reattached to the Silvia, the cramped space makes it even more difficult. Oh, and the lube for the ball joint end of the steam wand gets all over the place…the one time lube and screw do not go well together.
• Last note: I had bend the steam wand to get it to an appropriate steaming angle. I’m not sure if it came that way, or perhaps I inadvertently bent it during the install. Fortunately, the wand itself is fairly malleable so this wasn’t hard, but you should do this before attaching it.

So, is it a worthy upgrade? Absolutely. It steams great, is actually easier to clean, and best of all, no more spilt milk.