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Cleaning Rocky

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  • csutak40
    replied
    Re: Cleaning Rocky

    Im in trouble again!    Im starting to think that I have to be kept away from all machinery!  

    I set up the Rocky and decided to pack the Sunbeam up, in its box, to give to my son.  

    BTW, I had quite a bit of trouble taking the "group handle locator" off, it got stuck on the cut out of the milk bottle mod I made. :P

    Took the hopper off.  There were some beans left behind in the burr.  I was planning to vacuum it out, but in the meantime decided to upend it, to get the beans out.  Did that, then noticed on the sink (where I did it) two washer looking thingies (originally I thought it was one, the two were on top of each other)  I dont think they are rubber, feels like some hard material (not game to try and bend them)  No idea where they came from.  On second thoughts, Im glad I didnt vacuum it  :

    Any idea what they could be and where they came from?

    I do have to say that I dont feel quite so stupid about this as I did about the Rocky.  The Sunbean instructions suggest you should clean the burrs every three weeks if you use it daily.  In fact, it suggests removing the top burr as well (which I hadnt done, I only removed the hopper).  So, unless one of you clever people can tell me what these things are and where they belong, I shall be phoning Sunbean on Monday

    Leave a comment:


  • Dimal
    replied
    Re: Cleaning Rocky

    Originally posted by Judy link=1141617841/15#23 date=1144397232
    Wasnt told what was wrong, except I got a lecture on never doing it again. He said that the people at Moccopan wanted to know why I dont buy a TV and watch that, instead of playing with the Rocky. There was no charge, however. ;D

    Mind you, I havent tried it yet. Slept in this morinig, so made a quick cuppa on the Sunbean
    Hi Judy,

    Thats great news [smiley=thumbsup.gif]. Sounds like you received excellent service from Mocopan too, even it came with a bit of free advice :-[ with the service charge. Youll be back into the swing of things pretty soon I would imagine 8-),

    Cheers,
    Mal.

    Leave a comment:


  • mbg963
    replied
    Re: Cleaning Rocky

    Thats good news

    I think you had a lucky escape!

    Leave a comment:


  • csutak40
    replied
    Re: Cleaning Rocky

    Originally posted by Matt G link=1141617841/15#22 date=1144366413
    Judy,

    What was the final result with the Rocky. Did they tell you the problem or just charge you heaps of $$$ to put it back together?  :-/

    Cheers,

    Matt
    Wasnt told what was wrong, except I got a lecture on never doing it again.  He said that the people at Moccopan wanted to know why I dont buy a TV and watch that, instead of playing with the Rocky.  There was no charge, however.   ;D

    Mind you, I havent tried it yet.  Slept in this morinig, so made a quick cuppa on the Sunbean

    Leave a comment:


  • mbg963
    replied
    Re: Cleaning Rocky

    Judy,

    What was the final result with the Rocky. Did they tell you the problem or just charge you heaps of $$$ to put it back together? :-/

    Cheers,

    Matt

    Leave a comment:


  • csutak40
    replied
    Re: Cleaning Rocky

    Originally posted by Fresh_Coffee link=1141617841/15#20 date=1142045047
    Have a nice holiday.
    I wish! : This was just an "in case" question ;D

    Leave a comment:


  • Fresh_Coffee
    replied
    Re: Cleaning Rocky

    Yes, I also dont recommend placing anything other than coffee beans in the grinder. As far as I am concerned use of "cleaners" is simply unnecessary and in some cases particularly where some may not follow the instructions to the letter, could result in damage to the equipment.

    Re leaving the grinder to sit unused while you go on holidays.....its the same as when you are at home using it.........just brush it out with an artists brush and suck it out with the vacuum cleaner before you leave. Works for me!

    Have a nice holiday.

    regardz,
    FC.

    Leave a comment:


  • csutak40
    replied
    Re: Cleaning Rocky

    Oh dear!  Thank you for the advice, I wish Id read it before I started playing with it  

    I honestly thought you need to get rid of all the stuck on stuff every so often.  I used to have an el cheapo grinder years ago (Braun, I think it was) its manual (and come to think of it, Saeco Magics as well) definitely instructed you to take it apart and clean of all the residue from the burrs "regularly"

    I honestly thought it needed to be done every so often and as I had it for about 4 months, I thought it was way past time to do it.  I thought I was slack for having put it off this long.  :P

    In my defence, I did a lot of reading, and the instructions I followed by CoffeeGeek, sounded legitimate to me.  In fact lots of other “legitimate” places referred people to that page, so it seemed to me that it must be a well used/tried page.  In fact, I’d swear that Alan Frew gave it as a link as well, but now can’t find it.   >

    Believe me, I won’t be taking it apart ever again!  :  

    Having said that, I must say that there was an awful lot of yuck in between the two burrs, the hardened on stuff, which is what I would have thought would become rancid after a while.  It wouldn’t even budge with a toothbrush, had to pick it off with a toothpick (wasn’t game to start scraping at it with anything metal)  I then sucked it all out with a vacuum cleaner.  The next day, when I opened it  up again, there was only some loose coffee, no hardened on stuff.  Just sucking it out with the vacuum and a bit of brushing with the toothbrush was all that was needed.

    So, can I ask, I gather you don’t recommend the tablets/rice either?


    Oh, just thought of another question.  What would you do, if you were going away on holidays, so wont be using the Rocky for a while?  

    Leave a comment:


  • Fresh_Coffee
    replied
    Re: Cleaning Rocky

    I think there seem to be some misunderstandings here in this topic.

    A coffee equipment trader that advises his clients they should not try to get into or dismantle their grinder is giving them the proper advice. There are no user serviceable parts inside the grinder, and what has happened to Judy plainly exemplifies what can happen when clients attempt to fix something that aint broke, particularly when they do not have the requisite experience.

    If this grinder is now rendered inoperable, there is very little likelihood it could have been caused by anything other than it being subject to unnecessary dismantling. Readers should also note that as such, it isnt a warrantable problem and will probably require payment of a small charge to rectify or reassemble as necessary.  How could this be deemed to be unreasonable in the circumstances?

    The very best outcome for Judy is infact to pay the ransom & get the grinder back properly assembled so she can get on with her coffee drinking pleasure.

    Grinders are intended to be used regularly. A trader is giving proper advice if he advises there will be little or no build up of oily deposits in the teeth of the burrs. Every time the grinder is switched on (regularly), the grinds caught inbetween the burrs are flung out, to be replaced by fresh grinds etc.... The grinder is in regular use ( as it should be), the grinds flung out are not "old" or had time to go "rancid (particularly in domestic use where you may only be loading enough beans in the hopper for the immediate use), and if you dismantle  a grinder that has had all the beans in the hopper ground through and "emptied" until there is nothing  left in the grinding chamber, you will find there is little to no build up between the teeth.

    There will be a little build up in the outer edge/corner of the area in which the burrs are situated, because this is the area where the grinds are flung to, but is just outside the effective sweeping area of the 3 or so "vanes" that sweep  & throw the grinds out into the container or group handle. There will be a little build up on the sweepers.

    The build up is negligible. It turns to a hard rubbery substance that sticks hard & cannot be budged except by scraping with a hard instrument. It cannot get into your coffee (it is stuck fast in the areas mentioned) it will not make your coffee taste "rancid", and frankly anyone that says thay can taste the difference in their coffee when they do not clean their grinder of this material, is dreaming.  Show me a proper scientific experiment that proves this is so, and then I will believe!

    The REAL build up of oily smelly garbage is at the bottom of the inlet throat of the bean hopper. This results in a greasy mass accumulating at the entrance to the top burr. You can get to this by simply removing the hopper (and washing it in warm soapy water while its off), gently scraping around the exposed top of the grinder, and sucking it out with a vacuum cleaner...no need to dismantle anything.

    These special interest Lists have a responsibility to disseminate quality, realistic  information about the subject at hand, not make people paranoid with unnecessary details that can ultimately destroy one of the simple pleasures in life.

    Coffee, even at the "coffeesnob" level, doesnt need to be made THAT hard for you. Relax, leave your grinder (& other equipment) alone (except as per my cleaning advice above & as posted in the grinder section in early March), and enjoy.

    Regardz,
    FC.

    Leave a comment:


  • Javaphile
    replied
    Re: Cleaning Rocky

    Originally posted by Mal link=1141617841/15#16 date=1141825142
    ...heartily agree with the fraternity that says "If it aint broke then dont fix it" ;D. Youre a member of that one arent you Java ,

    Mal.
    LOL Indeed I am Mal, indeed I am! And for the most part I adhere to that philosophy, for the most part. [smiley=thumbsup.gif] As I love deconstructing things so much it can be really hard not to dive into some new piece of equipment just to see what makes it tick, but I manage to resist the temptation....usually. ;D

    Java "If it aint broke, dont fu*k with it!" phile

    Leave a comment:


  • Dimal
    replied
    Re: Cleaning Rocky

    Originally posted by Javaphile link=1141617841/15#15 date=1141822892
    It sounds to me like the burrs were too close to each other and a shear pin/disc/gear (Im not familiar with the Rocky so I dont know what it has for internal protection) gave out.

    Java "I hate when that happens!" phile
    Me either Java,

    Even though I own and use one :-[. Ive never delved that deeply into the innards of mine..... heartily agree with the fraternity that says "If it aint broke then dont fix it" ;D. Youre a member of that one arent you Java ,

    Mal.

    Leave a comment:


  • Javaphile
    replied
    Re: Cleaning Rocky

    It sounds to me like the burrs were too close to each other and a shear pin/disc/gear (Im not familiar with the Rocky so I dont know what it has for internal protection) gave out.

    Java "I hate when that happens!" phile

    Leave a comment:


  • csutak40
    replied
    Re: Cleaning Rocky

    Originally posted by Mal link=1141617841/0#13 date=1141799798
    Geez Judy,

    This sure is turning into a bit of a saga .
    Aint it  

    Originally posted by Mal link=1141617841/0#13 date=1141799798
    By the way, I dont know of anyone who is serious about great coffee never cleaning out their grinder..... what a strange thing to say :-?.
    I know, I presume he thinks his grinders are also self-cleaning.  BTW, I mentioned the rice to him, he nearly fainted.   ;D  He said, well, if you want to definitely kill your Rocky and void your warranty and pay hundreds for repairs....


    Originally posted by Mal link=1141617841/0#13 date=1141799798
    With taking it apart and re-assembling it a few times, it might be possible that some coffee cuttings may have worked their way into the motor and become jammed between the rotor and the stator, which causes the motor to hum very loudly, sounds a bit like a growl and the rotor to stop turning. I suppose this is possible but I wouldnt have thought that a few grains of coffee would do this..... Will have to wait and see I guess.
    I doubt that very much, I brushed and vacuumed, turned it upside down so I dont see how I could have missed a bean.  Not that I have any idea what a rotor or a stator is when theyre at home  ;D

    Originally posted by Mal link=1141617841/0#13 date=1141799798
    Re: vacuuming Rocky..... after doing the rice trick, I unplug Rocky from the power socket, just unscrew the top burr carrier with the coffee bin still attached, use one of those vacuum attachments with a small nozzle on the end and then get stuck into it where ever the nozzle will reach. .
    Well, now I wish Id have played some more with my already dead Rocky.  I did try to unscrew it with the hopper still attached once, but couldnt figure it out.  As I had other things to worry about, I gave up.

    Originally posted by Mal link=1141617841/0#13 date=1141799798
    Anyway Judy, I hope the problem with Rocky is only a small one and that you will be back in business ASAP, and not too much out of pocket either . All the best,
    Me too, Im going to hate having no grinder for weeks, regardless  

    Leave a comment:


  • Dimal
    replied
    Re: Cleaning Rocky

    Geez Judy,

    This sure is turning into a bit of a saga .

    By the way, I dont know of anyone who is serious about great coffee never cleaning out their grinder..... what a strange thing to say :-?. With taking it apart and re-assembling it a few times, it might be possible that some coffee cuttings may have worked their way into the motor and become jammed between the rotor and the stator, which causes the motor to hum very loudly, sounds a bit like a growl and the rotor to stop turning. I suppose this is possible but I wouldnt have thought that a few grains of coffee would do this..... Will have to wait and see I guess.

    Re: vacuuming Rocky..... after doing the rice trick, I unplug Rocky from the power socket, just unscrew the top burr carrier with the coffee bin still attached, use one of those vacuum attachments with a small nozzle on the end and then get stuck into it where ever the nozzle will reach. This gets every last grain of coffee out that I can see and Im pretty fussy when it comes to cleaning out my coffee equipment .

    Anyway Judy, I hope the problem with Rocky is only a small one and that you will be back in business ASAP, and not too much out of pocket either . All the best,

    Mal.

    Leave a comment:


  • csutak40
    replied
    Re: Cleaning Rocky



    Well, just took it down to the shop Ive bought it from.  You DO NOT ever need to clean the insides of the Rocky, I was told.  But, said I, it was full of stuck on coffee, which would go rancid if you left it in.  No, it wouldnt he said, what you saw was what was left from your last grind, which would work its way out during the next grind, so it would never stay in there long enough to go rancid.  

    He then said he will try to fix it.  Took it apart (I put it back together for its trip down to the car) asked me what else Ive taken off.  Told him I unscrewed the burr.  He did the same, then screwed it back on, then loosened it by two turns, but he didnt even attempt to set it to zero point, put it back together with 30 pointing to the front, while continuing to lecture me on never to take it apart (which I probably wont   - start using rice or tablets) Plugged it in, it sounded sicker than it did at home.  It is jammed, he announced.  So, poor Rocky is being sent to the doctors    He will next go to Moccopan next Wednesday, (should have taken it down yesterday ) may be ready the following Wednesday, or the one after that.    He also warned me that it may cost me some money.

    So,  I had to buy some ground coffee  

    I am still not convinced that it really needs a doctors visit, because I really dont think I did anything that could have killed it, but I have no choice  

    I wonder if he has the same opinion on the ginders they use in the shop? (never needing a clean)

    Leave a comment:

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