Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Espresso Diagnosis - I need help!

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #16
    Originally posted by SpiceBean View Post
    As far as what blunt burrs look like, it is sort of like asking what a blunt knife looks like, in other words its quite hard to tell by looking.
    Brand new burrs don't actually 'look' sharp, as they don't have a shiny edge like a sharpened knife blade. The reason they aren't shiny is that the sharp edge is an edge, not a surface, so won't reflect light - if you do see shiny edges to the teeth you are actually looking at the surface left after the 'point' of each tooth is worn down to a flat surface.

    Easiest way to check burrs is by rubbing the top of your fingernail across the teeth - shagged burrs won't leave a mark, OK but a bit worn will leave scratches, brand new will shave bits off your nail.

    Comment


    • #17
      I've uploaded photos of a 22g dose in the 18g VST with my standard tamp pressure. You can see the amount of the tamper base protruding which I often use as a measure. In the second photo you can see the height of the dose in the basket. I will redo the 5c test at some point and get a photo of the results as well.

      Edit: Oh! I should mention, this shot was actually really good! Not perfect, but the best I've had in a whole. It is a new roast, so, we shall see how it goes!
      Attached Files

      Comment


      • #18
        I'm not one to speak in absolutes, but that can't not be too high!

        Comment


        • #19
          Agreed! It also looks quite coarse.

          Comment


          • #20
            Originally posted by level3ninja
            Just add a reference point, this is my standard 20g dose in my 18g VST:
            [ATTACH=CONFIG]17379[/ATTACH]
            Out of interest does the Pullman tamper have a 10mm high piston?
            what machine are you using? Do you know the shower screen depth of the machine?

            Comment


            • #21
              Just as a reference point, this is my standard 20g dose in my 18g VST:

              Click image for larger version

Name:	20171021_195340 - Copy.jpg
Views:	1
Size:	191.7 KB
ID:	746274

              Click image for larger version

Name:	20171021_195351 - Copy.jpg
Views:	1
Size:	206.0 KB
ID:	746275

              And this is a 22g dose in my 18g VST basket, same grind setting (which at 22g would probably not quite choke the shot completely, but there would be maybe 10-12 drops in 30s, completely burnt shot):

              Click image for larger version

Name:	20171021_195538 - Copy.jpg
Views:	1
Size:	204.0 KB
ID:	746276

              Click image for larger version

Name:	20171021_195635 - Copy.jpg
Views:	1
Size:	227.6 KB
ID:	746273

              Yes 10mm vertical sides on the Pullman Barista tamper. Machine is a Breville BES920. Don't know the shower screen depth off the top of my head, but I think I remember reading it's relatively high compared to more traditional machines like E61s.
              Last edited by level3ninja; 22 October 2017, 08:11 AM. Reason: Pics fix

              Comment


              • #22
                Okay. So I've attached photos of
                • 20g dose
                • 5c test (before)
                • 5c test after)
                • Resulting puck


                And I have uploaded videos of:
                The shot

                Then I went straight back to the grinder, without touching anything and pressed the grind lever:
                Link

                The first video is still uploading, so might not be live yet.
                Attached Files

                Comment


                • #23
                  Looks overdosed and too coarse. The overdose may be causing the puck to fracture (though not obvious from 4th pic)

                  What is the pressure gauge on the left of your machine measuring? Where does that sit when idling?

                  Might be a capacitor problem on the grinder. I take it that the burrs have been removed and refitted (from the location of the silver knob on the adjustment collar you'd be miles away from the espresso zone on my k3....but I appreciate that not all are set up the same). Are you sure they are 'flush'?
                  Last edited by Barry O'Speedwagon; 22 October 2017, 01:06 PM.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Originally posted by Barry O'Speedwagon View Post
                    Looks overdosed and too coarse. The overdose may be causing the puck to fracture (though not obvious from 4th pic)
                    I cannot go finer, this is my problem.

                    Originally posted by Barry O'Speedwagon View Post
                    What is the pressure gauge on the left of your machine measuring? Where does that sit when idling?
                    I'll get back to you on this.

                    Originally posted by Barry O'Speedwagon View Post
                    Might be a capacitor problem on the grinder. I take it that the burrs have been removed and refitted (from the location of the silver knob on the adjustment collar you'd be miles away from the espresso zone on my k3
                    Yes

                    Originally posted by Barry O'Speedwagon View Post
                    ....but I appreciate that not all are set up the same). Are you sure they are 'flush'?
                    Pretty sure...

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Originally posted by David8 View Post
                      Okay. So I've attached photos of
                      • 20g dose
                      • 5c test (before)
                      • 5c test after)
                      • Resulting puck


                      And I have uploaded videos of:
                      The shot

                      Then I went straight back to the grinder, without touching anything and pressed the grind lever:
                      Link

                      The first video is still uploading, so might not be live yet.
                      It's obvious from the difference between the first and second picture that the puck is pressing into the shower screen, I can see the pattern of it around the 5c coin.

                      This cannot be properly fixed without grinding finer and dosing lower. Reminds me of my first Breville Smart Grinder that was too coarse out of the box. There were things I could do to improve the shot, but nothing really fixed it until I shimmed the grinder. I was amazed how much less coffee I need to pack into the basket. As offers have said it might be the capacitor on the grinder motor. If you're handy with a soldering iron this will be the cheapest, quickest, and easiest fix. Even if it turns out not to be an issue it'll only have cost you a couple of dollars.

                      I don't have any magic answers as to what needs to be done to your grinder, but from your photos and the extremely fast running shot in your video something is quite amiss.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Machine sits at 0bar while idling.

                        In that shot the pressure very slowly climbed. Reached about 4bar, then I took the cup away. I left the shot running into the drip tray until the shot ran basically clear and the pressure continued to climb slowly until 8bar.

                        This sounds very low?

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Originally posted by level3ninja View Post
                          It's obvious from the difference between the first and second picture that the puck is pressing into the shower screen, I can see the pattern of it around the 5c coin.

                          This cannot be properly fixed without grinding finer and dosing lower. Reminds me of my first Breville Smart Grinder that was too coarse out of the box. There were things I could do to improve the shot, but nothing really fixed it until I shimmed the grinder. I was amazed how much less coffee I need to pack into the basket. As offers have said it might be the capacitor on the grinder motor. If you're handy with a soldering iron this will be the cheapest, quickest, and easiest fix. Even if it turns out not to be an issue it'll only have cost you a couple of dollars.

                          I don't have any magic answers as to what needs to be done to your grinder, but from your photos and the extremely fast running shot in your video something is quite amiss.
                          In the second video, can the faint whirring be heard? Would a capacitor issue cause this??

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            I'm going to go out on a limb and say your beans are underroasted.

                            The grinder is struggling because the beans are so tough. The pour is (way too) fast despite significant overdosing because:
                            a) you can't grind fine enough
                            b) there isn't enough soluble material / CO2 in the beans (both of which are produced during roasting) to slow the flowrate down.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              It would certainly be worth eliminating the beans as the source of the problem (particularly given info provided in post #14 re the grinder working with Di Bella beans). Having said that, it would take a pretty severe under-roast to stop my old K3 from grinding.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Have been following this thread, and definitely what the guys said about the beans needs to be taken into account, but another thing occurred to me that I mentioned in another thread, have you unscrewed the grind adjustment 'stopper'?

                                That little silver cap if you pop that open/off, there's a screw in there which leads down and blocks up against something, this actually prevents you from going finer (it's a safety mechanism really so people didn't go too fine and destroyed the burrs), but it's necessary to actually unscrew that in order to go finer, has this been done?

                                I had to do this for my K3 Touch in order to adjust finer. Your grind does just seem a bit coarse, and if you're unable to go finer this may be it... otherwise it's another issue

                                Edit: but yeah, I'm not sure about different machines and pressure buildup, but that also does seem a little slow to get up to 8 bar.. it may be a combination of issues, but the guys here are awesome so hopefully we can nut this out!

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X