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  • grinding ma gears

    I have a La Pavoni Giotto DB PID paired to a Eureka ATOM grinder.
    I have worked the grind perfectly down to exactly 30 sec pour for a 30ml single shot (17gms ground coffee), and 30 sec pour for a 60ml double shot (23gms ground coffee). I think the coffees made at these ratios are excellent.
    Enter the problem- the coffee ground at this 'coarseness' my grinder apparently finds it ground too finely and in a very short time clogs up, necessitating a time consuming and thorough clean-out. (I need to pull the grinder apart kind of clean-out)
    So currently I have had to set the grind more coarsely to accommodate the fussy grinder and am now currently pulling about 16 second double shots. (These actually aren't too bad, and I may be able to incrementally get it a little better than that too, but for the total dollars outlaid here overall, I don't see why this should be where I am forced to be at and 'not too bad' is not what I 'm about)
    Clearly a 16 second 60 ml pour is to fast a pour for a decent coffee, yet the great coffee I was pouring cannot be done with the grind that fine.
    I am using 'CAPRA' beans (Malt blend) and drink mainly espresso.
    I see two options;
    1. Sell my new grinder and buy a different one.(Frustrating when the outlay was $1100.00 and it's still under warranty)
    2. (I was advised this); to possibly try a lighter roast style of bean.(Also frustrating because I would be buying beans not really suited to the style of coffee I prefer)

    I actually did a heap of research prior to buying both the grinder as well as the machine. I know the La Pav Giotto can be polarizing, but I've found it to be excellent, and every bit of info I found on the Eureka ATOM was very positive too.
    Most of you here would have more expertise than I do, and this is why I am asking your advice.
    Cheers Guys.

  • #2
    What is the weight in grams of your 30ml and 60ml yields? What are the baskets you're dosing 17g and 23g shots? They sound high.

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    • #3
      Maybe explore the lungo. Let the shot run the 30sec and enjoy the extra mouthfuls.
      When adjusting my grinder for new beans, i often get a few lungo as I dial it in.
      Yelta enjoys his as a lungo too

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      • #4
        It there a option to fill some of the voids inside the grinder with something to reduce the retention?
        Maybe some tool to reach hard spots?
        What about the squashy bean hopper that you use to pump air through the grinder to blow the grinds out?

        As im sure you know, fresher beans are ground coarser that the beans that are getting older..

        I use a lido hand grinder, and a long paintbrush to sweep it clear after each use.
        Previously I had a 270w, and used a custom bent cable tie offcuts to clear the grinds.
        Im sure you can work something simple and effective out.

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        • #5
          Is it the chute that blocks, or the part around the burrs? Is it better without the 'clump crusher'?

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          • #6
            Do you mean the weight of the actual coffee poured?
            How do you mean "what are the baskets"?

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            • #7
              Yeah that may be the answer- just clear the chute out from the outside every two uses or something.
              Cheers.

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              • #8
                It is the chute itself. (not the part around the burrs or that area).
                I haven't tried it without the crimped aluminium clump crusher- may be worth a try.
                Cheers.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Beaninlove View Post
                  Do you mean the weight of the actual coffee poured?
                  How do you mean "what are the baskets"?
                  Yes rather than measuring in mils, what is the weight of the liquid (more accurate than volume)?

                  Are they just the single and double baskets that came with the machine, are they after market baskets, what is the recommended dose for each basket?

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                  • #10
                    Beaninlove, I have the same grinder and can imagine your frustration. Are your roasts at the darker end? I had a roast where i got distracted and overcooked the roast, the beans were oily before i got to use them. Used them anyway and towards the end of that batch started having jamming problems, eventually jamming totally on the bean after. Cleaned everything after with a clean dry cloth, especially the chute and covering rubber. Also because this was a bad jam actually removed the declumper and did the same to it (usually just use a pin between the prongs). No more problems after and back to my old schedule of every few months when i am in the mood.


                    One other variable is try a different basket, probably not even aftermarket as they usually require finer grinds, to see if that changes the grind enough to solve the problem

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Beaninlove View Post
                      I have a La Pavoni Giotto DB PID paired to a Eureka ATOM grinder.
                      I have worked the grind perfectly down to exactly 30 sec pour for a 30ml single shot (17gms ground coffee), and 30 sec pour for a 60ml double shot (23gms ground coffee). I think the coffees made at these ratios are excellent.
                      Those numbers sound more like a double and a triple respectively.

                      17 Grams is way high for a single. Traditionally it was 7, but nowadays around 10g. I'm surprised you can even fit 17g in the single basket.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by level3ninja View Post
                        Yes rather than measuring in mils, what is the weight of the liquid (more accurate than volume)?

                        Are they just the single and double baskets that came with the machine, are they after market baskets, what is the recommended dose for each basket?
                        As a matter of interest Beaninlove, does the Atom have any type of anti clumping mechanism i.e. a mesh or similar that could be impeding the discharge of ground coffee and causing blockages? did a brief search and noted others have had similar experiences.

                        Unless your a perfectionist I don't think it matters a jot whether you use mass or volume, in all my years of drinking coffee I've never weighed a shot, always use volume as a guide, its easy and saves a lot of stuffing around, you know (Taste) when you've got it right.

                        On the other hand I do weigh the beans for each and every shot I pull, helps enormously with repeatability.
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                        Last edited by Yelta; 30 March 2019, 10:13 AM.

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                        • #13
                          Beaninlove, just as a reference, I am doing a nice slow gloopy 45 second pour at the moment, and have been for about 8 weeks, with my Atom and Lelit pl41temd. Assume our filters have similar size holes (neither being vst or specialist) so woul imagine my grind is at least as fine. No jams. Coffee is self roasted beanbay to just before second crack

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Yelta View Post
                            As a matter of interest Beaninlove, does the Atom have any type of anti clumping mechanism i.e. a mesh or similar that could be impeding the discharge of ground coffee and causing blockages? did a brief search and noted others have had similar experiences.
                            [ATTACH=CONFIG]21745[/ATTACH]
                            They have a screen thing with 2 lightning bolts through it, right at top of the slide down to the portafilter. It looks restrictive!
                            That's why I asked if it was the slide (after the declumper) or the burr area (before the clumper), that was blocking.

                            Maybe try a pipe cleaner up the slide, as that seems to be where you suggest it's blocking up.
                            I personally would clean it every time, surely those stale grinds would be noticeable in the next cups, esp if it's a lot of grinds jammed up in there. No wonder it needs a fine grind
                            I had a look at a cleaning clip on utube, quite involved, but pretty awesome design.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Jackster View Post
                              They have a screen thing with 2 lightning bolts through it, right at top of the slide down to the portafilter. It looks restrictive!
                              That's why I asked if it was the slide (after the declumper) or the burr area (before the clumper), that was blocking.
                              Wonder if it could be removed? first thing I did with the Mini was remove the screen, vast improvement to flow and ease of cleaning.

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