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Originally posted by 2205010E2D0F0E0B0519600 link=1261793211/7#7 date=1262142085
Originally posted by 1F123C2739550 link=1261793211/5#5 date=1262130679
* Reducing the dose (so about 1mm of the steel on the side of the tamper remains above the side of the group handle when the tamping is complete
[cough] Umm, I think that should be 5mm. The screen on that monkey sits deep in the basket, so you must allow room for it, otherwise you will get leaks coming out of the seal.
No BM, she has it right; less metal showing above the basket means a lower dose.
Also, that grinder tends to hold a fair bit of grind between the burr and the shoot, so when youre trying a different grind setting, youll need to flush the the grind inside. Fustrating to see all that coffee going to waste, but unfortunately needed to be done.
As the others may have mentioned. Be consistant with your tamping and dosing. Before you go and change your grind setting, think about the shot you just made. Ask yourself, "Did I tamp or dose any different than usual?" If you did, then re-do the shot to see if you really need to change the grind setting.
Hi there - ive been using the same combo for a month (an early present from santa). For most of the fresh medium roasted beans weve been buying the right grind on our machine is 14-16.
We did have the water leaking problems initially and the things we did to stop this happening were:
* Ensuring the machine is level on the bench (we thought it was but a spirit level disagreed)
* Using a tamper mat to make it easier to ensure that the tamp is level
* Reducing the dose (so about 1mm of the steel on the side of the tamper remains above the side of the group handle when the tamping is complete)
* Tamping a little firmer (10-15kg pressure) - i measured my first few attempts with scales and was only applying about 7kg - turns out Im weaker than i thought!
* Heating the group handle and baskets in the machine when you start it up (dont forget to dry the condensation out of it before filling with coffee!)
Having said all of that weve also only been using the double basket so it could all go sideways when we attempt to use the single.
Also - the DVD that comes with the machine is pretty good if you havent watched it yet.
Originally posted by 1824392228293E2B23284C0 link=1261793211/3#3 date=1261802264
When adjusting the grind dont make big jumps in the numbers.
One at a time.
...and in my experience, the setting will need changing depending on how full the hopper is. Also, dont change the settings after 1 single grind as there is a "lag" after each change.
And use the double basket.
Its more forgiving.
Once youve learned with the double basket and fresh beans youll eventually be ready to try the single basket again.
When adjusting the grind dont make big jumps in the numbers.
One at a time.
The Instruction book says 12-16.
Start at 14 and adjust up or down (1 at a time) until you reach the right grind.
Be consistent with everything and only change one variable at a time.
Pick a grind number and measure the same amount of coffee each time as you explore the grind settings.
If you think you are close but need say 14.5 on the dial (which you cant get), then you can adjust the amount of coffee.
Remember that more coffee is like grinding finer and less coffee is like grinding courser (its all to do with the amount of resistance the coffee gives to the water flow).
Assuming that you are using fresh beans (NOT FROM THE SUPERMARKET) that were roasted within the last 1 - 3 weeks, it sounds like the grind is too fine and you may need to reset your seal.
To reseat the seal -
With a small phillips head screwdriver, undo the screw that holds the shower screen in place and gently wedge it out. The two screens and the seal should come out fairly simply without much force at all. Check the seal for tears / rips. If no tears etc, replace everything in the order that you got it out doing the screw up until tightish (no need to put too much effort into it so long as its secure).
With the grinder -
Take the grinder all the way to the top (25?) and see what happens. All the 480s are quite different and operate at various ends of the scale for a decent extraction.
Start too coarse and go finer, keeping dose / tamp the same until you get to the right point.
You may not need to reseat your seal, try adjusting the grinder first
Originally posted by 312A2728211B2E2D29440 link=1261793211/0#0 date=1261793211
Hello all. Ive been lurking and reading here for over a year now and have enjoyed learning before buying. Sadly the buying part so far has meen less satisfying that I had hoped!
[edit]That is the fun part... After a year, you should know that it is often a rocky road. [/edit]
Santa (wife) brought me this combo, and I have been using the machine without the grinder successfully for the last week (I negotiated use of the machine pre-Christmas but had to wait for the grinder!). At that time I had been using pre-ground supermarket coffee with the double-floor double shot basket, without any problems whatsoever. I would fill the basket, smooth it, tamp relatively firmly until I had approx. 3mm clearance for the shower screen.
[edit]All fake and will disadvantage you when it comes to real coffee...[/edit]
Today though I have started witht he grinder and I cant get a coffee shot without water leaking out the group head.
[edit]Choking = Fine grind / overdosing and over tamping[/edit]
I set the grinder to 10 (outside of Sunbeams espresso range, I know, but I had read that the 0480 commonly undergrinds), switched to the single floor basket, and the coffee came out of the grinder extremely lumpy. I applied the same tamp pressure as I did before, it didnt compress much further. First shot the pressure gauge went off the charts, a small amount of water came through the spout, more out of the collar. The puck when tapped out was solid.
[edit]See comment above... Different beans = different grind and dose and tamp.. [/edit]
I repeated with grind at 13, filling the coffee container, using a spoon to eliminate the lumps (which were fewer this time but still over half the coffee was in lumps). Filled the basket, leveled, tamped the same pressure. The coffee compressed to past the metal part of the tamper. Same extraction problem. The puck would not come out readily, I had to use a knife to scrape it out, it was like a paste. Part was still stick to the shower screen.
[edit]Grind to fine..... Finer that salt but not fine black pepper.. If like flower... TOOOOOO FINE.[/edit]
Finally tried grind at 18. Still lumpy coffee but less than 50% at an estimate. Tamped to a similar level, but used less force, probably around 6kg? This time it actually extracted a shot, but the pressure kept rising and in the latter half of extraction water flowed from around the group head.
[edit]What is ya Sweet Spot as per the EM6910... Do a search and read http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1257241858[/edit]
In terms of grind fineness, at 10 the coffee feels like a fine powder. At 18 it feels finer than table salt, maybe the consistency of sand?
[edit]Too fine.... At 18 to 20 it may be OK... Fill as per the 5 cent piece test... Use teh search feature...[/edit]
Bear in mind before today I had pulled about eight shots from this machine. I have been using the same model at work (with supermarket pre-ground coffee) for about a year now.
Where am I going wrong?
[edit]BEANS... And Assumptions as to ya grinder and Manchine... I think I have posted about 3 times to day about fresh beans.. Ignore the general media and Supermarkets... Read and you will find that many all say the same... But once ya use fresh beans the changer is one of Earth Shattering...[/edit]
Hello all. Ive been lurking and reading here for over a year now and have enjoyed learning before buying. Sadly the buying part so far has meen less satisfying that I had hoped!
Santa (wife) brought me this combo, and I have been using the machine without the grinder successfully for the last week (I negotiated use of the machine pre-Christmas but had to wait for the grinder!). At that time I had been using pre-ground supermarket coffee with the double-floor double shot basket, without any problems whatsoever. I would fill the basket, smooth it, tamp relatively firmly until I had approx. 3mm clearance for the shower screen.
Today though I have started witht he grinder and I cant get a coffee shot without water leaking out the group head.
I set the grinder to 10 (outside of Sunbeams espresso range, I know, but I had read that the 0480 commonly undergrinds), switched to the single floor basket, and the coffee came out of the grinder extremely lumpy. I applied the same tamp pressure as I did before, it didnt compress much further. First shot the pressure gauge went off the charts, a small amount of water came through the spout, more out of the collar. The puck when tapped out was solid.
I repeated with grind at 13, filling the coffee container, using a spoon to eliminate the lumps (which were fewer this time but still over half the coffee was in lumps). Filled the basket, leveled, tamped the same pressure. The coffee compressed to past the metal part of the tamper. Same extraction problem. The puck would not come out readily, I had to use a knife to scrape it out, it was like a paste. Part was still stick to the shower screen.
Finally tried grind at 18. Still lumpy coffee but less than 50% at an estimate. Tamped to a similar level, but used less force, probably around 6kg? This time it actually extracted a shot, but the pressure kept rising and in the latter half of extraction water flowed from around the group head.
In terms of grind fineness, at 10 the coffee feels like a fine powder. At 18 it feels finer than table salt, maybe the consistency of sand?
Bear in mind before today I had pulled about eight shots from this machine. I have been using the same model at work (with supermarket pre-ground coffee) for about a year now.
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