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Wildy Inconsistent shots from Older Gaggia Classic

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  • Wildy Inconsistent shots from Older Gaggia Classic

    Hey Guys,

    After getting my Gaggia Classic cheap from a family member have been working on restoring and modding it, but I seem to be running into some issues trying to get a consistent shot.

    Coffee Machine: Gaggia Classic w/PID & 18g VST Basket

    Grinder: Sunbeam EM0480

    No matter what I do I cannot replicate the same weight for Grams Out no matter what, not even anywhere near close. Thoughts on what I may be doing wrong or what could be happening?


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    Shot Video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2Qk6QQfceyg6LsRS9


    Thanks for reading!

  • #2
    During 20 year affair with a Classic I found that I needed to dose 20.5 grams in a standard double basket.
    I’m not a VST fan and I could never get it to do great shots with light roasts.

    Comment


    • #3
      Welcome to Coffee Snobs Kleggy.

      I'm no fan of VST baskets, found them to be more trouble than they are worth, on the other hand I have found Espresso Parts baskets to be excellent, easy to use and very consistent, I use a 14 t0 18 gram, available online from Talk Coffee in Northcote Victoria.
      Good luck.🙂

      Comment


      • amberale
        amberale commented
        Editing a comment
        Do you use that basket in a Gaggia Classic Yelta?
        I really had no luck with standard dosing in my Classic, I just got gushers.
        I didn’t mind for 15 years or so until I made a naked portafilter holder.

      • Yelta
        Yelta commented
        Editing a comment
        No I don't Amberdale, have used them in a Silvia and a Bezzera machine, could never get the results I wanted, changed to EP basket and see no reason to look further.

    • #4
      Thanks for the reply amberale.

      Might be worth going back to the stock baskets and see how i go!

      I'll keep you updated.


      ​​​​​​ALSO: What can you expect out of these little machines in quality of espresso. Is there much of a point upgrading these heaps, where do you draw the line before wanting more? Or would a grinder upgrade yeild better results once some consistency is reached with current setup?

      Comment


      • Yelta
        Yelta commented
        Editing a comment
        The Gaggia seems to have a pretty good reputation.

    • #5
      VST baskets really require a very fine grind and good particle distribution. My thought would be the grinder is not up to the task, I had similar issues on Gaggia Classic with a Breville BCG450 grinder which improved out of sight with a better grinder. Do you have a friend or a family member with a grinder you could borrow? Anything next step up like Eureka Mignon, Macap, Mazzer, Compak K3 would confirm if the grinder is the problem.

      Comment


      • amberale
        amberale commented
        Editing a comment
        Hey Rooster, I agree up to a point on the grinder.
        I had the same grinder as Kleggy for about ten years and got good to very good coffee dependant on the quality of the beans I put through it.
        I eventually upgraded to a Silenzio a bit over a year ago and that was a significant improvement.
        I had fitted my classic with a SS shower plate holder.
        This had 4 holes in it instead of the stock 2 holes.
        If I used a lower dose then I found the puck had four matching holes/divots in the top and I would get channelling.
        Dosing by the 5cent mode made it worse and I tried a multitude of different grinds.
        Upping the dose fixed that, gave me a good 1:2 25-30sec pour and a balanced espresso.
        I didn’t try putting an aeropress paper filter under/over the puck and that might help.

        The Classic is capable of very good espresso shots.
        Its mains downsides from my point of view are poor steam volume, finicky temperature management without a PID and noisy pump.
        My niece has inherited my old one and is loving it.

    • #6
      Another thing to check is the vibration pump - it sounds a bit off in the video (changing pitch, etc). I had one go on me a few years ago and it was the pressure being inconsistent (and generally being lower than it had been) that was the symptom (it was on a different machine with a pressure gauge).

      Comment


      • amberale
        amberale commented
        Editing a comment
        Could be.
        Easy peasy to replace and cheap to buy.
        I’ve got an old used spare in a drawer somewhere if Kleggy or anyone else wants it.

      • Yelta
        Yelta commented
        Editing a comment
        Could well be the case.

    • #7
      Thats what i was leaning to as perhaps the main issue, along with perhaps the finicky Basket.

      Does anyone have one of the Group Head Mounted Pressure Gauge's i could borrow and return like they do on some of the UK Forums? Check my pressure, set to 9Bar?

      Comment


      • Barry O'Speedwagon
        Barry O'Speedwagon commented
        Editing a comment
        I suspect that you are right. I presume that you are using reasonably freshly roasted beans?

        There used to pressure gauge doing the rounds but haven't heard of it for some time.

    • #8
      Where are you located Kleggy?
      PM me if you like.

      Comment


      • #9
        Kleggy there is a great Gaggia Classic group on facebook. I posted on there when I needed a pressure gauge (based in Perth, Australia) and was able to borrow one very easily.

        Comment

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