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Help Rancilio Rocky - Making weird noises

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  • #16
    Re: Help Rancilio Rocky - Making weird noises

    Originally posted by 73686D6836070 link=1234006135/13#13 date=1234073370
    RandyG

    I am not going to pursue that matter.

    However I have just perused your web site - what a truly encyclopaedic work, most impressive. Particularly as you have followed the path I am considering - from Rancilio to Vibiemme Domobar Super lever and your review is most timely.

    Cheers
    Thank you for the kind words in regards to my website. As you must have noticed, there are no banners nor sponsors, so it makes me no money directly, so it is comments such as yours that keep me motivated. Fortunately, the website has led me to other opportunities where I make enough to keep me in coffee and harmonicas.

    I was not aware that Rancilio switched to a momentary switch on the Rocky. I would assume that this feature is just on the doserless model (which I would not own).

    If you have any questions on the Vibiemme DS please ask, either here in a new thread, or feel free to contact me by E-Mail as I would be glad to answer any question I can.

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: Help Rancilio Rocky - Making weird noises

      Tojo - having operated a Rocky for some years now I can safely say that the best way to adjust it, and to place less stress on the motor is to adjust when the machine is running - and to get rid of that ridiculous adjustment screw. It might be wise to listen to those with a considerable amount of experience of this machine - ie those who have posted above. I jammed my Rocky early on by following their directions...never again.... In fact there were some other very odd things in their directions from memory.

      To give you another example I have a 95 model FAEMA Due 2 group volumetric - serious commercial machine which makes amazing coffee. I could quote several utterly bizzare things in their manual which show that despite their machine making ability they seem to not understand some aspects of good coffee making.

      Cheers

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      • #18
        Re: Help Rancilio Rocky - Making weird noises

        Originally posted by 56434A5A564D4D390 link=1234006135/16#16 date=1234128976
        I jammed my Rocky early on by following their directions...never again....  In fact there were some other very odd things in their directions from memory.

        To give you another example I have a 95 model FAEMA Due 2 group volumetric - serious commercial machine which makes amazing coffee.  I could quote several utterly bizzare things in their manual which show that despite their machine making ability they seem to not understand some aspects of good coffee making.

        Cheers
        Sounds like something is getting lost in the translation Oz.... ;D

        I also owned a Rocky for several years too and like a lot of the (previous) owners above, I also removed the "Stop Screw" and never changed the grind without the motor running. Probably not a big issue if you want to go coarser but certainly can cause all sorts of problems when you need to go finer.

        Also, you cant really cause any damage to the burr-plates if they touch lightly since the individual plates have a narrow flat section ground and polished around the periphery and it is these surfaces that touch, not the cutting edges themselves. This holds true for most quality grinders.... You can see what I mean in the photo below -



        Mal.

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        • #19
          Re: Help Rancilio Rocky - Making weird noises

          - probably right Mal...its not as bad as Chinglish though! Cheers

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          • #20
            OK, so my Rocky has just started making the same noises and vibrations. I cleaned the burrs etc, but really feels like the motor armature or similar is hitting something. So I was thinking a bearing maybe before I found this thread. But there doesn't seem to be a result here. Does anyone know the outcome for Gotrec and what the cause was? And yes I realise it was 5 years ago. But it seems a few people have had this issue.
            Last edited by peter296; 13 December 2014, 04:28 PM.

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            • #21
              Welcome Peter...

              How old is your Rocky mate, out of interest?

              Of course, bearings can and do fail unexpectedly from time to time, so it might still be a bearing issue. Have you disassembled Rocky so that you can gain access to the rotating burr ass'y? Would be worth doing so that you can inspect whether there is any side-play or excessive end-play. You could also run the motor briefly at this time, so that you can see whether there is any run-out apparent, either axially or laterally.

              It could also be as simple as, just a bit of debris that's caught up in a burr-plate somehow. Won't know until you you pull it apart...

              Mal.

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              • #22
                Yes, and to put it another way, if it were mine I would simply remove the top plate mount (adjuster ring) complete (ie no need to remove the plates off their mountings), and check for excess movement in the bottom plate mount/shaft and if it spins well by hand (plug out of wall of course). If that is ok, without doing any damage to my fingers (ie keep them well away from the action), I would start it up and see what happens.

                It should be quiet and smooth and fuss free. If it isnt (an any of the above counts), it would be incredibly unusual (they are bomb proof), and I am afraid it would be for a service.

                Edit: has a plate mounting screw come loose?

                Note, we wouldnt know what is meant by quote " ...my Rocky has just started making the same noises and vibrations..." because the link in the OP's first post does not work (for me).

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                • #23
                  My Rocky is just over 4 years old but I bought it from one of the Melb dealers as a warranty repair with a new motor and "as new".
                  It gets used once a day on weekdays and more on weekends and holidays.
                  Yes it is a shame the OPs video has gone. Basically a few days ago it started to randomly vibrate and jump a bit like a rock or something was in the hopper. Changing the grind had no effect and today I pulled the top burr out & cleaned it all. I did spin it by hand and all felt OK, didn't notice any wobble. Put it all back together, ground some new beans and it did a couple of jumps. That's when I started searching, found this thread that sounded identical. Also found some other posts elsewhere with similar issues. But no one seemed to have come back to say how they fixed it. Although I did find someone in America who replaced the actual bearing in bottom of motor.

                  The screws on the burrs were all very tight as I tried to undo them but decided they were too tight.

                  Anyway, tonight ground some more beans and no problem at all. Will see how it goes tomorrow. Funny you mentioned the screws holding the motor, as one of them seemed to be stripped when I pulled it apart a couple of months ago to tighten the nut on the portafilter holder as it had vibrated loose. I will check it and use some thread locker to hold it secure.

                  I'll also try turning it on without the top plate.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    G'day again Peter...

                    Perhaps that errant motor mounting screw has come slightly adrift again. Might be worth checking anyway. Agree with TOK, the Rocky is probably even tougher than the proverbial brick out-house and also very simple in construction (as most decent quality grinders tend to be). There's not a lot to go wrong with them and providing you observe safe work procedures when troubleshooting them, you should be able to isolate what is causing the problem.

                    Vibration and noise coming from a rotating assembly usually indicates that something has become out of balance for one or more reasons and there aren't too many causes of that, mostly all identified above. I think if you slowly but surely work your way through these, starting with the easiest things to do first, you will ultimately identify what the cause is. By the way, when attempting to loosen screws on a burr carrier, you usually have to loosen in the opposite direction of rotation. In the case of the Rocky, I think it rotates in a CCW direction so that means you will need turn the burr-plate screws in a CW direction to loosen them.

                    All the best,
                    Mal.

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                    • #25
                      problem gone away?

                      Just to update people, since I posted here the problem has not recurred. However, I did notice once when my finger slipped off the power switch it had the same effect.
                      So now I am wondering if that was the actual issue to begin with - the power switch or possibly operator error of the switch. I am using the doserless version with the switch you have to hold on to grind. Maybe my finger slipped a bit to one side and the power was pulsing causing the motor to stop/start. However after a few years of use, it is strange that I would only start not pressing it hard enough etc. But in any case, if the fault is no longer there, it is pretty hard to diagnose it further.
                      If it comes back, I'll update further.
                      Thanks for the advice. Great forum.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        I've had a Rocky for about 4-5 years and have had the same problem. Mine is the doser version (which has a simple on/off rocker switch) so I'd be surprised if this is a switch problem as speculated above. Mine doesn't do it all the time but it does it fairly consistently, although it doesn't seem to affect the grinding at all.

                        Anyway, I've just upgraded to a Mazzer Mini and was considering selling the Rocky. I gave it a good clean out yesterday and after doing so, with no beans or left-over grounds in it, the vibration was still evident and adjusting the grind coarseness had no effect.

                        So my Rocky has gone into a box and I am considering just giving it away. I don't think I can sell it with this obvious flaw.

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                        • #27
                          Hi all, have sought lots of useful info on coffeesnobs over the years, so thanks to the community.

                          Have a Rocky problem. It's about 7years old, 2-3 coffee/day. Past few months ha intermittently been jumping as though something getting stuck in the burrs, but never anything in there and the grinder just keeps functioning as needed. Yesterday it started surging with power and not having enough juice to even grind, motor going but can't grind. Taken apart, cleared, vacuumed out and even without the top plate/burr in, still does this surge albeit to a lesser extent. Bottom plate spins freely by hand, really seems a motor issue.

                          Can an sort of sense it from this video, but it's not bad because there's no resistance. Any help guidance, or breaking of bad news welcome.

                          Thanks

                          https://youtu.be/ySKJHcUiBFw

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                          • #28
                            Sounds like the Start/Run capacitor is cactus...

                            Is easy (and cheap) enough to acquire a suitable replacement but I would recommend leaving it up to a licensed sparky to do this for you.

                            Mal.

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                            • #29
                              Now in a phase of it functioning again. Will keep this in mind and maybe take it to a repair person. Anyone got any recommendations for good repairer in Melbourne, north side?

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                              • #30
                                Hi again. My Rocky’s issues have resurfaced after it seemed to self correct a while back. Check video. Been going this for 6months, it will often kick over on second or third flick, sometimes not st all and only way to get it to is to open up the burrs (decrease the load?) so I’m guessing it’s the capacitor not delivering the power sure to start the motor?

                                do I need a rancilio replacement or can use generic? It’s a DUCATI one in there I think ...

                                https://youtu.be/XeCuFsZtRVM

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