Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

[artman]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

I generally dose double, tap, dose single, tap, distribute flat then tamp. This generally gives a slightly donut extraction, ie flow starts on perimiter intially. Using the WDT gives slightly more even extraction. Still playing with dose/grind settings to try and nail it.

Having said that, all shots I have pulled have been yummy, even the non perfect ones.

I now always use a naked PF, its great to analyse your technique, easy to spot any errors and most importantly, very easy clean up.

Cheers

[pcrussell50]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

ripper! you guys know about WDT? i was afraid it was just a yank thing. i used to do it when i had a grinder with a similar burr set to the smartie. now with the vario, its pretty much not necessary. might end up with a smartie myself as a backup grinder here soon. thats why i ask.

-peter

[Zaneus]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

We arent out of the loop here in australia . I generally grind into the bin supplied with the breville and while thats grinding i dry the basket and tare it out on my scales.

Then i give the bin with the finish grinds a shake to break up most of the clumps and dump it into the basket. From there ill weigh it and see if i need to add any more coffee or pinch any out. (If i need to add i just grind right into the basket)

Then i use the WDT and create a convex shape in the basket. i then collapse the basket with one knock on the bench top. one light tamp to get everything nice and level, then one hard tamp.

then brew!

Usually results in a very even extraction that tastes great.

[pcrussell50]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

you guys out of the loop? not hardly. with the breville dual boiler, you guys built the loop

-peter

[Bames]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

I have noticed 2 things with my smart grinder that I thought seemed strange...
1. The fixed, cone shaped burr and the little grey thing that spins around under the burr to push the grinds out the chute spins clockwise, as per the red arrow on the diagram... is that the way its supposed to spin?
2. The (more easily) removable, circle shaped burr has what seems to be an indent / wear mark / evidence of rubbing or touching against the other burr. It goes the whole way around it, and can be seen in the photo. Is this normal, or is this a sign that something is not aligned properly and damaging / already damaged / dulled / worn the burr?
Any thoughts?

[artman]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

My top burr has developed the same marking, I noticed last time I took it off for cleaning. Wasnt there for the first kilo or two of coffee.

Looks like something scored it lightly, not sure what it could be?

Seems to have made no difference to the grind though, as far as I can tell at the moment.

Cheers

[Dimal]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Hi guys...

A small, hard stone no doubt or even worse, a small piece of iron/steel. I always run a small powerful magnet through my beans before using, just to be safe.

Much more difficult with stones though, youd need to sort through the beans manually or maybe acquire a small mesh screen that will allow the smaller stones to pass through...

Mal.

[artman]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Thanks Mal, makes sense. And great idea re the magnet. I have been thinking about making a destoner or something else to get rid of any nasties after home roasting, must do this and perhaps incorporate sieve and magnets.

Maybe I have just been lucky (touch wood), but in the few years of roasting, I have not noticed any obvious foreign things in the beans. Do (larger) stones get "ground" or do they stall/break grinders? ie is it easy to spot you have just incorporated a stone while grinding?

Cheers

[Bames]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Ive never seen anything like a stone or piece of metal come through the grinder, and I pay close attention to what comes out. Also the mark is a very uniform line that is perfectly paralell to the bottom and runs the whole way round the burr, so looks more like it was made by something stationary like the other burr, rather than something moving like a stone or bit of metal.

[Bames]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Sorry my reply seemed far more blunt and disagreeable than I meant it to! Thanks for the thoughts!

[artman]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Yeah, makes sense. My mark is parallel and consistent throughout the circumference of the top burr. Its almost like the bottom burr had a minute projection and the burrs touched momentarily while the grinder was operating?

I have not seen anything weird come out of the chute either since I started roasting, but I am not sure if I would notice (eg ground stone) come out, or if it looks like coffee? I have seen pics posted here of stones discovered in beans, and they sometimes look nearly exactly like beans, almost impossible to spot!!

Cheers

[Barry_Duncan]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

I now use a Smart Grinder.

An old Solis grinder I have is equipped with a friction clutch to protect the motor and burrs etc against stone damage. I once had a stone in it with no damage. Just a lot of noise.

I dont know what other grinders have this protection.

While home roasting, I have twice found a small stone while cooling the beans in a single layer on baking trays. While cooling I have a good chance to look at the beans and remove stones.

Luckily these didn’t get as far as my grinder.

Barry

[Hamburglar]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Mine has the same mark on the top burrs. No idea what caused it.

I finally got the chance to try grinding for espresso. It definitely grinds fine enough. On the finest setting it was instant chokeage. Dialled in its near the middle of the espresso range. FWIW mine came out of the box with 5 shims installed, a smidgeon over 2mm total.

Jordan

[artman]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

I had to shim mine up to 5 washers to get it to grind fine enough. Out of curiosity, how many turns is the top nut threaded on by?

Cheers

[chevy]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Just checked my grinder and found the same marks. I dont have any shims installed but have ordered a kit from Breville.
Also noticed for the first time that as I replaced the top burrs and turned to lock them I could feel them catch or rub slightly against the bottom ones... now I am a bit worried!