Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

[artman]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Dont forget, only install the shims if you actually need them. And I always wind the knob to fully course before reinstalling the burr, if you have it on fine and push down, maybe thats why its catching?

Cheers

[chevy]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Thanks Artman will try that.

[Hamburglar]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

how many turns is the top nut threaded on by?

About 1.5

[artman]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Thanks, mine is on by about 1, Phil from breville said it should be ok. Hasnt been a problem yet, have been careful each time tightening the burr back up after a thorough cleaning so not to strip it.

Cheers

[Bames]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Thanks artman, good thoughts.
Yeah I dont have any shims installed, it grinds fine enough out of the box. I usually grind between about 3 and 5 up from the finest setting. Im pretty sure Im noticing the wearing on the burr get slowly more over time as Im watching it, but will continue to look closely. Maybe a sponsor with a bit more knowledge, or Phil McKnight or Dave Gubbin could share thoughts on the marks?

[mtm]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

My friend bought me this grinder and its gorrrrrgeous! However, I think that the optimum grind is on the very end of the range so I will ask for a shim kit.

[MichaelP]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Just thought Id add my experience. I recently got this grinder and out of the box it easily ground fine enough to choke my EM6910 - though I havent checked what shims are installed. Im using it at about 3 or 4 notches from the finest setting and getting 30 sec extractions when I manage to tamp right. I really like the dosing feature because it seems to get reasonably consistent results and wastes very little coffee. All in all a great buy I would say.

[mgrobins]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Hi,

I am looking for a grinder to replace a sunbeam EM480.

My criteria are basically consistent grind quality for espresso, grind on demand with very little retained grinds, and clean delivery.

How does the Breville fair and what others would fit my needs? My machine is a GIotto Premium Plus.

[artman]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

The Breville has almost no mess, and the mess it makes is easily cleaned via the removable tray. Towards the fine grind settings it clumps the grinds a bit but nothing major. You can set the dose so its output is consistent. It doesnt look like it retains much grinds, the grind path is quite short, but I have not tested this myself to get the exact grams retained (has anyone done this). Its also fairly quiet.

The consensus seems to be the next level of grinder is something like the K3, which is 2 to 3 times the price.

I have been very happy with mine.

Cheers

[mgrobins]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Thanks Artman, I had been looking at the Compak K3 which seems nice but is about $600.

Be interested to know how the 2 compare.

is there a good comparison with the em480 that anyone can link to?

[artman]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Not sure about comparisons to the em480, but I would think the Breville would be better for not much more $.

Re K3 cs smart grinder, one CSer (cant recall who - try doing a search) has both and posted he prefers the smart. Others say they get a better taste out of the K3?

It would be nice to have them side by side and compare tastes. Can anyone share their experience on this?

I got the Breville on a spur of the moment, and especially as its substantially cheaper than the K3. I think if I upgrade in the future, I would get the next level above the K3, something like the Macap M4D, and hopefully get a decent magnitude in improved grind quality and corresponding taste etc.

Cheers

[iggs]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Re K3 cs smart grinder, one CSer (cant recall who - try doing a search) has both and posted he prefers the smart. Others say they get a better taste out of the K3?

I think that would be "Rusty"?

[pinballer]

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?

Yes the bottom burr should spin clockwise the leading fine knife edges cut against the removable burrs knife edges.
I also have the marking on my removable burr, it was there the first time I cleaned it, only a few days after I started using it, not sure what caused it??? or if it was there when I purchased the machine but doesnt seem to effect performance

[Dimal]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Perhaps a small piece of swarf from the machining process during manufacture....

From the photos above, it definitely seem to have occurred after assembly. Might be worth raising with Phil McKnight...

Mal.

[mgrobins]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

hmmm.... very close to making a buy on one of these.

Features are very handy and from what I read it will retain less grinds than my sunbeam so less overall wastage at home.

Any comments on noise? (the em480 is pretty loud I think).

I guess the unknown is how much difference in the cup I will see. Bit of a blind leap but the reviews of this suggest it is batting above its weight.