Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

[Ausnadian]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Get a standard double (14-16g) into which you will find you dose more like 18-19g and I suspect you will find that all is well.

Only ever use the silvia double for my mum
Just weighed the basket in my nekkid portafilter, holds 19gms and extracted superbly from my old grinder. But its the Smart Grinder using the same basket that struggles to get fine enough
Thanks for the reply

[TC]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Assuming you have changed the basket, if the grinder will choke a Breville, it will choke a silvia as well- unless there is a problem with one of the machines.

[dabbler]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

I have had one for a couple months, and while it is a nice grinder, I have 3 shims installed (1 fat, 2 slim) and I am still on the finest grind it will go. May have to sell it or trade it for something more suitable. I only drink espresso, with occasional french press, and it is great for the press, just not good for my machine.
What bugs me the most is my grind which is too coarse for my Ms Silvia, chokes my brothers Breville.

Which Breville and basket type ?

Im running Silvia and stock BCG800. Typcially use 18gm basket and get a great result
Im at the end of grind range and waiting on a shim kit but see no rush to shim or upgrade yet as I have to go coarser for some beans/roasts.

[dski]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Ausnadian wrote Today at 8:31am:
I have had one for a couple months, and while it is a nice grinder, I have 3 shims installed (1 fat, 2 slim) and I am still on the finest grind it will go. May have to sell it or trade it for something more suitable. I only drink espresso, with occasional french press, and it is great for the press, just not good for my machine.
What bugs me the most is my grind which is too coarse for my Ms Silvia, chokes my brothers Breville.


Which Breville and basket type ?

Im running Silvia and stock BCG800. Typcially use 18gm basket and get a great result
Im at the end of grind range and waiting on a shim kit but see no rush to shim or upgrade yet as I have to go coarser for some beans/roasts.

I recently bought a Breville Smart Grinder, but I cant get a sufficiently fine grind for my Breville 800ES. Finest setting, overdosed, and packed hard gives a result approaching acceptable.

My brother also has a Silvia, but I have not yet tried the Smart Grinder with it yet.

I previously had a second hand EM0480 which went more than fine enough to choke my machine.

Im waiting for a shim kit from Breville now.

Reportedly, while the grinder clearance tolerances have improved from the initial run of machines, there is still some variation in the finest setting.

[Ausnadian]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Which Breville and basket type ?

He had the old 800ES but has upgraded to the BES860 since, I tested my grind on his 800ES basket was standard Breville double

I recently bought a Breville Smart Grinder, but I cant get a sufficiently fine grind for my Breville 800ES. Finest setting, overdosed, and packed hard gives a result approaching acceptable.

My brother also has a Silvia, but I have not yet tried the Smart Grinder with it yet.

I previously had a second hand EM0480 which went more than fine enough to choke my machine

Soooo similar to my set up, the EM 0480 is my old grinder, and I can walk in a suitable grind at about 12 on the grinder. With my 3 shims and on the finest grind in my Smart Grinder, it flows far to fast. I tried really packing the basket and tamping hard, it gets ok, but still not great, and thats what I want. My wife is complaining of bitter and watery coffees, something that never happened before. I run the two grinders because my wife is a decaf only drinker (after she accidently drank two double shots of mine and kept our baby awake from 8am until 11:30pm.. he was crazy, so was I.

I have tried a 4th Shim, but I get issues with loud, scary noises that no one wants to hear from their grinder, sort of like a rock caught in the burrs. I have cleaned, replaced and tried again several times over.. a few ok shots, then the noise again.

[dski]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

(after she accidently drank two double shots of mine and kept our baby awake from 8am until 11:30pm.. he was crazy, so was I.

Bummer. I have to admit laughing at that one, apologies, must have been some frayed nerves that day. Now I see the necessity of decaf however...

With my 3 shims and on the finest grind in my Smart Grinder, it flows far to fast. I tried really packing the basket and tamping hard, it gets ok, but still not great, and thats what I want. My wife is complaining of bitter and watery coffees, something that never happened before.

I have exactly those results too, with no shim fitted yet - bitter like never before. I know these machines arent expensive in the greater scheme, but I dont think a proper pour time is an unreasonable ask. I get quite good results from my (budget) gear normally.

I have tried a 4th Shim, but I get issues with loud, scary noises that no one wants to hear from their grinder,

Thats not good news. Does the shim mod void the warranty? I would be worried that the grinder teeth are actually touching.

[lemoo]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

the shim kit is from breville
i dont think it would void the warranty at all

check to see that youve placed the shims below the lower burrs

that happened to me when i was putting it in
its a stupid mistake to make and would actually push the burrs further away from each other lol

[Ausnadian]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Thats not good news. Does the shim mod void the warranty? I would be worried that the grinder teeth are actually touching.

Thats my biggest fear, not only would it wear them down super fast, it could throw off the alignment. Breville sent me the shims and were exceptionally fast about it, I emailed the guy who sent them to me today hoping he will respond with some reason or solution to my issue.

I am actually happy with it as a grinder, its reasonably quiet, the individual dosing works well, and my wife loves it for that so she doesnt have to guess the grind amount. If I get this resolved it will be a weight off my shoulders and hopefully some info that I can share to help others.

[dski]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

If I get this resolved it will be a weight off my shoulders and hopefully some info that I can share to help others.

Yeah, exectly. I for one am eager to hear the outcome. I still waiting on a reply re. the shim kit from Breville, but I found them very prompt at supplying me with unpressurised baskets for the 800ES.

Good luck with it Ausnadian.

[dabbler]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Which Breville and basket type ?

He had the old 800ES but has upgraded to the BES860 since, I tested my grind on his 800ES basket was standard Breville double

Hi again Ausnadian,
The standard breville 800es baskets are pressurised. Breville calls these "dual wall" baskets. This is not a size thing (single/double), but the way they are constructed. Its not surprising the breville choked if you were grinding at the limit og the BCG800 if you were using dual wall baskets. See pg13 of grinder manual.

You havent mentioned beans (source/quality/freshness) in this thread (I dont think so anyway). Stale beans would affect your Silvia pours as much as the grinder from my reading of your posts.

[edit]Just read your post re crying over wasting good beans, so ignore my question on bean fitness.[/edit]

[dski]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

I have single walled baskets on my Breville 800ES, and since he is talking about extraction times, assumed that Ausnadian does too?

Our issue is that from factory, the Smart Grinder will not go fine enough to choke the Breville even with up dosing and extra tamping.

I was counting on the shim kit to remedy this, but it seems there is potential for problems.

Seems to be such a great grinder for the price point otherwise.

Mmmmm, Murphy.

[dabbler]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

:

I have single walled baskets on my Breville 800ES, and since he is talking about extraction times,  assumed that Ausnadian does too?

Hi DSKi,
Dont know. Thats why I asked. Guess well have to wait for the reply from Ausnadian.

Our issue is that from factory, the Smart Grinder will not go fine enough to choke the Breville even with up dosing and extra tamping.

I was counting on the shim kit to remedy this, but it seems there is potential for problems.

Ausnadian is talking about a Silvia with fast pours and mentioned a choking 800es by comparison. Another poster has "questioned" this too not just me.

Theres no reason to think a shim kit wont help you. Just know that shims (for all sorts of things) are usually available in varying sizes and used singley or in combination because there is no "one size fit all" solution. Its good to be aware of potential problems but dont assume youll have them too until youve fitted one or more. Without any means to measure tolerances Id be taking it one at a time with shims.

For the record I could nearly choke my 800es and unpressurized double with a modded bcg450 (nearly but not quite).

[dski]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Ausnadian is talking about a Silvia with fast pours and mentioned a choking 800es by comparison. Another poster has "questioned" this too not just me.

Apologies, Ive lost track of who had what.

Theres no reason to think a shim kit wont help you.

Im thinking that it should, its not too far of on the last stop now. Figured I would hold out for the Breville shim kit, which I think has the variety of thicknesses as you refer to.

Thanks for the tip Dabbler.

[dabbler]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

No need for apologies DSKi. These really long threads are hard to track. I wouldnt be surprised if the same topics were covered hundred of posts ago.

Im waiting on my shim kit and keen to see what instructions come with it. (Thats probably been posted too!)

Anyway, I hope it all goes well for you when you decide to shim.

[Ausnadian]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Too much discussion to get lost in here, thats the only certainty!
To sum up my issue, I have the Breville Shim kit, its 3 thin shims and one fat shim (looks to the naked eye about 2.5 - 3 thin shims together.) If I put them all in I get a nasty sound, so I remove one and sure I get a much finer grind than without the shims, but its still NOT fine enough. roughly 14 seconds for the shot, that is too fast.
Forgetting the whole Breville experiment I did with my grinds on my brothers old machine, my pain comes from being between at a point when either way I move, I am worse off. Yet I am not in the place I want to be.
No word from Breville today (just got home from work) so I guess it will be next week.

I cant help but think that each machine may vary in millimetres, which is why some work fine with one shim added, others struggle with all 4