Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

[artman]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Ok, measured my shims, they total 2.48mm (measured with micrometer). The nut is screwed on by just less than 1 full turn (still have the spring washer in place).

I had a look at the top burr, you can pop it out of its plastic holder but the tabs hold the burr in tight, so one would need to modify the tabs somehow to fit a shim in between the top of the top burr and the bottom of its plastic holder.

Cheers

[lemoo]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

hmm, is it true that breville have redesigned the burs for the BCG so that now they do not need shim kits to grind fine enough?

if so, will the burs be available for purchase?

[Zaneus]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Im not sure exactly what they redesigned, may have been the burrs themselves or the burr carriers. But yes the new stock doesnt need shims. If its as simple as a burr change then you should be able to grab a new set like you would any other replacement set of burrs.

[Gnat]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Well a friend recently bought a Smart Grinder, grinds just fine for my machine out of the box (my grinder has been shimmed). I opened it up out of curiosity, and it had shipped with the extra shims pre-installed.

So not sure if Breville has redesigned the burrs yet, or started shipping them with extra shims as an interim solution.

[Zaneus]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Mine grinds fine enough and has no shims, so they are definitely in rotation.

[malfi66]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Hi Guys

Ive had a smart grinder for about 4 months now. Done the whole shim thing. It went well for a few months. Unfortunately now I cant grind fine enough (for espresso on my Bexxera BZ90) before it stalls with the ratchet sound, which I presume is a type of clutch. Ive cleaned it out totally, tried new beans (albeit the same source) with the same problem remaining. Cant find the receipt to get a refund as I got it with frequent flyer points. It sounds like a few others are having the same issue.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

[Gnat]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Does it stall without you putting any beans in? If so, the burrs are probably touching/grinding against each other. I dont think there is any way to get it to grind finer if the burrs are already touching, more shims certainly wont help.

[malfi66]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

No, it runs fine without the beans. Im cautious to start coarse and work to the fine setting required.

[Gnat]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Im out of ideas then. Perhaps run it empty, then throw a few beans in at a time? If it stops with just a few then youve got a problem with it.
Can you get some beans off a friend to try as well? Any beans will do, just to get it to grind something.

[dski]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Ive had a smart grinder for about 4 months now. Done the whole shim thing. It went well for a few months. Unfortunately now I cant grind fine enough (for espresso on my Bexxera BZ90) before it stalls with the ratchet sound, which I presume is a type of clutch.

Same story with mine exactly. It goes ok if I put in a few beans at a time, but more than that and I get the ratchet sound of doooom.

I think ill try and exchange it for a fixed newer model, if indeed there is such a thing, and its not just a shim fix... (which I have already done)

:-? :-? :-?

[richard_m_h]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

out of interest what beans are you grinding and how fresh are they? only problem Ive had was with old beans.

[dski]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

out of interest what beans are you grinding and how fresh are they? only problem Ive had was with old beans.

My problems started when grinding beans within a few days of roasting, as it was all I had.

Some Tanzanian (I think those are hard?) and some Monsoon Malabar (which I could not get fine enough).

Ive not used any beans in that grinder older than 2 weeks or so - none from the supermarket.

[Bames]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

After you get the ratchet sound, I highly recommend taking the top and bottom burrs out and putting them back in. The ratchetting can sometimes push the burrs out of alignment and cause very uneven grinding.

[mgrobins]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

I bought a BCG800 last week (arrived Friday).

The lower burr is striking against the fine teeth on the upper burr. This is at a setting of approx 1/2 (maybe under the E on the espresso stenciling).

I checked the burs physically before operation for the first time and tried it at coarse settings without coffee.

Testing with some fresh coffee just below where I hear metal-on-metal yields a very coarse grind so its not due to the burs being set too close together.

The rubbing metal-on-metal sound pulses which makes me wonder if the burr is not perfectly round or the motor not aligned correctly?? Some suggestions in the thread mention the possibility of swarf from manufacture. Not sure myself but its an annoying sound and definitely not right.

I removed the bottom burr and there are no shims in place.

I know some folks here on coffee snobs have had the same issue and was hopeful you could provide assistance.


I already have one bcg800 at home that works perfectly.

I have installed a shim kit on the first to allow it to grind appropriately for my Giotto.

Haev pmd Dave from Breville and will share more if I can work out exactly what is causing it.

[Dannok]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

[smiley=happy.gif] bought my BDB and BSG last week super excited to be making good espresso at home but alas I had a grinder that needed a shim kit fast forward to today my shim kit is now installed (1.0 + 0.4 + 0.1) but cant get fine enough without the grinder choking [smiley=sad.gif]

using fresh beans from local roaster and im pulling super fast ~10 sec shots on one setting click it down a two notches and I get the dreaded racheting sound. pulled it apart a few times and cleaned it out properly helped a little then it chokes... so devo staring at the $1800 worth of equipment sitting on the bench for over a week and unable to use it.

what are my chances of returning or exchanging at a major for this issue????