Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

[MvO]

I'm shimmed to the max and still find that it's not fine enough for my 18g VST for Swiss water decaf beans. Anyone else have this issue?

I bought a smart grinder for mum, shimmed it to the max (2 packs of shims) and still not fine enough for decaf... I took it back to Harvey Norman who (very) reluctantly refunded. I then bought mum a sunbeam burr grinder for half the price. Works a treat without shimming!

[RaymondParker]

I bought a smart grinder for mum, shimmed it to the max (2 packs of shims) and still not fine enough for decaf... I took it back to Harvey Norman who (very) reluctantly refunded. I then bought mum a sunbeam burr grinder for half the price. Works a treat without shimming!

Please share the kind of beans you could not grind properly.
I bet, these were (most probably stale or "el cheapo") not from a local roaster - did I win?

[Stimi]

Just unpacked my BES900 & BCG800 (Best 30th Birthday present EVER), set it all up, had a play and pulled a VERY satisfying shot on my third go! 33sec extraction and im excited! I am using some SUPER fresh and SUPER tasty beans from a local roaster!!

Thank you to everyone at CoffeeSnobs for producing these awesome forums (and the quirky vidoes on Youtube), that really helped in my decision making process. I am SO mega happy with these machines and would recommend to anyone passionate about manually making coffee from home

[Barry_Duncan]

Happy birthday Stimi.

I hope that you will enjoy your presents for a long time.

I have had a good run with my 800 and 900 for 15 months.

Barry

[RaymondParker]

I have had a good run with my 800 and 900 for 15 months.

Barry

How many shots did you draw in total?
(hint: press all 5 buttons "menu, up, down, exit and power at the same time and multiply the figure shown with 10)
How many times has the 900 asked you for a leaning in that 15 months?
Ray

[Barry_Duncan]

My meter shows 409 or 4,090 shots. I think that includes cleaning shots over 5 seconds.

My Smart Grinder continues to give me great results with one extra shim added.

Barry

[WiredArabica]

Nice. I think I've only pulled about 500 or so... some catching up to do!

[RaymondParker]

how often did the machine come up with the "clean me" warning?

[WiredArabica]

Oh it has only prompted me once, but I've manually run it a couple of times for various diagnostic purposes.

[anthony]

Hi Coffee Fans, I've had a Bezerra BZ99S (their 'biggest' model without water plumbing) for about 15 years, and still love it. I also have an Emide grinder (KM51/020) I bought about 25 years ago that still works! (Though I can't recommend it compared to the new grinders). I bought 2 DeLonghi KG100 grinders, one and 3 years ago. The 1st was good for a while, the 2nd never did espresso grind. Now the 1st is just as bad. Never again! I wrote to DeLonghi twice, but no reply. I tried following tech instructions then taking it to an 'authorised dealer'. All no good. So new grinders time! I want to buy BCG-800s, but it's frustrating to know they've been on sale for less than $190, but best is about $225 now. Does anyone know where one can buy them for sub $200 each, or when they're likely to be on sale again? I'm more of a 'coffee lover' than a 'purist' but I'm loving and learning from these forums!

[mellcrystal]

Hi. I bought a bes900 and the bcg800 about 6 or 7 months ago. It is my first espresso machine and grinder.
As I'm new at espresso making, I've only just realized after use and reading on coffee snobs forum that my grinder does not grind fine enough.
I ordered the shim kit and went to install it, but when I took the burrs out I noticed it already has 4 shims installed.
So I only put one more in, because if I put more the nut won't do up.
But now the machine makes a noise that gets louder the finer I turn the knob, and I really don't want to break the grinder.
I looked on the bottom for the stamp, and it is 1029, which i think is an early machine.
Am I going to damage the grinder by using it when it makes that noise?
How do I get it to grind fine enough if I can't get the nut done up with the shims in there?

[Barry_Duncan]

Mellchristal,

I suggest that you contact Breville. I think you need your grinder to be replaced under warranty.

Barry

[water_dragon]

how often did the machine come up with the "clean me" warning?

Well I have used about 12kilo's of coffee and have never seen it, maybe because I switch the power off at the wall. I have aked this ? before in the dual boiler thread but have never had an answer.

[specialpants]

Well I have used about 12kilo's of coffee and have never seen it, maybe because I switch the power off at the wall. I have aked this ? before in the dual boiler thread but have never had an answer.

You only see it while the machine is warming up.

[water_dragon]

You only see it while the machine is warming up.

Hi special pants are you sure about this as i still do not see it