BCG800 grinds getting finer and finer, motor straining

[Daniel]

I've got a Breville BCG800 grinder, about 3 years old. Recently I've noticed the grinds getting finer and finer over a few weeks. After that the motor sounds like it is straining heavily, then I hear a sound like a clutch slipping.

I've pulled it all apart and given it a complete clean. The output port at the top of the vertical output chute seemed to be full of fine grinds and maybe a bit clogged up. Reassembled it all and it grinds ok for about 2 weeks then the problem reappeared. This cycle has repeated itself 3 times.

My thought is that the burrs are probably grinding ok, but the feeding is not aggressive enough, possible because they are worn. I assume after 3 years they would start to wear.

Has anyone else experienced this issue? How did you fix it ? Any other theories?

I'd rather fix it then replace it. I really hate the idea of appliances being disposable. We produce enough waste as it is.

Daniel.

[noidle22]

Usually the gears start to wear and not spin smoothly or spin erratically and this causes strain on the motor. Grinding too fine would indicate that the output gear that the conical burr is attached to is pushing upwards into the outer burr.
The slipping sound is probably uneven gear mesh.

Not much you can do unless you can find a grinder with a dead pcb or worn burrs and swap the gearbox out. The BES860 and BES870 use the same gearbox so if you can find a scrapped one of them you could salvage the grinder out of it.
Breville do not supply replacement parts for these grinders unfortunately.

[Dimal]

G'day Daniel...

Have you noticed any difference(s) on the quality of your coffee, in the cup, or on the way in which it pours? That's always a good indicator of what your grinder may be doing. For example, too many fines in the overall proportion of the dose will make for erratic pour flow rates, and the brew itself will start to taste over-extracted...

I remember some time ago, that a CSer thought about replacing the burr-set in a Breville/Sunbeam grinder but stopped short when he discovered the price being asked for the replacement set; over $100.00 from memory. Given that and the situation that the overall build quality of these grinders is not intended to last for years and years, it might be time to think about replacing the grinder with something that will stand the test of time....

Mal.

[Daniel]

Usually the gears start to wear and not spin smoothly or spin erratically and this causes strain on the motor. Grinding too fine would indicate that the output gear that the conical burr is attached to is pushing upwards into the outer burr.

If that is the case, why does it work well for a while after cleaning?

[noidle22]

If that is the case, why does it work well for a while after cleaning?

Not sure about that. Perhaps getting all the moving parts clean and free of built up oils and contaminant lets it move freely.

When these fail under warranty Breville just replace them and the ones I've seen don't come good after a clean so I don't have a positive answer.

[Daniel]

I'm now thinking it might be the wheel that sits below the bottom burr. It is worn with maybe 2mm clearance between it and the side walls of the grinder. I'm thinking the grounds aren't getting moved out fast enough.