Thanks to the 'Pay it Forward' section of this Forum I have been able to acquire both an EM6910 and an EM0480. Whilst neither of these were in anything near working condition they have proven to be valuable candidates for a 'teardown' and , in the process have given valuable insight into the workings of these machines and also the confidence to tackle repairs on other similar machines. So "thanks" to the people who have taken the effort to make them available rather than dump them.
In an earlier post I described a repair to the grinder which got it working, but I will probably lend it out for reliability testing as I have a Compak K3 which is too nice to not be using,even for a while!
In the process of working on the 0480 I have come across a few ideas which may be a help to anyone else who has one of these or the similar Sunbeam grinders.
First, a couple of photos showing the common places for grinds retention in the 0480 -


From reading a long list of previous posts it seems that many people get around this problem by one of the following means -
1)Banging, tapping or thumping the machine to dislodge them - probably not such a good idea because of the mainly plastic construction and also the possibility of getting grinds into the works and altering the settings.
2)Regularly dis-assembling the machine to clean it out - the dis-advantages of this are that it seems to drastically alter the grind setting and also increases the chances of not getting it back together exactly the same, requiring tedious re-adjustment, and also the increased possibility of damaging something.
3) Brushing and vacuuming can effectively dislodge the buildup at the top of the spout but is inconvenient.
4) A pre-purge before the grind proper is probably the quickest and easiest treatment but wastes coffee and certainly will not dislodge the buildup.
And so the list goes on!
The thought has occurred to me that it may be possible to fill the build-up areas to provide a smooth path out of the grind chamber.
The problem with this is what to use as a filler. Fibreglass filler or knead-able epoxy putty would work but may not be too food-safe. Possibly one option could be neutral cure silicone sealer as it is used for roofs which catch water - any ideas as I would be keen to give it a try.
With regard to dis-assembly, one of the biggest frustrations is getting the safety cutout pin and spring back in place while fitting the cover.
A simple aid is to press a small square of sticky tape on top to temporarily hold it in place-

Once the lid is screwed on remove the tape and press the pin to listen for the switch click to make sure everything is in place and working before going further.
Another idea I have found useful is to use a multi-meter to make sure the burrs are not touching on the finest setting after adding shims. Most meters have a continuity buzzer option on the Ohms setting. By touching a probe to each of the top and bottom burrs it's easy to tell if (when) they touch. It also pays to push the bottom burr sideways to tell if they are getting close. If you don't have enough hands one of the probes can be connected using a short clip lead.
Note - this only works with grinders like the EM0480 which have a plastic mounted top burr and would also not work with ceramic burrs.
In an earlier post I described a repair to the grinder which got it working, but I will probably lend it out for reliability testing as I have a Compak K3 which is too nice to not be using,even for a while!
In the process of working on the 0480 I have come across a few ideas which may be a help to anyone else who has one of these or the similar Sunbeam grinders.
First, a couple of photos showing the common places for grinds retention in the 0480 -
From reading a long list of previous posts it seems that many people get around this problem by one of the following means -
1)Banging, tapping or thumping the machine to dislodge them - probably not such a good idea because of the mainly plastic construction and also the possibility of getting grinds into the works and altering the settings.
2)Regularly dis-assembling the machine to clean it out - the dis-advantages of this are that it seems to drastically alter the grind setting and also increases the chances of not getting it back together exactly the same, requiring tedious re-adjustment, and also the increased possibility of damaging something.
3) Brushing and vacuuming can effectively dislodge the buildup at the top of the spout but is inconvenient.
4) A pre-purge before the grind proper is probably the quickest and easiest treatment but wastes coffee and certainly will not dislodge the buildup.
And so the list goes on!
The thought has occurred to me that it may be possible to fill the build-up areas to provide a smooth path out of the grind chamber.
The problem with this is what to use as a filler. Fibreglass filler or knead-able epoxy putty would work but may not be too food-safe. Possibly one option could be neutral cure silicone sealer as it is used for roofs which catch water - any ideas as I would be keen to give it a try.
With regard to dis-assembly, one of the biggest frustrations is getting the safety cutout pin and spring back in place while fitting the cover.
A simple aid is to press a small square of sticky tape on top to temporarily hold it in place-
Once the lid is screwed on remove the tape and press the pin to listen for the switch click to make sure everything is in place and working before going further.
Another idea I have found useful is to use a multi-meter to make sure the burrs are not touching on the finest setting after adding shims. Most meters have a continuity buzzer option on the Ohms setting. By touching a probe to each of the top and bottom burrs it's easy to tell if (when) they touch. It also pays to push the bottom burr sideways to tell if they are getting close. If you don't have enough hands one of the probes can be connected using a short clip lead.
Note - this only works with grinders like the EM0480 which have a plastic mounted top burr and would also not work with ceramic burrs.
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