Totos Senior Member Joined: 5 Oct 2010 Posts: 5 Location: Europe Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Tue Oct 5, 2010, 12:35pm Subject: Rancilio Rocky problem
Hi all,
I have a fairly new Rancilio Rocky doserless grinder, which is a nice upgrade from my former grinder. When I first received it, I followed the instructions of finding the true 'zero' poin. I've tried different notches to get the right grind, but the thing is, anything above the zero point—meaning anything that doesn't make the contacting burrs noise—is not really as fine as it should be for a proper espresso shot - it isn't coarse, but it is not powder.
So, I tried going down to the touching burrs and test that. I noticed that when I touch the top of the bean hopper, and push it forward a bit - the noise disappear, hence the burrs do not touch. I tried it with some beans inside and got myself a beautiful grind: smooth, powdery, clingy, perfect! and the shot was fantastic - incredibly thick and syrupy, sweet and intense - beautiful!
I tried taking the whole thing apart and clean it properly - I removed both burrs and gave them a good dusting using a brush, and I used a vacuum cleaner to suck out any remains from the inside chamber. I put it back together and nothing has changed - anything above the noise is not perfect, and anything below—with my finger pushing the bean hopper towards me—is.
A couple of friends have the same grinder and their grind is fine enough several notches above the noisy 'zero' point. I wonder what could be the problem with my Rocky. Could it be the burrs being too dull? this problem existed from day one and the grinder was brand new. I live in Europe and I bought it through http://www.espressocoffeeshop.com and I am starting to think they might be selling defected equipment (although I might be overreacting).
Just so there won't be any doubts - I am using excellent quality freshly roasted beans, so that's not the problem, really..
Posted Tue Oct 5, 2010, 1:20pm Subject: Re: Rancilio Rocky problem
Hi Toto,
Welcome to the forum.
I'm guessing that there is either too much play in the threads of the burr carrier or the burrs are not parallel. You might give the Teflon tape mod a try.
Totos Senior Member Joined: 5 Oct 2010 Posts: 5 Location: Europe Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Tue Oct 5, 2010, 3:16pm Subject: Re: Rancilio Rocky problem
Phil, Craig, thank you both very much. I've been digging all the posts and comments about the disreputable teflon tape that I can't wait to try it. Hopefully my answer rests on the shelves of the local hardware store. Will let you know tomorrow after I try it.
Posted Tue Oct 5, 2010, 3:47pm Subject: Re: Rancilio Rocky problem
Hey Toto,
Sorry, 99% of the time I do., but I didn't on my first post to you.., but Welcome to the Coffeegeek forums! {;-)
With all the coffee grinds & particles cleaned off of the male threads of the upper burr carrier & the lower receiver housings female threads, don't use excessive force., but can you please tell me when pushing back & forth on the bean hopper is there a little or a lot of slop/play?
Totos Senior Member Joined: 5 Oct 2010 Posts: 5 Location: Europe Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Thu Oct 7, 2010, 12:54pm Subject: Re: Rancilio Rocky problem
Craig, your instant reply and your suggested solutions were a very nice welcome, no need to apologize..
As for your question - there is little play when I push the bean hopper, but when I remove it and move the upper burr carrier, I would say there's a good 1mm move.
Here's my experience with the teflon tape:
I cleaned everything throughly and wrapped some tape around the top carrier's threads, screwed it back in and there is no play anymore. Good so far!
I tried operating it without beans, looking for the zero point, and it did go down about one notch (used to be at +4, now it is now at +3). Nice!
I went on and used it with some beans at +3 and got a nice grind, although it is slightly coarser than it was when my finger was pushing the bean hopper before I had the tape on (I was doing it at +2).
When I grind +2 my burrs start to touch, and now that the teflon tape is in - I can't really push the bean hopper again to make it stop..
Overall, it is a nice solution since I don't have to put pressure on the bean hopper while I'm grinding, but I still wonder whether I could get it even finer without having to go below my zero point.
Totos Senior Member Joined: 5 Oct 2010 Posts: 5 Location: Europe Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Thu Oct 7, 2010, 11:39pm Subject: Re: Rancilio Rocky problem
Hi Craig,
I understand what you meant, and I did check the play before adding the teflon tape, and like I said - it was about 1mm play.
The grinder is about one year old and I've been grinding an average of 4-5 double shots a day (that would be, I guess, apx. 800lbs?), but it is safe to say that this problem existed from the beginning.
Something's not right, on my Rocky with new burrs my zero point was +2 & I ground at +11 - +13 for espresso depending on the blend. That's a good 9 - 11 clicks of adjustment room on the grinder. When worn, I was grinding down at a +5 & that's when I replaced them.
If you haven't tried this yet., take the lower burr & its carrier completely off & the upper burr & carrier & completely strip them down & clean throughly. Make sure that the burrs & their respective mounting surfaces are scrupulously/spotlessly clean, not just a dusting with a brush as you said. It doesen't take much (a particle or two of coffee grinds) to upset the parallel trueness of the burrs & to experience erratic performance.
Re-teflon the threads again & retest & please let us know the results.
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