BramLovesCoffee Senior Member Joined: 21 Sep 2010 Posts: 7 Location: Netherlands Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Classic Grinder: Gaggia MDF
Posted Mon Feb 18, 2013, 2:48am Subject: How to solve Gaggia MDF's huge grind detention?
Hey all,
My Gaggia combo (i.e. Classic and MDF) have served me well for the last couple of years. However, on my quest for an ever improving cup, I stumbled upon the huge amount of grind the MDF detains. Since I drink only 1 cup every morning, it turns out that I am consistently using yesterday's grind (today's grind pushes out the remains, which ends up in my PF).
Any ideas on how to overcome this problem? I was thinking of cutting away the finger guard, as to be able to brush the grind from the chute.
Prof Senior Member Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 638 Location: Seattle Expertise: Pro Roaster
Espresso: PV Lusso, Enrico of Italy Grinder: Pharos 696, Zass Drip: Brazen, Aeropress Roaster: Behmor, TO/SC, Poppery I
Posted Mon Feb 18, 2013, 2:12pm Subject: Re: How to solve Gaggia MDF's huge grind detention?
BramLovesCoffee Said:
Hey all,
My Gaggia combo (i.e. Classic and MDF) have served me well for the last couple of years. However, on my quest for an ever improving cup, I stumbled upon the huge amount of grind the MDF detains. Since I drink only 1 cup every morning, it turns out that I am consistently using yesterday's grind (today's grind pushes out the remains, which ends up in my PF).
Any ideas on how to overcome this problem? I was thinking of cutting away the finger guard, as to be able to brush the grind from the chute.
The BIG solution talked about over at Home-Barista is simply putting a drop of water onto the beans about to be ground. I suppose this works best for grinders used for one shot at a time (this is the espresso grinder section, after all). I use a small atomizer that makes a fine mist.
It flat out WORKS on my Zassenhaus, but also on the new HG-1 and Versalab as well as Mazzers. See if it works for your grinder.
Posted Sun Mar 10, 2013, 3:17pm Subject: Re: How to solve Gaggia MDF's huge grind detention?
I tip the grinder forward and give a tap to the back when it is still running and done grinding. After the beans are ground, clear the doser out and try the tip&tap. A pretty good amount will come out of the chute. I will also send a few sacrificial beans through every now and then. Not ideal but pretty effective. Today I finally did the stepless mod after owning the grinder for about eight years. Incredibly easy and functional. I thought it would seem kind of rigged up but it is smooth and you wouldnt even know it didnt come that way from the factory, if you didnt know of course. The MDF gets a bit of a bad rap because of the big steps, deservedly so. This mod really increases the functionality. It's a great grinder. I also got rid of the noisy doser lever and mechanism. The star wheel under the doser broke and the lever couldnt turn the doser vanes. This was a fortunate event because now I use my finger to move the vanes from above with the doser cover off. Much quieter and not so cheap sounding. I was going to do serious doser removal surgery but this is working out really nice. Someday maybe. Back to grind retention. Looking at it today I think that some dremel surgery to the plastic shield that covers the grind chute would just about make it perfect. I think I would just try to cut the shield all the way across. The way it's made it wouldnt be a nice straight cut. There is a little structure below there. I think it could be done to make it look alright though. Removing the shield will give an easy path to the chute, only problem is making it look good with the doser cover off. I just put it back together and now I want to take it apart again. Maybe I will just enjoy the new stepless functionality for a while first.
Posted Mon Mar 11, 2013, 9:32pm Subject: Re: How to solve Gaggia MDF's huge grind detention?
Tonight I cut off the flap and the horizontal piece of that cover. I made the cut so that the the face with the GAGGIA printing and the setting display hole are all thats left. Cut it off right at the break. I made a sweeping tool out of plastic that fits in the chute to the right and sweeps the arc of the chute perfectly. Pretty much zero grounds retention now and actually less work because I dont have to tip it and bang on it. When I did the stepless mod yesterday I had the grinder totally cleaned out. I thought that the tip&tap maneuver worked pretty well, not so much. The chute was pretty packed with grounds. Not a problem any more. This thing is just about perfect now. Thanks for the thread, got me motivated.
Posted Tue Mar 12, 2013, 2:03am Subject: Re: How to solve Gaggia MDF's huge grind detention?
I have an MDF, too. I agree about tipping. First I use the lever to clear the standard grind from the doser. It is light enough, I just pick it up, tip it way forward and bang the portafilter forks on the counter over a small (5" x 5") tray. The retention drops out to the front of the doser. Then I clear this from the doser. Not elegant and slightly bothersome, but gets the job done and the machine stands up to it well. All grinders except one or two very expensive pro models have 'significant' grind retention. I can't do this with my 35# Compak K-10.
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