Breville Smart Grinder

System · August 2011

Well

I am now aware of a number of people that are having on going issues as to shims and grind size...

I also spent some time of the weekend looking at a couple of EM0480 units that we about 3 years old... Used to grind decaf and some bugger decided to stick a spoon handle up the spout to clean. Opps, that ham fisted BARISTA with the big knuckles bumped the push / on demand button.

Well guess what = The paddle is no longer a paddle :D

;D

So was any thing learned... NOPE. A day later their spare EM0480 suffers the same fate

:D ;D :o ??? ??? ??? ???

What I did find was some interesting issues as to spacers and burr casings and some of the very first attempts by users to manage the issue of fine / course grind.

NOTE: As I understand it the lower Burr casing in the BSG is the same part as the one in the Sunbeam Automatic EM8910. Purely a issue of cost and a common part used across the industry and why not

Makes perfect sense to me, why re invent the wheel.

Now, I also have a DSG to look at as the user has added shim upon shim and is concerned that there is but a thread or two left for the locking nut... BUT he can still not get fine enough ?

I believe I will have a simple solution, which I have also applied to other like grinders and upon implementation and testing. I will think about posting the finding and maybe even a pic or two...

Some times I just detest the years in Manufacturing, R&D post trade and tool making AND this little voice that says.... They say you can not, but you just know that you can... Just let me get my hands on it...

shape_shifter · August 2011

on 1314276421:

Some times I just detest the years in Manufacturing, R&D post trade and tool making AND this little voice that says.... They say you can not, but you just know that you can... Just let me get my hands on it...

AM my OH would say "well said", he always says "don't say I can't", he can do bloody anything, see anything and tell you what is wrong with it without laying hands on it and fix anything...same as you basically...just not as experienced across the board :D We pulled the EM0480 apart tonight and there were 5 shims in it, we took 2 out and I'm getting a fine enough grind on 5. So I'll see how I go.

Gra · August 2011

Picked up one of the Smart Grinders from the Good Guys on sale for $199.00 ended getting it for $165.00 on price match Cheap at half the price

Gra..

Lacehim · August 2011

This is one of the reason I bought the Vario, it might be more expensive but there are no shims!

It just works.

Gra · August 2011

on 1314689327:

This is one of the reason I bought the Vario, it might be more expensive but there are no shims! It just works.

I have only had a 10min play this afternoon still bed bound after new hip replacement it took three shots to dial in from full fine chocking the Alex to 30ml in 25sec that was excellent in the cup. These Latest units have been tweaked by Breville and don't need shims to start with which is a plus mine is running at 6 points from choke and alls looking good at the moment I will post more when I get the chance to have a good play

.. Cheers Gra.

Muscles · August 2011

They are a great grinder at a great price. I like the way you can unclip the PF holder and the tray/section beneath it. Good use of magnets that really makes cleaning a breeze. (Good luck with the hip Gra!)

Brett H · August 2011

on 1314685910:

Picked up one of the Smart Grinders from the Good Guys on sale for $199.00 ended getting it for $165.00 on price match Cheap at half the price Gra..

Nice work mate! That is really good value! What is the rrp on those and now do the math on the BDB..... hmmm I think I can finally upgrade that machine and grinder in the bathroom...

Gra · August 2011

on 1314694936:

They are a great grinder at a great price. I like the way you can unclip the PF holder and the tray/section beneath it. Good use of magnets that really makes cleaning a breeze. (Good luck with the hip Gra!)

Cheers Mate..The little play I had today tells me that they are a top grinder in there price range very happy so fare..As a back up grinder you can't go wrong.. Gra..

beanflying · September 2011

Apart from the fact the article is titled "The Verdict" a stovetop users opinion here for a read http://coffeearmy.tumblr.com/post/9653535176 Still not sure how the title can be remotely true when it was used for one non espresso brew method.

Koffee_Kosmo · September 2011

on 1314781525:

KK I know I said you can keep them, but that ROAST has proven to be a great cup.. Good thing I have another 2.5kg.. Can ya post the profile as I need to reproduce on my return.. Anger on "Love ya work KK " Moral of the story.. Beans every time and get them from a known and Trusted supplier...

Bolivia Caravani Organic 600 grams Preheat KKTO approx 5 min or so Add beans and let it roast at 250 deg up to rolling first crack From memory it was 10 min 20 seconds I slowed the ramp to second crack by lifting the TO off for about 10 seconds and replaced Trying to slow it down to reach second crack at between 7 to 8 minutes after FC At the pseudo SC stage I watched the roast and as the cracks multiplied I took off the TO again and let it roast under its own momentum to the colour I liked then dumped to cool Second crack from memory was 17 min 45 seconds KK

Koffee_Kosmo · September 2011

on 1315981503:

If any one comes across a 58mm portafilter cradle for the Smart Grinder, can you drop me a line. The top burr is listed as an accessory, but nothing else. I am assuming that as time goes on, more item will be added but in the mean time; looking for a 58mm portafilter cradle.

Send me a template of what you want and I could probably make one I can even add special rubberized cork to make it scratch proof KK

Kelsey · October 2011

I think I discovered the limits of the Smart Grinder today. I'm guessing that a 'real' grinder wouldn't have had this particular issue. A was given a home roast of a Mexican beans and told at the outset that it probably wasn't going to be good. In fact, written on the bag was 'bad'! The problem with this batch was an uneven roast with some burnt beans in there. Now let me say up front that the flavour from the one cup I did get out of them was really quite special - full bodied, rich, low-medium acidity - very nice indeed. But on the second and third attempts, the Smart Grinder wound up choking on one of the burnt beans (it'd made some alarming 'slipping' noises a few seconds prior). In fact, even after pulling out the hopper and cleaning it out as best I could, I couldn't even adjust the burrs back to beyond the middle of the fineness range. So a full pull apart and I discovered the offending bean - black and hard as a rock (but definitely NOT a rock) and it had loosened the top washer. I took this as an opportunity and removed one of the shims (which I'd been meaning to do for a while) and gave the machine a thorough clean out. Annoyingly, something I'd already done yesterday. Ran a cup through of a Pioneer blend. All good. It was a gusher, so I'll probably need to 're-learn' the settings on the grinder. Or just put the shim back in.

Brett H · October 2011

Arghhhhhhh..... SORRY. Fwiw I've been running that roast all weekend and loving it??? Doesn't mean it's good... It possibly means my taste buds are in my ar..... It hasn't choked either grinder on my bench (used both of them because Rocky is quiter and lower pitch for Millie's nap time) but they have made some interesting occasional crunch/hard bean noises. Ditch that roast or use a choppy grinder and have a plunger and I'll print off labels with grinders on fire in future rather than just the word BAD. Fingers crossed all is well with the smartie!

Kelsey · October 2011

Don't be sorry mate - the one shot I got out of it was absolutely delightful. So nothing wrong with your palate - unless it's affected us both. I'm sorely tempted to go through it and pull out the worst offenders! The SG is fine, I've pulled it apart three times this weekend. Last one was last night to put the shim back in that I left out. It seems to have some kind of slip-gear or something to stop damage from rocks and your Mexican black beans.

Brett H · October 2011

PHEW! Still, you'd be crazy not to use this as an excuse to upgrade to a Nina!

Kelsey · October 2011

The what now? This was the only search result I got for 'Nina Coffee Grinder' was this: [embed=425,349]

Pretty sure that's not what you meant!

Brett H · October 2011

Okay that's disturbing. I meant an Elektra Nino... Oops. If you bought the Nina I'd say you wouln't get a good coffee from it and you'd have some explaining to do!

Muscles · October 2011

When the wife came home with some brown decaf beans and Bodum plunger yesterday I kicked myself for selling the BCG800 only a month ago.

But all was not lost... I sold mine 2nd hand for $200 and bought a brand spanker today for $169 from TGG - now I don't have to worry about wifie touching my SJ :D

Brett H · October 2011

on 1318831718:

When the wife came home with some brown decaf beans and Bodum plunger yesterday I kicked myself for selling the BCG800 only a month ago. But all was not lost... I sold mine 2nd hand for $200 and bought a brand spanker today for $169 from TGG - now I don't have to worry about wifie touching my SJ :D

Nice price Marc! I'll send you some Mecican BAD roast and you can test the warranty... ;D

Muscles · October 2011

LOL! They must be some seriously hard baked beans to stall the grinder but then again the gearing/drive mech in the smart grinder has to have been built (down?) to a price and what a price it is ::) I had no complaints with the last one once shimmed, see how this goes but I suspect it will be fine enough for plunger.

Kelsey · October 2011

It might be bad, but it tastes oh so good.... still got the bag sitting there. Keep looking at it thinking "surely I can pull out the bad beans one by one...."

Brett H · October 2011

The bad beans might be the bit that tastes great. Used some at work today as a plunger and it was great. Use a choppy grinder on it or a mortar and pestle and have a great long black French press

. Feed the poor little Smartie the good stuff and dont risk it! I agree completely Marc... What a price!

Kelsey · October 2011

No the BSG is fine! It choked on Brett's flavoursome 'burnt bean Mexican' roast, thus discovering the limits of the motor on the BSG. In fact, in choking it actually loosened the bottom burr's top nut and I needed to pull the whole thing apart for cleaning just o get it dialed back in again. Still tempted to pick out the bad beans.

Brett H · October 2011

You should have tried cleaning the grinder with rice. :o I read that on the interweb somewhere. I'm sure like my BAD roast that rice cleaning is great advice also. I was going to try it to clean out my Rocky but don't have any in the cupboard. Do you think curry would work just as well? Or perhaps just a garlic naan! For those of you who think I'm serious do me a favor and clean your grinder with rice but ensure that you cook it first. Don't clean your grinders with rice. Dr Google is not always correct.

Koffee_Kosmo · October 2011

on 1318852682:

Don't clean your grinders with rice. Dr Google is not always correct.

[size=18pt]Never use rice to clean your grinder [/size] The best and fastest way is Remove the top burr carrier with blade and wash it under the tap Brush the bottom burr and vacuum Easy as that KK

Brett H · October 2011

What about pasta?

Kelsey · October 2011

I had heard the 'rice rumour' but wasn't willing to give it a shot. Vacuum it is next time. And Brett - I just can't bring myself to throw those beans out. BAD or not, that's a damn tasty brew. Maybe there's a Spong in my local op-shop just waiting to be discovered...

Kelsey · December 2011

So after my first KKTO roast I ran into the same issue - under-roasted beans jamming the grinder. This is a serious shortcoming of the BCG800, although presumably the intended market will only be using professionally roasted beans, it's a shame it doesn't have the chomping power of its nearest competitors.

Brett H · December 2011

on 1323815978:

So after my first KKTO roast I ran into the same issue - under-roasted beans jamming the grinder. This is a serious shortcoming of the BCG800, although presumably the intended market will only be using professionally roasted beans, it's a shame it doesn't have the chomping power of its nearest competitors.

Oh dear...my Lux grinder at school had the lions share of the "bad" beans and chomped through them with no problems. It is basically a dumb version of the Smart but has lots of oomph. They are a bit more expensive at ~$300 so I'd be looking for a second hand Rocky. Surely this issue must be limited to your unit because these were pushed very heavily at coffee snobs who tend to play with lighter roasts and different roast profiles. AM may have som answers.

Kelsey · December 2011

Well.... it wouldn't be the first time Breville has marketed coffee equipment at enthusiasts, only to be pulled up short by actual real-world usage. Still, if AM has any thoughts I'd love to hear them.

Brett H · March 2012

The beans that Kelsey had were only two days old at the most when he experienced the issue. We have since surmised, possibly incorrectly, that the smartie had a cut-out/protect feature that triggered when it hit a particularly hard bean. Ie... Blame the roaster not the grinder :pan FWIW that roast was particularly delicious and demonstrates that even when you think it's bad, don't automatically feed it to the roses... Give it a try! Look out 3rd Crack... Here we come!!!

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