My Coffee Spits Everywhere!

askthecoffeeguy

[quote]

Fresh Coffee can probably help you out there.... Hope this helps, Pat

I appreciate your confidence in me Pat but I am afraid in this instance, that unless I can see what the machine is doing right in front of me, I wont be able to venture an opinion.

BobHickman

You are grinding your coffee too finely. If you unscrew the plastic insert in your group handle, you will notice a build up of coffee around the cross members of the spouts. You will have to clean this thoroughly, then check that you have not torn the rubber seal that the group head handle presses against. This seal will rupture due to the pressure build up of the blocked system.

Lacehim

Welcome Bob, but I would have thought he would have figured it after after 7 years! ??? :🙂 😛

BobHickman

You are probably right. Crashman, the original poster, may well have solved the problem a long time ago.However, If a person having exactly the same problem today types into Google "why is my coffee machine spitting?", this site comes up first in the list. Judging by the 1300 people who have read the thread so far, I would say the problem is fairly common and I'm sure visitors to the site would like help with it. In fact, I visited the site several months ago, but there was nothing here to help me at the time. So like Crashman has probably done, I figured out the problem myself; the only difference was, I wanted to share what I had learnt with other people who were suffering the same fate. You see, it's one of those problems where the very thing you think will fix the problem is actually the thing exacerbating it. The more your coffee machine spits and splutters, the more finely you grind your coffee in the hope that this will 'unclog' the flow. The problem is, it does exactly the opposite - and to be honest, I would not be surprised if many coffee machine owners just gave up and threw the machine in the bin and went back to good old fashioned instant coffee. Personally, I think that would be a pity and I was just trying to save some machines from extinction.

Koffee_Kosmo

BobHickman wrote:

You are probably right. Crashman, the original poster, may well have solved the problem a long time ago.However, If a person having exactly the same problem today types into Google "why is my coffee machine spitting?", this site comes up first in the list. Judging by the 1300 people who have read the thread so far, I would say the problem is fairly common and I'm sure visitors to the site would like help with it. In fact, I visited the site several months ago, but there was nothing here to help me at the time. So like Crashman has probably done, I figured out the problem myself; the only difference was, I wanted to share what I had learnt with other people who were suffering the same fate. You see, it's one of those problems where the very thing you think will fix the problem is actually the thing exacerbating it. The more your coffee machine spits and splutters, the more finely you grind your coffee in the hope that this will 'unclog' the flow. The problem is, it does exactly the opposite - and to be honest, I would not be surprised if many coffee machine owners just gave up and threw the machine in the bin and went back to good old fashioned instant coffee. Personally, I think that would be a pity and I was just trying to save some machines from extinction.

Thanks for taking the time and your fix it post Bob And I am sure it will help others for sure KK

BobHickman

It also seems you should put fewer coffee beans in the grinder. The more you put; the longer you have to grind. This means by the time you have ground all the beans, a good sized portion of them have been ground to a fine powder, which is what seems to cause the problem. I don't know exactly how many beans one should place in the grinder, though. Perhaps that is something an admin could offer to the thread.

Koffee_Kosmo

BobHickman wrote:

It also seems you should put fewer coffee beans in the grinder. The more you put; the longer you have to grind. This means by the time you have ground all the beans, a good sized portion of them have been ground to a fine powder, which is what seems to cause the problem. I don't know exactly how many beans one should place in the grinder, though. Perhaps that is something an admin could offer to the thread.

That depends on the grinder one uses and if it is fit for purpose Most members on this forum grind on demand and load the grinder with only the amount of beans required for that shot Members of Crema also know that - Correct adjustment of the grinder is an ongoing proses of small grind adjustments that can change with many factors For example - Age of beans , ambient temperature -as in winter/summer, humidity and bean type / origin It's not as cut and dry as it first appears Every user has a challenge to use the equipment to archive its best performance KK

mycuppa

Most grinders, particularly larger or commercial styles with conical type burrs, do not operate consistently if there is an insufficient quantity of beans in the hopper. The weight of the beans is required to apply downward pressure to reduce beans jumping. The last 50g or handful of beans sitting in the hopper may be ground with some inconsistent particle sizes. Fact - not internet fiction !

Koffee_Kosmo

All true I use a home made devise that is fashioned on a Hacky sack Works wonders Something like this [attach=1]

BobHickman

Well there ya go. Thanks Koffee Kosmo. I put half the amount of ground coffee beans in my group head handle as I normally do - and bingo - not a spit or splutter. It poured perfectly. So now the next thing is - how do I get the crema?

Koffee_Kosmo

BobHickman wrote:

Well there ya go. Thanks Koffee Kosmo. I put half the amount of ground coffee beans in my group head handle as I normally do - and bingo - not a spit or splutter. It poured perfectly. So now the next thing is - how do I get the crema?

I can't answer the question about your Crema until you post the equipment you currently use and where you purchase youre coffee and it's age As a general rule - Fresh coffee will always produce more Crema that old coffee

BobHickman

Well actually I have a sunbeam, which I don't think is much different to the Breville that Crashman, the original poster, had. In fact, I had a Breville, too, that developed the same problem. But look, I thought about what you said, and I got to thinking that I may be on the wrong track altogether. The problem could be that I am just putting way too much ground coffee in the group head handle, which is being caused by two reasons really. Firstly, these coffee machines that we buy from Big W etc come with a plastic tamping thing. The other problem is the instructions make it clear you have to tamp the coffee down - but I'm starting to think that to allow you to do that, you have to put in so much coffee that the machine starts to spit and splatter. So after reading what you had to say about only putting in enough coffee for one cup, I decided to put in about a teaspoon of ground coffee, about the same amount as one would use for a cup of instant coffee - and I tamped it down with the teaspoon. The result wasn't great, but at least the machine didn't spit and splutter - and the coffee was still ok.

Koffee_Kosmo

Every machine has an optimum tamp depth On my PF filter basket it's 8mm For any machine you need to find the optimum coffee depth with a little trial an error 1st - tamp as normal - then lock in the PF 2nd - Undo it and see if the coffee has hit the water screen If it has touched the water screen, just remove some coffee with a brush and re-tamp - and repeat step one If there is no mark then add a little more coffee and re-tamp - and repeat step one Your goal is to just have the two surfaces touch or just miss by a hairs whisker Then take note of that depth and tamp to that depth every time KK

UNM

well this thread seems to have got lively again! Anyhoo Bob, just wondering whereabouts you are in case any friendly members might be nearby to supply you with some quality fresh coffee and perhaps first hand advice. Also, what sort of grinder? It isn't one of those whirly blade grinders is it? If so, that may well be part of the problem - amount of coffee you grind will certainly have a big impact on the evenness of grind in that style of grinder.

C-man

he could be using the double floor baskit

BobHickman

I don't think it would help to have somebody come visit me. I'm having exactly the same problem as Crashman. It starts off ok, but then it progressively gets worse. At first, I thought it was something to do with the filter basket so I bought some cleaning brushes and some coffee machine cleaner from the local kitchen shop. None of that seemed to help, so I went off the idea. Now I'm starting to think it is the filter basket after all. I have several and most of them won't even allow water only to pass through the handle. This makes me think there is some build up going on inside the walls. How do you guys clean your filter baskets? Or do you simply replace them every few months.

Koffee_Kosmo

To clean filter baskets and the metal parts of the PF One simply adds the correct amount of water and back flush detergent and soak overnight, then rinse in the morning

BobHickman

All right. I did that before, but it didn't seem to make a difference, but I will do it again. The directions for the premium espresso machine cleaner product I have say I should use one tablespoon of the powder mixed with one litre of hot water, which I have done. So I shall wait and see if that makes a difference. I noticed somebody suggested I may be using double skin filter baskets. I am actually. Is that a mistake? Should I be using single skin baskets?

BobHickman

Actually, cleaning the filter baskets may have worked this time. I did as the instructions told me to do, but I went a step further. I sprinkled half a teaspoon of powder in the filter basket, placed it in the handle and then in the machine. After that, I pumped a little water into the filter basket and let it soak for quarter of an hour. Then I ran loads of water through it. I did this a couple of times, until the flow seemed consistent and there was no evidence of spitting or spluttering. Once I did this, I made a cup of coffee and it was perfect - just as good as the day I bought the machine. It's early days yet, but I reckon this may have been the problem all along. It fits with how Crashman described the problem in the first place. As the filter becomes more and more blocked up, the machine finds it harder to force water through the little holes - and it spits back.

Koffee_Kosmo

The double skin baskets will clog and block more often and should be washed as often as possible The double basket was designed to produce Crema from old beans The way it works is like a water hose spray adjuster - it aerates the liquid under pressure Try it both ways ( with or without the second basket) and use what you are comfortable with Just remember that you are in charge of the result when using a single basket Grind, tamp, fresh coffee and it could be a steep learning curve and very frustrating KK