# Help - have I knackered my Mignon XL?



## P1Fanatic (Mar 6, 2021)

Had some new coffee from Rave turn up today. Still had half a hopper full of a previous nasty bean. Decided I would grind through them as a) additional seasoning for the burrs (only done 4Kg since getting the grinder and b) I can spread it in the garden like I do with the rest of my used coffee.

Anyway I set it going and decide to go a few numbers coarser (4 up to 2) to speed things up. As I got near an empty hopper I changed back to original setting (2) and pretty sure I didn't go any finer. Anyway things clogged up and the burrs stopped. I turned it off at the wall and cleared the shute out with cable tie, took the lid of cleared out any beans and grinds with the hoover. Put some new beans in, wound it up as coarse as it goes to be safe (adjustment wheel starts getting real loose) and first thing I noticed was that when pressing on the whole grinder jumps a few degrees anti clockwise. Its never done this before and its a pretty heavy unit. Here is a video of it doing that:






It then got clogged again. This time I took the upper burr off and cleaned up everything to make sure nothing was stuck. Still jumps when I first turn it on so there is clearly something up with it. Didnt want to mess around with it any further in case I make it worse.

Any ideas what to check and why it would start jumping?

Here is a pic with the upper burr removed.









Thanks

Simon


----------



## P1Fanatic (Mar 6, 2021)

Tagging@Coff Hey as the resident Eureka guru 🙏


----------



## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

They will usually jump when run without beans due to the torque reaction. An atom 75 will do the same, stick beans in it and no problem.

Something is scraping when it runs through? I'd turn that bottom burr by hand and find out what it is.


----------



## P1Fanatic (Mar 6, 2021)

Yeah I thought it might be lack of hopper, bean weight but tried it with and same thing. I tried spinning the lower burr by hand and one of the 4 carrier tabs is catching quite significantly. You can actually see the mark its made in the pic below (top left 9-12 oclock). Not sure how I missed it earlier.

Removed the 3 screws holding the bottom burr in (per a vid I saw for the regular mignon) but cant seem to pull the burr out and rather not use brute force in case I am missing something additional on the XL


----------



## newdent (Feb 20, 2021)

When my mignon started jumping it was because there was coffee on the feet and it was now skidding very freely. Try cleaning the feet.


----------



## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

Looks like there's something caught behind the sweeper arms, maybe a stone or bit of metal.


----------



## newdent (Feb 20, 2021)

P1Fanatic said:


> Yeah I thought it might be lack of hopper, bean weight but tried it with and same thing. I tried spinning the lower burr by hand and one of the 4 carrier tabs is catching quite significantly. You can actually see the mark its made in the pic below (top left 9-12 oclock). Not sure how I missed it earlier.
> 
> Removed the 3 screws holding the bottom burr in (per a vid I saw for the regular mignon) but cant seem to pull the burr out and rather not use brute force in case I am missing something additional on the XL
> 
> View attachment 58835


 Don't bother taking the burr off, there won't be anything under it but taking the carrier off might reveal something. Certainly shouldn't happen, if it's newish if be wanting it looked at under warranty but could have got unlucky with a stone as mentioned.


----------



## cuprajake (Mar 30, 2020)

Are they gouges in the walls? How far down is that burr adjusted? Is it all the way coarse?


----------



## P1Fanatic (Mar 6, 2021)

newdent said:


> Don't bother taking the burr off, there won't be anything under it but taking the carrier off might reveal something. Certainly shouldn't happen, if it's newish if be wanting it looked at under warranty but could have got unlucky with a stone as mentioned.


 I guess thats just unscrewing the 11mm brass centre bolt? I had a quick go earlier but its very tight and I read conflicting guides for Mignons as to whether it was clockwise or anti-clockwise to loosen it.


----------



## newdent (Feb 20, 2021)

P1Fanatic said:


> I guess thats just unscrewing the 11mm brass centre bolt? I had a quick go earlier but its very tight and I read conflicting guides for Mignons as to whether it was clockwise or anti-clockwise to loosen it.


 Not sure I'm afraid, I returned my mignon as it was faulty within a month of owning it. Never got round to doing this job.

Did cleaning the feet and counter top stop it rotating on start-up?


----------



## P1Fanatic (Mar 6, 2021)

Cuprajake said:


> Are they gouges in the walls? How far down is that burr adjusted? Is it all the way coarse?


 That is a gouge yep at 9-12 o'clock. Whether it was there prior to today I cant say as its only 3 months old and I have not removed the upper burr before. When you rotate the lower burr by hand it catches on a particular carrier / sweeper arm (just 1 of the 4). Cant see anything obviously different about it or anything stuck behind it and the wall. I reckon that sticking is what causes the initial jumping of the machine when using it - which definitely did not happen before today. I got it from Bella Barista with a 2yr warranty but no idea if clogging it up is covered. It's a bit concerning if a £600 grinder can damage itself so easily.


----------



## P1Fanatic (Mar 6, 2021)

newdent said:


> Not sure I'm afraid, I returned my mignon as it was faulty within a month of owning it. Never got round to doing this job.
> 
> Did cleaning the feet and counter top stop it rotating on start-up?


 There is no coffee under it. Its not slipping as there is quite some force when it moves. As per above reply I believe its the sticking of the outer edge of the carrier / sweeper arm that is causing the jumping ie it sticks and the amount of torque when it release itself.


----------



## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

It looks like you have possibly had a stone or piece of metal in your beans.

Grip the inner edge of the screw hole in the burr with a pair of thin nosed pliers the remove the burr.

The nut should turn clockwise to undo.


----------



## Coff Hey (Mar 19, 2021)

There's a few things here - we don't need to find the link just attend to them 

1) jumping about - this has 3 causes you might be suffering from all of them or just the first one

a) little or no resistance on the blades. Eg the setting is too course or there's no beans at all

b) coffee grounds or other debris on surface/feet

c) smooth surfaces obviously

2) lower burr holder catching chamber wall - this is down too

a) motor bearing failed (almost certainly not your issue of its one arm at one point)

b) debris

too check you need to remove the chute which leads into point 3

3) you put a cable tie up the chute. If you've knocked the anti static strip back it could be caught on the chamber/chute joint or possibly just bent it. Can cause various issues such as spray and excessive clumping. To inspect remove top panel, two screws for front panel, adjustment knob. Lift front panel up (it'll usually be tight) then away from body. Carefully disconnect display. Leave button connected and set panel down. Remove chute with the 2 screws. This will let you check the strip and additionally you can spin the lower burr holder to inspect the arm that is rubbing.

4) clogging/stopping this may be point 2. Or 2 and 3 or it could be

a) failed capacitor or lost connection to capacitor

b) moisture (in/on beans i.e. oil) or from environment such as steam from machine or kettle.

c) failing bearing or motor. FWIW I have never had one. Or sold a replacement motor

all of this is from experience over a decade of repairing them. There's always a first time so who knows!

id recommend speaking to the retailer because there's so much to check it's a lot of faff for you the customer!

as always happy to sort for postage if you want but given you've got the extended warranty I don't think you need me!

Ps please don't remove lower burr Holder. They are cast aluminium and without the tools and technique to remove it it is possible to cause damage thst leads to the part failing. Ps It's clockwise but it's very easy to misalign on refitting due to incorrect torque setting or debris so please just avoid doing it

good luck and keep us updated


----------



## P1Fanatic (Mar 6, 2021)

@Coff Hey Thanks for that very in depth reply - most appreciated. Does sound like a lot of faff and I don't want to make things worse / void my warranty so will contact Bella Barista. Probably gonna have to ship it back to them. If they cant resolve in house do they have to send off elsewhere (to you possibly)?

Either way its a pain as its the only grinder I have and typically just got a delivery of nice new coffees from Rave. At least I did keep the box. Starting to think I should have gone with a Niche (my original choice).


----------



## Coff Hey (Mar 19, 2021)

No problem. Bella are Eureka dealer so they'll sort in house or send it off to Italy. But I'm in no doubt they'll do whatever they need to do to get you up and running ASAP. I've never heard a genuine bad experience with their after sales so don't stress. They're exceptionally helpful and efficient you'll be fine.

It's a huge shame when anyone had a faulty machine or grinder I fully sympathise. It's worth it though there's not a better espresso shot to be had this side of £1000!


----------



## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

P1Fanatic said:


> There is no coffee under it. Its not slipping as there is quite some force when it moves. As per above reply I believe its the sticking of the outer edge of the carrier / sweeper arm that is causing the jumping ie it sticks and the amount of torque when it release itself.


 As a matter of interest.

Did you try levering the lower burr off ? How did you hold the lower carrier still when trying to remove the centre nut ?


----------



## P1Fanatic (Mar 6, 2021)

El carajillo said:


> As a matter of interest.
> 
> Did you try levering the lower burr off ? How did you hold the lower carrier still when trying to remove the centre nut ?


 I did but the burr would not shift and didnt want to force it. If its the same as a specialita it should just come off once the 3 screws are removed. The centre bolt is to removed the lower burr carrier. I tried it once but was tight and as per above Coff Hey advised not to take it out so I didnt try again.

Strangely I went to take a photo this mornjng for my email to Bella Barista so put the lower burr screws back in and then tried rotating it by hand and it span freely and did not catch on the wall. Put it all back together and seems to be grinding ok now although first attempt was way too coarse. So will have another play later but fingers crossed.


----------



## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

@P1Fanatic I assume when you tried to lever it off, you did it simultaneously from both sides?


----------



## P1Fanatic (Mar 6, 2021)

DavecUK said:


> @P1Fanatic I assume when you tried to lever it off, you did it simultaneously from both sides?


 Not really. I tried levering from each of the 3 screw holes separately but it didnt move at all and I didn't really try any further for fear of damaging it. The SCG Mignon Cleaning Video made it out to be quite tricky to do the first time.


----------



## Coff Hey (Mar 19, 2021)

The coff-hey official method for lower burr is to get something soft such as wooden handle of a cleaning brush or your partners wooden mixing spoon from the draw and give the blade a reasonably firm "encouragement" to comply. Aka whack it. I know it sounds heinous but it's hardened steel so it's brittle, prying it is potentially the most damaging thing you can do. They tolerance on 55s and 65s is such that it's simply just a bloody good fit that's all!

It'll then lift out a dream with the tips of your fingers holding the inner Circumference at 3pm and 9pm.

Good news above, debris possibly then? Just keep ear on it between bags of beans. Hopefully nothing more to it!!


----------

