# Oracle - Dosing / tamping issue



## rg-tom (Mar 28, 2018)

Hi all, really hoping you guys might be able to help!

I've had my oracle for a around 3 months and had pretty consistent results from it once I learnt how to dial in beans. Yesterday though, it appears to have stopped dosing and tamping properly after giving it a brush down as I do every Saturday.

It sounds like it just doesn't stop grinding where it should, and then the fan seems to get stuck in the grounds from the imprint. There's about 34g in the basket and loads more up inside the machine:



















Any ideas what could be causing this, and if it's likely to be my error or something wrong with the machine? I'm using the provided double basket. I've taken the tamping fan out and cleaned it etc and nothin looks obviously wrong!

Thanks in advance guys


----------



## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

I'm not an oracle owner but have used Sage grinders. Perhaps the exit from the grind chamber is blocked. To check remove the hopper and the outer bur. Good brush around and you will see an exit hole from the chamber. Brush bristles or ?? can be poked down it to clear grinds.

John

-


----------



## GingerBen (Sep 7, 2017)

Had this happen to mine from when it was brand new and sent it back ultimately. Coffee classic couldn't solve it they just told me it was the beans I was using...

i think it is to do with beans but my theory was that the lighter roasted beans when ground were more voluminous than the darker ones they dial it in with during their white glove service. Mine never worked properly but it's odd that yours has been and has now started playing up. Have you changed beans or roast style significantly?


----------



## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

GingerBen said:


> Had this happen to mine from when it was brand new and sent it back ultimately. Coffee classic couldn't solve it they just told me it was the beans I was using...
> 
> i think it is to do with beans but my theory was that the lighter roasted beans when ground were more voluminous than the darker ones they dial it in with during their white glove service. Mine never worked properly but it's odd that yours has been and has now started playing up. Have you changed beans or roast style significantly?


Hmm, I use pretty light stuff in that machine and went down as fat as low single digits sometimes, didnt have this happen.

Not sure what causes it tbh.


----------



## SNOBOL (Sep 5, 2013)

We had the same issue with ours, Sage themselves didn't want to know but did send us several packets of coffee beans because they blamed our fault with the oracle on the beans we were using. Don't get me wrong we were pleased to receive the beans but the fault continued several phone calls & emails later over several weeks & in the end sage just didn't want to know. It was driving us mad & we both were getting upset due to the faulty machine & money it cost us to buy. AO who we bought it from sent us four machines in total the state of the boxes they came in is another story but AO themselves were great in sending us replacements to try but enough was enough and sage not even acknowledging our issue we sent the last one back and had a full refund from AO


----------



## Twin (Feb 9, 2019)

I have the «old» Oracle, and have not had trouble like this.

I know I do only use freshly roasted beans, and they should be more greasy, than older.. I had a look up into the tamper on mine just now, and there is less coffee smear around the tamper on mine than in your photos (I tried to upload a photo of mine, but it failed uploading, maybe too large file...)

I have wondered how it measures the coffee amount... I suspect an optical sensor? Paddle wheel, no..? Anyone? I think there must be some kind of sensor reading, because the amount gets right wether I use single or double basket..., no further telling the machine which basket is in the portafilter, it just gets right every time, I have even used a scale, it usually is about 19 grams in the double, with variations of 0,2 grams each time. So, accurate it is...


----------



## itn (Jul 6, 2008)

hi,

I had this issue, and when I called sage to query it, one of the guys advised me to try leaving the portafilter basket wet, and grinding into it. this resolved the issue for me. so when I flush the water I put the basket and don't dry it, just grind it away u go.

let us know if this helps.


----------



## Katherine (Nov 21, 2021)

Hello,

I don't know if this can help anyone else, but it has worked for me so far. Mine was doing the wavy tamp the first time I used it right out of the box. I've only tried one type of coffee so far, so I may have to adjust when I try a different brand. I saw a video regarding changing the burr grind size on the upper burr (I'll link below). First, I removed the beans from the hopper. Then I ground what was left in the grinder in the machine. Then I did what the video said by setting the grinder setting to the coarsest setting. Then, I removed the upper burr and the metal handle as done in the video. Mine was factory set to 6. I tried going to a 10 like he did in the video, but I got the same wavy tamp result and it was far too coarse. I took the beans out of the hopper again, ground what was left, and started over. I then changed it to 3 (again this may be different with the type of coffee used - I used a Volcanica Mexican Coffee, which is a medium roast). I put the handle back on and placed the upper burr back into the align position and turned to the right to lock it. I then set the grind to 25, which was a little too fine, however, it gave me a flat tamp. I changed the grind to a 27 and it gave me a double shot. Hope this can help someone else!

Video referenced above:


----------

