# K30 clumping



## kostona (Aug 15, 2014)

A couple of questions to K30 owners

I recently purchased a secondhand K30 and have a problem with the clumping. Is it normal on this grinder or is it due to the old burrs? Shot count shows 55000 double shots went through the grinder, so I am not 100% sure if it is due to burr replacement or not.

Also I did find that 0 setting is the best for my E61 machine, but wonder if I shall reset the grinder burrs as well.

Any advise is much appreciated. Many thanks!


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Could be burrs .

How old is it and what model . It might have an older chamber and flap which were a

Little clumpy .


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

knowing which version this is by age will help


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## CallumT (Aug 23, 2013)

Older versions are pretty bad, pop the lid off and take a few pictures conversely if you can feel any flap of any kind where the coffee comes from its the old burr carrier and distribution mech.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

pic up the chute


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## kostona (Aug 15, 2014)

Do any of those help?



















Unfortunately can't take the lid off today, wi try to upload on Wednesday!


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Re badged dalla corte ?


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

it will have the old mechanism as its 2007


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## kostona (Aug 15, 2014)

Does it mean that I have to do what the chap in the other post did?

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?11370-K30-upgrade


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Looks like it needs a clean.

Are they soft clumps or bad clumps? How are your extractions? Do you have a naked portafilter?

You don't 'have' to do the upgrade, it's expensive though so got to decide if you want to spend the money on parts


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## kostona (Aug 15, 2014)

@jeebsy They seem to be fine, brake easily. I have a small routine of braking them with a fork while the coffee is still grinding. It is ok for home use but not ideal for use in commercial environment (eg coffee stall) which I plan eventually do in a year time or so.

I have a naked portafilter and extraction looks fine, I can't see much channelling, but as I mentioned earlier the grinder setting is at 0 which is the finest setting and I wonder if I have to reset it as well.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

It's worth recalibrating as the new chamber won't affect how fine or course it goes. You do that by adjusting it internally.

If you cant really go fine enough then new burrs could be required, but try calibrating first.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Is the flapper metal or nylon?


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## kostona (Aug 15, 2014)

Hi guys, a quick update. Yesterday I finally took the grinder apart and gave it clean. It was filthy! old burrs are definitely in need for replacement. The burrs themselves are fine but don't fill sharp on the touch.

It has an old flapper just like in the image below (parts 36 and 38).









the new flapper looks like this. I had a quote from it from La Speziale which is £201.60 inc vat.









Here is my question, can I just order the parts 35,36,37 instead of the whole cassette? and will it fit the old cassette to start with? otherwise it is just too expensive! any thoughts?

PS: after the clean the clumping is still there but the clumps are lot smaller than before.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

I though the ring was made out of other stuff too ....Brass?

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/archive/index.php/t-11370.html


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

The ring is made of brass rather than alu or whatever it is but whether that's the main cause of the clumps i don't know. The new one has a clump crusher type thing too.

Ask La Spaz if they do those parts alone but judging by my previous dealings with them you'll likely need to buy the full thing


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## kostona (Aug 15, 2014)

thanks for the input, it's just the cassette is so expensive especially when adding the price of new burrs. After all that spend it won't be too far from the price of the new grinder. Do you reckon the ring will make much difference?


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## kostona (Aug 15, 2014)

by the way, if it helps anyone in the future, here is the K30 parts diagram supplied by La Speziale UK.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tme6v3xced0zaq5/K30_ES%20Spares%20230v_50-60Hz_V4.5.pdf?dl=0


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

kostona said:


> thanks for the input, it's just the cassette is so expensive especially when adding the price of new burrs. After all that spend it won't be too far from the price of the new grinder. Do you reckon the ring will make much difference?


the link i posted was when i re did an old grinder..

up to you , for me it reduced the clumpyness and how it delivered into the pf significantly - I hate to say it but if the parts plus what you paid = new grinder then i think you may have overpaid for it to start with ...


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## kostona (Aug 15, 2014)

I paid £550 but with new parts which will add to extra £300 on top? It is not exactly the price of a new grinder but is getting there.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

kostona said:


> I paid £550 but with new parts which will add to extra £300 on top? It is not exactly the price of a new grinder but is getting there.


That's the danger with alot of these older k30's if i ever see one of that age i factor in the £300 to get up to scratch ....


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

If you can get the flapper bits separately try that first. I don't know if the ring makes a difference, the clump crusher would be most obvious source of improvement


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## @3aan (Mar 2, 2013)

It looks that the old exit chute is higher than the new, and the fixing differs, i did make some pictures to proof it ;-)

































I think that the new ones could be used, for the clumping you also need to make a sort of diaphragm from silicone material, maybe you could fabricate something at the beginning of the exit chute, the new chute got the use the old fastener-screw and beneath that an piece of something* to clamp the new chute downwards.

* Plastic

* Aluminium

* Scrap-metal

* Log or whatever to use. . .

PS make that piece nice fitting in the slit, so it could not get loose!


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## kostona (Aug 15, 2014)

thanks for the photos, this is very helpful! I have now placed an order with La Speziale for set of k30 burrs, new style spout in 2 parts, silicone flapper and spout tube. Will update on the project once I get the parts!


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## @3aan (Mar 2, 2013)

Could you comment with prices paid for the different parts, I'm with an ongoing project where I collect around 4 old K30 grind-chambers, I do have new burrs enough, if the prices are nice enough, Than I have an place to order?!

I wait in first off your results, keep up the good work!


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## kostona (Aug 15, 2014)

below are the prices I paid ex vat. Part numbers are on the left. As you can see the cassette parts are quite cheap! The cassette itself with brass ring including all those parts is £168.50 + vat. Hope this helps!


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## kostona (Aug 15, 2014)

a quick update, the parts arrived, I cleaned everything and installed the new burrs. The new spout fits nicely, the spout tube is round while the exit from the cassette is oval, so had to bend it with the hammer. the silicone flapper stays just behind the tube, nothing is holding it in place, but hopefully it won't come it.

The good news is that the clumping issue is now solved. The bad news is I can't seem to get fine enough grind. even on the lowest setting it is not fine enough, after adjusting further I can hear the sound of burrs touching. is that normal for new burrs? how do I solve it?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Run some more coffee through them .

Check your out the burrs in the right way ?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

This isn't in Englishness but shows how it dial zero in

Got to 12 mins on

http://youth.be/B-3dnMVWC_U


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## kostona (Aug 15, 2014)

Mrboots2u said:


> This isn't in Englishness but shows how it dial zero in
> 
> Got to 12 mins on
> 
> http://youth.be/B-3dnMVWC_U


could you resend the link please, it says the page is not found


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

kostona said:


> could you resend the link please, it says the page is not found


I used it when I took mine apart


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## @3aan (Mar 2, 2013)

Mrboots2u said:


> This isn't in Englishness but shows how it dial zero in
> 
> Got to 12 mins on
> 
> http://youth.be/B-3dnMVWC_U


I have no problem to understood the demonstrators tong!


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## Dantaito (May 10, 2017)

Hey guys. Did you get this sorted in the end? Am about to purchase a K30 and am concerned that I will have to undertake the same process.

Many thanks.


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