# Mazzer Mini not grinding fine after cleaning burrs - help needed!



## les24preludes (Dec 30, 2017)

I just got a well used Mazzer Mini which had been in storage for a while. I gave it a general clean including the burrs, but when I put it back together again it isn't grinding fine enough. If I turn the wheel towards finer, there comes a point where the beans don't go down into the burrs at all. If I turn slightly coarser the beans start going down again, but the grind is rather coarse still. Can someone explain? If the problem is worn burrs I've ordered some "Nearly new" ones off eBay which should arrive in a few days. I don't know how to tell the sharpness of burrs - run your finger over them (I did and they aren't cutting sharp) or look with a magnifying glass....

Over to you guys.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

If it isn't working as it should then I would suggest you contact the seller.


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## les24preludes (Dec 30, 2017)

MildredM said:


> If it isn't working as it should then I would suggest you contact the seller.


It was a good price, so I prefer to fix it. I've been reading some threads on this and it could be the springs, though it could also be something else. I'm assuming it's fixable - just needs to be set up correctly I'm thinking.


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

This might help you set it up

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/coffeetime/userfiles/mazzer_cleaning_and_adjustment.pdf

John

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## Missy (Mar 9, 2016)

I'm assuming you are running the grinder whilst you adjust the grind?


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

im wondering if the correct burr set are in it ie jolly set instead of mini - only possible if its the 64mm burrs - or if they are the 58mm ones do they say mazzer on the back. If its not been used for a while its poss because there is an issue with the burrs or adjustment - take it apart give the threads a good clean and a smear of grease - might be all it needs - you should be able to adjust the burrs till they just touch and "chirp" at the outer edge - it wont hurt them, they are designed to be able to do this - if you cant there is something wrong


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

I've just bean playing with a new one. It looks to me like the final setting going finer needs to be done slowly. Go too far and get clumps that are well stuck together and chances are that you will need to strip and clean it out and start again.

The PDF I linked to tells you how to set the burrs - in short check that you can go fine enough to make the burrs touch and checking that with a socket set type arrangement on the nut you can see with the hopper off.

John

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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

Oh - and yes do run the grinder while you set finer even if weighing beans in.

John

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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

227g of beans through and I still haven't achieved a setting suitable for my BE. Some of that was to see what happens when beans are weighed in but the setting was way too coarse for espresso. Tried a shot and no brew pressure at all. This was with the indicator on the label set to the notch on the body.

There is a good teaspoon full trapped on the way out from the grind chamber and a lot less actually in it.







Weight out is fairly consistent except when the weight is changed - or so it seems. A puffer looks to be essential. The beans are all gobbled up though. I'm thinking tube, weight and a puffer. The puffer can serve as a funnel to ease getting beans in.

Went too fine and choked it up used this way so cleaned it out and set something fine but away from the min setting - then went to bed.

I get the impression that tuning adjustments are going involve small movements of the lever ???????????? Any comment on any of this.

John

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## les24preludes (Dec 30, 2017)

Ahh!! All is sweetness and light. I removed the burr holder ensemble once again, but this time I used a bottle of surgical spirits. First I thoroughly cleaned the threads on the grinder adjustment wheel and the inside thread so they were pristine. Then I took out the three springs and bathed them in the alcohol - quite a bit of stale coffee came out which might have been impeding their function. I then re-assembled everything. I turned the adjustment wheel round to where the burrs wouldn't turn, then backed off a bit. Fired up the machine and everything works perfectly. Also the grind is about right with light tamping - nice bit of intuition. So I'm in business. For those dis-assembling the doser, I should add that to unscrew the knurled knob you have to hold down the fins. And when re-assembling it you have to hold down the fins until the vane is nicely seated in the groove on the front, otherwise it spins round. Moral of the story is use alcohol or something like it and thoroughly clean everything - springs, threads etc - if you have an old machine which has been in storage. And as the instructions say, turn the wheel round to the nul point and note it, then back off. With any luck and if you haven't cross-threaded you'll then have a fully functional machine. A lot of this stuff is just careful attention to detail.

The grind may be a touch fine at the moment - works with light tamping. Haven't timed it, but now it's grinding nicely I can start to experiment. Thanks everyone for all the ideas and suggestions.


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## les24preludes (Dec 30, 2017)

jimbojohn55 said:


> im wondering if the correct burr set are in it ie jolly set instead of mini - only possible if its the 64mm burrs - or if they are the 58mm ones do they say mazzer on the back. If its not been used for a while its poss because there is an issue with the burrs or adjustment - take it apart give the threads a good clean and a smear of grease - might be all it needs - you should be able to adjust the burrs till they just touch and "chirp" at the outer edge - it wont hurt them, they are designed to be able to do this - if you cant there is something wrong


Burrs are the usual 58mm. I found the zero point by manually turning the burrs until they locked, rather then switching on and waiting for the chirp. I presume that's OK? When you say "grease", what commonly available kind of grease/oil is food safe and tasteless/odourless and doesn't congeal in time? Or is the best grease no grease at all? I'm assuming that using some kind of alcohol to clean threads is OK since it evaporates, but again, guidance welcome. I have isopropyl alcohol for instance as well as surgical spirit.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

I think the manufacturers use something like Molycote 111, whatever you use it tends to pick up coffee dust and needs cleaning out occaisionlly.

I have used Molycote, olive oil and other veg oils, they all gum up after a time and require cleaning off. I use a hard tooth brush and methylated spirit.

Molycote is expensive and unless you have other needs for it I would try the oils (applied VERY lightly) ORtry rubbing thread with a candle.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

When I had my Mazzer Mini, I used a thin smear of lip salve, Chapstick or whatever. That's food safe for sure, but a lot less 'gluey' than Molykote 111. I use 111 on the E61 cam lever and I reckon it's a bit much for the delicate threads of a Mazzer adjustment collar. Not saying you shouldn't, but Chapstick is very light, subtle and easy not to over apply. You need only the tiniest smear just to help the threads stay clean and silky smooth. Once in the zone for espresso, adjustment is in the order of one 'notch' or 'rib' of the wheel at a time, and only plus or minus a few notches for any bean I can remember.


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## les24preludes (Dec 30, 2017)

hotmetal said:


> When I had my Mazzer Mini, I used a thin smear of lip salve, Chapstick or whatever. That's food safe for sure, but a lot less 'gluey' than Molykote 111. I use 111 on the E61 cam lever and I reckon it's a bit much for the delicate threads of a Mazzer adjustment collar. Not saying you shouldn't, but Chapstick is very light, subtle and easy not to over apply. You need only the tiniest smear just to help the threads stay clean and silky smooth. Once in the zone for espresso, adjustment is in the order of one 'notch' or 'rib' of the wheel at a time, and only plus or minus a few notches for any bean I can remember.


Lip salve sounds a good idea. Thanks for the tip about adjustment!

Now I'm grinding true espresso fine, I'm amazed at how much the aftertaste lingers. It's quite noticeable.


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

I'm wondering about grease. I think Molykote 111 is a straight silicone grease. There is quite a lot of pressure in the Mazzer set up. I don't think what is on mine is silicone based. Maybe they use a food safe bearing grease.








My grinder is not exactly new - it spent a couple of weeks at an exhibition and then it seems went to Mazzer and then out again.







Reduced price of course.

John

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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

To be honest you don't really need grease, but the thin layer of lip salve makes it just that bit smoother, which takes off some of the 'stiction' and allows the very fine adjustment that tuning an espresso requires. If it was a choice between Molykote or nothing, I would recommend keeping the threads absolutely spotlessly clean and dry with nothing. Heavy or sticky grease is likely to cause more trouble than it saves. But that tiny bit of lip salve (or apparently candle wax) makes it easier. The main thing to be careful of is not to cross thread the thing on reassembly. That will literally render the thing an expensive paperweight.

The adjuster pin/lever thing (that should be present on a new one but is often missing on used examples) also makes it easier to make tiny adjustment. If it is missing you can buy a long Allen bolt and a bit of plastic tubing, that's what mine came with (bought on here).


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## Missy (Mar 9, 2016)

Chapstick all the way, I have a special one for the threads.

The location of notches and labels etc means very little in the grand scheme other than for your own internal reference... useful for knowing where you've been, but they aren't a universal truth. (Eg mine and yours would be different) it's the backing off from the chirp that's important

For espresso I've never used more than a few degrees of turn, certainly less than 45°


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Exactly what I mean. Find your zero point, ignore label, find the appropriate range for espresso and you'll never move the adjuster more than a few degrees. Once you have an idea where your range is, it's worth noting/marking so you can find it again with minimal wastage after taking the top off. That's one thing I don't miss since having a 65E and E37s, where it doesn't affect the adjuster when you take the burr off!


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

Chapstick reminds me of my wife - especially when I met her. Never knew what I would taste next.

Must admit I expected a finer degree of adjustment. No real beans yet and doubt if I will drink what I am using -- Aldi. Good enough to get an idea of grinder settings though.








I'm having a Sage adjustment problem, SGP fine, BE isn't. Odd really because the BE had bean on the same setting for a very long time.

John

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## Missy (Mar 9, 2016)

ajohn said:


> Chapstick reminds me of my wife - especially when I met her. Never knew what I would taste next.
> 
> Must admit I expected a finer degree of adjustment. No real beans yet and doubt if I will drink what I am using -- Aldi. Good enough to get an idea of grinder settings though.
> 
> ...


What do you mean "finer degree"? It's infinitesimally fine degrees of adjustment, you've just got to be gentle.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Indeed - it's stepless, so in theory adjustable to crazy levels of accuracy, but all depends on how little you can move the collar. That's where the extension handle comes in. A couple of mm movement on a 3" outrigger equates to the square root of sod all in adjustment. If you need finer control than that, get a longer bolt with the same thread and you're golden.


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

It was the degree of movement I mentioned -







there should be in respect of in that somewhere.

Think I'll manage and did think longer lever if needed.

I happened on a setting that gives very similar brew pressure to how my SGP is set and had just enough of a sample of some Indian beans left that were sent to me to try. 8g to get rid of what was in it and 11 and a bit for a dose. I adjusted the actual does to the same as it would be on the SGP. The most noticeable thing about the drink was less oil in the crema than I usually get with this bean. Also looked like I could have got a bit more coffee in the basket. Taste a little different but bound to be a bit of the Aldi bean about. Those seem to be terrible but from the instructions were never intended to be used in an espresso machine.

The setting happens to be 1st screw hole going finer from the label so if it stays around there no need to mark it.

John

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## Missy (Mar 9, 2016)

ajohn said:


> The setting happens to be 1st screw hole going finer from the label so if it stays around there no need to mark it.
> 
> John
> 
> _


Which side of the screw hole? Not being facetious here, the width of the screw hole would be "an adjustment" on a mazzer, and one side or the other of that range would be fine tuning.


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

Missy said:


> Which side of the screw hole? Not being facetious here, the width of the screw hole would be "an adjustment" on a mazzer, and one side or the other of that range would be fine tuning.


I'd set it with the lever screw hole central to the mark on the main body.

I bought a lens hood to suite a piece of tube I bought. With the metal ring removed it nearly fits directly on the grinder so just to try the puffer idea in it's own I just ordered the next size up. Probably too big but it might fit nicely. I wont know until it arrives on Wednesday. I may not have time to machine the tube before that.

John

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