# Having problems with leaking from my PF/Grouphead seal, overfilling/tamping too hard?



## JohnnieWalker (Aug 24, 2011)

I replaced the rubber seal that fits in the grouphead and seals the PF, however the new seal was slightly thinner than the original, and this means that with the PF empty the handle goes past the centre position.

I grind directly into the PF, tapping the PF on the worktop when approx half full to settle the coffee, the continue filling until slightly raised, I then level off and tamp.

I've found that if I tap too hard or too much during filling the basket that I'm unable to tamp the coffe down enough as it's already partially compacted.

Should I stop tapping during filling the basket and just tamp lighter, as sometimes if I tap to settle too hard/often I have to tamp very hard and even then I struggle to lock the PF into the grouphead due to the coffee touching the shower screen.

I guess I need to use a combination of filling, tapping to settle and tamping to produce a basket that's filled to just the correct level that allows the PF to lock into the grouphead easily but still results in the coffee touching or at least being very close to the showerscreen?


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

A few points on consistency here. Just my own views...

1. You would benefit substantialy from starting to weigh your dosage of beans and only putting those into the grinder. From what you've said above, you're getting very inconsistent quantities of grinds in the basket, and as long as that is the case then you will never achieve a consistently good espresso because the amount of grinds in the basket changes the resistance and hence the extraction and hence the shot of espresso. (That explains why you sometimes can't tamp it down further... there are probably already too many grinds in there.) Good baristas who don't weigh are able to do so because they have developed a technique that allows them to dose consistently without scales... and for many they have used scales to train themselves to the point where scales are less necessary.

2. Don't stop tapping to settle the grinds, but don't overdo it, and try to perform the action consistently each time. This too will help with the 'sometimes' problem.

3. Try to develop a consistent tamp, and avoid tamping hard sometimes & softer others. 30lb is a commonly accepted tamping pressure. If you don't know what that is, try tamping on bathroom scales to find out. Or get an Espro tamper.

This will turn one of the many variables you're trying to manage into a constant. Turning variables into constants is a good approach generally, I find.

4. Your last paragraph is correct... just below the showerscreen, to allow room for expansion. If you insert the PF, then immediately remove it BEFORE the shot, you should not see any grinds on the showerscreen. After the shot you should see the indentation of the showerscreen screw on the puck.

5. It's fine that the PF goes past half way as long as it creates the required seal in the grouphead.

6. Do you work at Costa then? I just ask because I know you persist in using their beans and now I see you have a link to them in your sig. If you do, well done for trying to improve your barista skills beyond what you're shown in the company training. If not, ignore this









Hope that helps.


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## JohnnieWalker (Aug 24, 2011)

Thanks for all the advice Mike, well at least I'm getting some things correct!

No, I don't work for Costa, I just like their beans ( sorry if that upsets anyone! ) and figured that some people either can't or don't want to travel to a Costa Coffee shop to purchase their beans, although I may be proven totally wrong about that, but never mind!


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## jonnie d (Jul 6, 2011)

I know what you are going through buddy I used to have the same problem! The answer is to reduce the dose, or if you feel your ideal espresso needs that extra coffee then perhaps think about a new basket/PF set up to accomodate it. Tapping shouldnt make any difference to how much the grinds will compact, as long as the dose is the same every time, but tapping too hard will make it tougher to evenly spread the grinds whilst tamping.


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