# Help with my new Ibertal MC2



## rwcwilson (Sep 2, 2015)

Hi,

As I've posted in the "What did the Postie bring you today" thread, I received a MC2 today. I've been dialing in my coffee beans and had a few questions. Is there a rough rule of thumb for adjusting the fineness setting? I've noticed as you adjust it it clicks as you go round, does anyone know the ratio of clicks to seconds for extraction time? Just because I've noticed the adjustments are very fine and it took me a long time to correct (wasting a lot of beans). I've also noticed there is quite a lot of residual grounds stuck in the chute when it finishes grinding, so I'd imagine a purge will help before each grind, is there a way to do a short purge without adjusting the timer? Also is the hopper supposed to jiggle about when it is grinding??

Cheers,

Rich


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## templ8 (Sep 10, 2015)

Hi Rich, my mc2 was used so was fairly well setup but I did have to back the adjustment off 10 turns to get a coarser grind.

My hopper jiggles about too.

To purge I just switch the main switch off after a second, dump the stale grinds, then switch back on again.

Cheers,

Iain


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## frederickaj (Jul 31, 2014)

Welcome to the world of espresso making !!!


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## bulletjie (Aug 31, 2015)

Here is my advice.

1. Forget about the timer.

2. Get yourself a digital scale that can measure in 0.1g increments. Good cheap ones on amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00JGSHAFK?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00

3. For espresso, tare (weight zero) the basket and dose straight into the basket. At the given timer setting once the grinder stop, weigh the basket with grinds. If it is under your desire weight then fine. grind some more coffee and STOP the grinder by switching OFF the grinder by its own switch. You will get a feel for how soon you have to stop the grinder to get the right weight. I do this all the time and get to exactly my desired weight (18g)

4. For brew, I use a small espresso cup and dose into that instead. No mess of the counter top.

To understand the adjustments of the grinder, I took the plastic cover off the top which expose the burrs. So with no hopper and no beans I then adjust it visually until the burrs almost touch. Then switch it on and slowly adjust until I hear a change in noise and STOP. Adjust it a couple of turns back then that is your grinder's minimum adjustment. I took tipex and made a reference mark on the plastic gear at the 6 oclock position.

Then open the grinder burrs until that reference mark is at the 3 o'clock, then 12o'clock and finally 9'o'clock position. Every time count the revolutions of the adjustment knob to see how many turns it take to get to that position.

Anyway I use that for reference only. I also grind beans at each clock face position to see and feel the grinds. Obviously, you will then see the relation between the gear wheel position and grind coarseness. You will then know the range of your adjustment and how many turns of the knob is needed to get there.

Plus by having the marks on the gear wheel you know the position of the burrs

Sorry for the ramblings

if anything, my advice is ignore the timer and use scales. manually switch of the grinder on the side to stop at the desired weight.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

I don't remember 'clicks' when adjusting the mc2 although the adjuster is very fine and it takes a few revolutions of the knob to make much difference. It's both a plus and a minus as it makes tweaking the grind easy but dialling in a completely new bean can be frustrating and wasteful. And forget swapping between espresso and brewed. You could grow a beard going from one setting to another (even if you're female probably - old ladies were still young when they started dialling in the mc2!)

The timer on the mc2 I never did get the hang of. I just set it to what seemed to be just long enough and hit the switch when I thought it about right. I didn't weigh in real time, just judged by eye and if slightly over according to scales, struck off a wee bit.

You always get retention in the chute. Some have tried removing it and filing the step off but I don't think it really makes much difference.

It's impossible to give a " turns:seconds pour" ratio because that is non-linear. When nearly there maybe a turn could add a second but the further away you are from desired grind level the less difference one turn will make to pour time.

And talking of time, it's half 3 in the morning. Guess who drank too much coffee today!


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